What? No Futurebents??

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

A television show: Futurecars (marathon today and Saturday in my
area), is discussing transportation. Mainly it discusses cars, but has
many outstanding sleek body styles that are showing up on the road.
These same designs are showing up in recumbents, which is thrilling to
me. It may be a US show since we are so car addicted over here.
Hopefully- it will become mainstream; like Monster Garage, Pimp Your
Ride, etc.

FutureCars is/was quite a disappointment, IMO. I get very tired of hearing
about the "carbon-free hydrogen future," without a single mention of the
fact that there's not nearly enough palladium on the planet to make GM's
"Autonomy" platform a practical reality. Ain't gonna happen. Oh, but there I
go again, trying to be practical instead of hopping aboard the impossibly
sleek stainless steel Maglev Supertrain Future Express.

As for future bents: The most exciting thing *I've* seen in "future car"
engineering is the Microjoule experimental car that achieved - are you ready
for this? 10,705 MPG!! Seriously. It looks like a recumbent tadpole
trike streamliner.

Here's a photo:

http://staff.bath.ac.uk/ensajg/tg/2001rock3.gif

And an article about the competition:

http://www.gizmag.com/go/2946/\

It's kinda funny that these are so streamlined, because they're only have to
go 15 MPH. I'm assuming that they don't burn anywhere near a full gallon of
gasoline. Man, that would be a *lot* of driving!

Ok, now who sez American car mfr's can't make a 100 MPG hybrid? That's
1/100th the energy efficiency of the Microjoule!!

WMW

What Me Worry? said:

FutureCars is/was quite a disappointment, IMO. I get very tired of hearing
about the "carbon-free hydrogen future," without a single mention of the
fact that there's not nearly enough palladium on the planet to make GM's
"Autonomy" platform a practical reality. Ain't gonna happen. Oh, but there I
go again, trying to be practical instead of hopping aboard the impossibly
sleek stainless steel Maglev Supertrain Future Express.
It's kinda funny that these are so streamlined, because they're only have to
go 15 MPH. I'm assuming that they don't burn anywhere near a full gallon of
gasoline. Man, that would be a *lot* of driving!

Ok, now who sez American car mfr's can't make a 100 MPG hybrid? That's
1/100th the energy efficiency of the Microjoule!!

WM

Overrall- quite disappointing, but very useful and thought-provoking.

Quoted message said:

From the emphasis of the GM skateboard (yawn), to the go-kart (yawn),

to the "pie-in-the-sky" Mollers Sky-Car (yawn). Get through that, and
the show is more "now" or "tomorrow".

The extremely streamlined Coloni designed vehicles are fascinating
(except that 18 wheeler; IMO!) and seeing that three wheel (tadpole)
Coloni designed motorcycle being driven was outstanding- ideal to
cover a recumbent trike. I also liked another Coloni designed vehicle
in the background with bicycle wheels- not featured. Looked just like
a Mango velomobile to me!

Pininfarina usually design the sleek exotic car, but his design of
something like the unimpressive Smart-sized car was a surprise- a
moving interior allowing 14" movement. Just another useful idea for
cycle design, like helmet in a (possibly silicon shrouded) helmet.

The leaning tandem motorcycle trike is pretty old-school. The leaning
GM failed and so did the similar Mercedes, but it is still in a
designers mind, and no one would know without shows like this! I
think this trike appears on the 'net somewhere, and is restyled even
sleeker.

A person has to wonder; how much corn can we grow? Or how much french-
fry oil is there? But TV shows like this give ideas to use in what we
already know is the solution to gas mileage problems- which is: bikes/
recumbents/human-powered-vehicles!

Quoted message said:

But TV shows like this give ideas to use in what we
already know is the solution to gas mileage problems- which is: bikes/
recumbents/human-powered-vehicles!

No, we don't know that. I, for one, don't expect it. Even minor urban
redesign can have more impact on gas useage than any expected increase
in bike use for transportation. In some areas, just changing the
zoning regulations would have a greater long term impact.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

On Mar 2, 1:15 pm, Curtis L. Russell <[email hidden]> wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Even minor urban
redesign can have more impact on gas useage than any expected increase
in bike use for transportation. In some areas, just changing the
zoning regulations would have a greater long term impact.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Interesting notion...what kind of regulation changes and redesigns
would you suggest? Links would be fine, if you don't care to expound
at length :-)

Best,

Dan

On 2 Mar 2007 10:18:50 -0800, "Dan B." <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Interesting notion...what kind of regulation changes and redesigns
would you suggest? Links would be fine, if you don't care to expound
at length :-)

You could start with www.cnu.org, although I don't remember what is
for members and what isn't anymore. The impact of building and zoning
requirements, especially in the U.S., as they apply to mix use is one
of the most pernicious factors in forcing the unnecessary use of
automobiles, starting with moving destinations out of walking range,
to forcing longer trip lengths (encouraging consolidation
destinations, such as larger schools and regional libraries and sports
centers to the over use of cul de sac developments).

Cul de sac developments not only impact walking and cycling by
funneling travel to overloaded connectors, but they create situations
where you can see the connector from the edge of the cul de sac, but
have to travel a mile or more to actually get there. Cul de sac
developments actually put in deliberate features to discourage short
cuts by bike or pedestrians.

And some of the so-called model communities are the worst. Columbia,
MD started with a good idea - destination clusters near or within the
communities. Unfortunately, their general overuse of cul de sacs meant
that a mistake meant back tracking literally miles to find that
destination.

Cul de sacs are one of the worst city planning features for cycling.

And it is zoning with ridiculous minimum parking allowances that
create the ugly single buildings surrounded by asphalt, which in turn
discourage pedestrian use (lierally a hundred feet of asphalt between
each business). The same zoning creates the big mall with island mall
situations where the island malls are so far from the primary mall
that people get back in their cars and drive to them. But all those
parking spaces are required by zoning.

Zoning is what makes living over your own shop illegal in many cities.
The very features that people find cute in made-up communities, like
Disneyland, that mimic old European cities, are actually illegal in
'real life'. In fact, the very downtowns that U.S. residents see as
unfortunately disappearing are simply against code when too close to a
metropolitan center. The developers have to get exceptions made to
make a completely new community with all the features that are deemed
desirable - and reduce the need to get in a car and drive.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Dan B. said:

On Mar 2, 1:15 pm, Curtis L. Russell <[email hidden]> wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Even minor urban
redesign can have more impact on gas useage than any expected increase
in bike use for transportation. In some areas, just changing the
zoning regulations would have a greater long term impact.

Quoted message said:

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Interesting notion...what kind of regulation changes and redesigns
would you suggest? Links would be fine, if you don't care to expound
at length :-)

The only solution that will work is mass sterilization. As a group, we
have no more sense than snowshoe hares that over breed, over consume
their food, and then die in large numbers, only to repeat the cycles
every few years.

If everyone lived in an energy efficient apartment and rode their
bicycles to work, there would still only be enough resources for a
couple of billion (2,000,000,000) people to live well and we are over
three (3) times than already.

A hundred (100) years from now, the human population will in all
likelihood be between zero (0) and five-hundred million (500,000,000).
Hubbert's Peak will arrive within the decade, and the oil based
economy will eventually collapse.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Edward Dolan said:

...
If and when we do revert to the Dark Ages, I will be there with the Spanish
Inquisition ever ready to take on all unbelievers and heretics.

<JARRING CHORD>

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is
suprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons
are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our *three*
weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost
fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our
weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear,
surprise....

--
Cardinal Ximinez