A question:
How does she move the pedals up and down without her knees hitting the steering wheel?
Posted on 06/25/2012 1:30:42 PM PDT by Red Badger
If you're of a certain age - or just watch a lot of Hulu or Nick at Nite - you probably remember the folding (and flying) car from "The Jetsons."
The forthcoming Hiriko Fold doesn't fly, but it does fold.
To make this work, regular controls had to be replaced with drive-by-wire, and the accelerator, steering wheel and brake are gone in favor of an aerospace-type yoke that (as in a Segway), is moved forward to move the vehicle forward, and back for reversing. Left and right are for steering.
Just like in the Jetsons' car (and the 1950s BMW Isetta), the driver climbs out through the glass canopy. It's strictly for the urban driver, with top speed of about 31 mph, and range of 75 miles on quick-recharge (15 minutes) lithium-ion batteries. Electric motors are at the car's four wheels. It can be registered as a quadricycle or motorcycle in some markets.
Electric cars are urban vehicles whose short range are well-suited for city driving. But cities don't have many split-level homes with garages - people live in tight quarters in apartments. So where's the charging going to happen? Parking garages and, to a lesser extent, pay lots, offer some kind of solution, but not everybody can afford those choices.
If you could get cars more tightly packed - three to a space, for instance - then city charge farms could work better. I've seen the concept of autonomous-driving cars dropping off their passengers, then boarding an elevator to be put away in a high rise until needed again. That works - but only if the tech does. Having the cars fold up for storage makes it work better. "A systematic solution to major societal changes," said Jose Manual Barroso, the president of the European Commission, at the time of the unveiling. You couldn't say as much for the fascinating concept at right, a folding car that looks cool but would never make it on the road.
The Fold, as it's known, has its genesis in a MIT Media Lab project sponsored by GM. Writes Steve Ashley for the BBC, "The discussion led to the concept of a small EV that could be folded and stacked in line, and shared by multiple users in urban environments in Asia, North America and Europe."
The Hiriko Driving Mobility Group, based in the Basque region of Spain, visited the MIT lab in 2009, and leveraged some Spanish government funding to produce what became the Hiriko Fold. According to Kent Larson, director of the Media Lab's Changing Places Group, everything is a tight fit. "It's designed more like an iPhone than a tower computer," he told Ashley.
The Fold is going into production in Europe next year, priced around $16,400. Trucks and convertibles are envisioned.
Cutest lil’ coffin I’ve ever seen.
-PJ
I can just imagine Lindsay Lohan getting out of that car in a short skirt (or maybe not Lindsay, but if Kate Beckinsale buys one......)
What you call success in Europe I call a limitation of freedoms in the states.
Paying a toll to use a road already paid for by fuel taxes is also a limitation of freedom.
Europe can limit road use all they want, and charge what ever fees they want.
I could give to poops what they pay for a gallon of fuel there. Here in the USA we have tons of it, and it can be cheap.
The USA is NOT Europe nor are we packed up as tight as Europe.
Last week I drove 2900 miles in a standard comfortable mini-van with the AC blasting. It could go 400 miles on a 5 minute fueling. It had to stop more often for the young riders to “potty”.
I could not even get my family of 4 in to a smart car or this motorized bicycle let alone all or gear for camping.
A question:
How does she move the pedals up and down without her knees hitting the steering wheel?
I’m not sure, but I’d love for her to let me examine the situation.....
When I was there we built these:
If you need a helper, I volunteer.
Now THAT is Gay in a Golf Cart. It couldn’t be more gay if they named it the Gay Gayerson Eggmobile.
A box on wheels with no fresh air supply. Guess you keep going until you either run out of gas or breathable air.
Three to a space? Why, are we out of space? Maybe cities should stop trying to cram everyone into a square mile just for tax collection purposes.
Excellent video — Thanks for posting!
If you’ve seen these things stacked up like cord wood for parking..
Did you have the same thought I did?
How does the driver of the car in the middle get his out?
Funny you should mention that! I just brought Kate home with me for the night - picked her up at the Redbox, in Walmart... No short skirt for her, though - when she wasn't wearing her usual painted-on vampire outfit, she was nekkid!! :-)
In Europe, one of the hardest things to find is a parking space...............
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.