93 replies to this topic

[MalcolmB]

if someone grabs the bull by the horns and introduces a half-car standard that'll be adopted in cities across the UK (and wider) where the road lanes are split in two and are only available to vehicles that fit then a market for single-seaters under 200kg that do 40-50mph and can be financed for £150 a month or so, then a market might exist. Would make for some really good fun vehicles too ... I just don't see a future economic case for 2 tonne vehicles carrying 1 person around a city.

Totally agree, but it's a chicken and egg problem. Politicians aren't going to adapt roads for smaller vehicles until we demand it, and that's not going to happen while Rangerovers are seen as a status symbol. On the positive side, fewer young people are choosing to buy and run cars, which suggests the current offerings of big car makers are missing the mark.

[Mini-dude]

Maybe small roads will work in the uk but that's a big no-no for the usa, i dont see a single seater really taking off, maybe if its something like the p50 where it like a statement piece (also unlikely because have you seen the prices for replica p50 it crazy), more likely 2 seater tandem style cars are to happen.

Edited by Mini-dude, 16 April 2018 - 11:23 PM.

[paulrockliffe]

Yeah, doesn't matter if it's one person or a tandem, both would be possible, I was keeping the idea simple.  You could make passenger trailers that contain extra batteries too and pick people up on your way to work or take the kids to school or whatever.  The idea is to make the vehicle take up less space, so it can be parked, be flexible enough to cover most use cases and then light enough that it's cheap to buy, run, recharge and fun to drive.

 

I think there's scope to make a version along the lines of a Caterham but where you can quickly adjust the track and a few other things to make it good to 70mph so you could use it outside of cities too.

 

Fundamentally there needs to be recognition that car travel around cities is never going to be fast again, so might as well design for that.  Although the change is fundamental, there isn't an incremental solution.  If people are given 5-10 years notice that it's going to happen then companies can work towards it and people can be ready.  I'm sure with thought there would be ways to mitigate the cliff edge, eg existing vehicles that already fit are available and could continue.

 

I looked at the Smart ForTwo, it weights just under a tonne, because it's designed to be crashed at 70mph, is full of crap and is too wide to fit on a half-lane.  It's also £13k.

[greenwheels]

This was in the Telegraph: -

 

https://www.telegrap...t-change-world/