New car design

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This article is about how a fundamentally new design for cars and auto-rickshaws (which increases efficiency) would look like.

Contents

[edit] Design

The general make-up

Having been studying the design of hydrogen buses (and especially its engine and fuel tank placement), and the new technology on the market that would allow the dismission of car seats and common control organs (steering wheel, handbrake and pedals), I came up with a much more efficient vehicle design. The design is much more efficient as the car manufacturing process is simplified, loading of the car is improved (allows to store more material/people), and the manufacturing price is lowered. In addition, extra advantages may be increased durability (as less parts are needed that are prone to damage), ...

A description on how the design would look like: Hydrogen-bus like: thus rectangular (box-shaped), and with the engine and fuel tanks on the top of the roof. The interior can be stripped clean of all parts, leaving nothing but the floor and a connection point for belts to secure feet or legs. Rather than sitting in a car seat, the passenger could simply sit on his knees or in a "rowing position" and attach the belts to legs or feet to secure himself firmly into the vehicle. To steer, rather than using a steering wheel and pedals, the vehicle can be controlled by a vehicle control pad (see on next page). The vehicle control pad is physically similar to a "gamepad" (also found on game systems as the XBOX, ...)


Also, the vehicle's 4 vertical sides should be completely in carglass, so that no rearview mirrors nor any other instruments are required (speed counter, gear indicator, ...) can all be implemented into the carglass itself via HUD-technology.

[edit] Extra suggestions

  • Instead of with a key, the vehicle can be started with biometric data from the passenger so that key-loss, ... becomes a problem of the past. This can be done by principally fingerprint identification, or alternatively by iris-scan or radio-frequency identification (RFID).
  • LED-headlights may be supplemented with high-intensity discharge (HID) lightening, to be used only at extremely dark places, when LED's would not suffice (HID has more lumen/watt)
  • perhaps the suspension springs can be given 2 presets and automation, so that quick swapping can happen between a stance to be used at flat terrain (highway) and a stance for off-road
  • The car may also be equipped with airless tires (Michelin's Tweel)
  • also, regenerative breaking might be used, depending on what ecological engine is to drive the vehicle. This offcourse to extent the the range of the car.
  • finally, perhaps alternative (non-sulferic acid) batteries may be used (take a look at the Joe-cell batteries at the PESN-website)

Aldough the vehicle lacks any aerodynamics, given the many advantages (e.g. cost reduction, due to almost not having any interior parts as seats, ... at all), the better (more redistrubutable) loading capacity and possibilities, and the extreme simplification on controlling the vehicle (no more car training required) and better visibility for the driver would hopefully convince you of this design. Also, this lack in aerodynamics is of no significance, as with a ecologic engine, operating costs and environmental damage are nullified anyhow.

Other vehicles (besides the hydrogen bus) which have brought me to this design

  • the TWIKE (especially its use of alternative vehicle controls, in the case of the TWIKE namely a joystick)
  • the General Motors Hy-wire (especially its drive-by-wire technology)
  • the "lowriders", often seen on car shows (especially their automatic re-adjustment of suspension springs have been intresting, aldough they initially used it for useless "dancing" with the cars)
  • the c,mm,n project car (and especially its HUD-display)

[edit] More information

[edit] Replacement of steering wheel, foot pedals, gear-lever and handbrake by control pad

Control organs of the car and steering

Now for almost a century, vehicles have been controlled trough the use of a combination of different control organs, notably the steering wheel, gear-lever, foot pedals and handbrake. Aldough this outdated method has proven workable, new car improvements as drive-by-wire and automatic, constant variable transmission now allow a new and better method of vehicle control.

This new method of vehicle control would be a single control organ that replaces all 3 previous ones found above; this control organ that can do so is a control pad. To steer, the gamepads arrow keys/thumbstick combined with 2 triggers and buttons can be used.

As too other vehicles have been equipped with similar methods of control (the TWIKE is equipped with a joystick), the viability and usability of the idea is unquestioned. Also, due to the example of the TWIKE, the technical implementation of such control pad can happen both quickly and easily.

[edit] Advantages

  • reduction of the automobile's control organs, easing the control of the vehicle and possibly decreasing the production costs of the vehicle
  • reduction in the amount of time required to learn to operate the vehicle (especially as the younger generation is already familiar with gamepads)
  • more possibilities/potential with the automobile's interior design (as seen above)
  • reduced cost for manufacturing of the car
  • total environmental operation when hydrogen fuel cells or air engines are used (design is specifically designed herefore with mounting foreseen on the roof)


[edit] Users

As the market is now being included to countries in development (India, China), the market is pretty soon getting new players as Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, ... These manufacturers are going to build cars in the market range of 2500 $ per unit. Tata Motors is doing so with its "1 lak car" and Bajaj is foreseeing a similar priced treewheeler. Also, Suzuki has a similar priced unit foreseen with it "A-model" car. Given their obvious need to reduce manufacturing costs and with rising environmental critics (see the newspapers), a car/threewheeler model as the one presented may come at a precise time and intrest to buy the model should be surely present.

[edit] More information

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