70 on the outside lane of the M6
So you're the bastard holding everyone else up - I bet you drive a Renault.
While the debate rages over the best way to power the electric cars of tomorrow – plug-in charge, petrol-hybrid or hydrogen fuel-cell - we've yet to hear the case being made for fish'n'chips, pizza or the quarter pounder. Actually, the target audience of the GYM electric vehicle probably regard their bodies as temples and so …
I've long thought that the electric power of an EV should be topped up by solar power, regenerative breaking, wind power via a type of sail or scoop, and pedals. Every passenger should have their own set of pedals, which could wind up a coil spring which would store the energy, which would be more efficient than transforming it to electricity to store in the battery. It'd be a bit like those toy cars that you pull backwards to wind them up and then let go :O)
But then in all honesty, what could be more environmentally friendly than a horse-drawn carriage?
Love the styling. Problem wiht many green cars is that thay are super efficient becuase of whats taken out, as opposed to put in. If this was built it would only need a tiny petrol engine in it to be fantastic, so why not do that instead of making it alternative power. What im trying to say is is it that you dont need petrol or you dont need 4 seats, crumple zones, dvd, sat nav, air bags, a boot, spare wheel, etc. etc.
(Admittedly it's a prototype, but..)
I just hope they put in an interlock to *enforce* only exercising when parked. I already have enough problem with people not staying in their lane, running stoplights, doing that stupid "swing way to the left to make a right turn" (swerving themselves out of the turn lane *back into traffic*), the even stupider "swing way to the right to make a left turn" (again swerving themselves back into traffic), and so on. The last thing I need is to have one of these crush itself against the side of my car because the "driver" was rowboating instead of actually driving.
Interesting idea though. The energy from exercising generally turns into heat inside the machine (for ones that use resistance) or just goes nowhere I guess (for weight lifting etc.) I've seen a demo rig where a bicycle with generator was running a TV, 100W lightbulb, fan, etc. (Usually 1 at a time, the exibit let you turn them all on but it was too hard to pedal enough to keep them all from browning out.)
But then in all honesty, what could be more environmentally friendly than a horse-drawn carriage?
Clearly you've never been part of the "clean-up" crew following a parade, my friend. Apart from the frequent methane emissions, there's the solid waste problem to be solved. Perhaps our friends on the subcontinent could help with a solid waste-burning generator to top off the charge on an EV which would also be pulled by a horse when the batteries were exhausted (so to speak)?
This is not a prototype. It is a design college concept car. Prototype are an engineering tool used to prove a design idea. Concepts don't have to prove anything.
It is not even supposed to be practical, it is just supposed to show that the desginer is cool or hip or whatever the current terminology is.
Considering most of the people hanging about in design colleges, I'm not surprised at the design idea. It looks like it could extract most of the energy from a driver doing a vigorous YMCA in a lime green leotard.
PS Bonus points to me for introducing a new type of tard to the conversation.
The bikes in the gym tell me I'm usually working at 170W, that's a fair bit of power just going to waste, I mean, it could easily power the LCD screen in the machine rather than pulling power off the mains. Preferably, the power would go to the air conditioning to help cool the place down a bit more, but that's besides the point.
It's a great idea, but it's not practical in a car... sure, you can generate enough power for the headlights or a standard stereo, but you won't actually propel a half ton car very far with that.
Ahh gotcha. Honestly this car is already much more practical than some of the old 50s and 60s concept cars (especially the "out there" ones like the Ford Nucleon... like the name sounds like, the power source was going to be a nuclear reactor on the car.)
This kind of concept would actually be possible with the piezoelectric stuff that's (finally...) been developed to turn all kinds of footsteps, etc. into electricity (along with maybe a more conventional generator or two in the seat or something.) Just due to physics it'll have to be plugged in but you'll actually be (slightly..) cutting down on the power it pulls through the power plug.
Oh, plus lolz to the comments of it being like Flintstones. Very true it is isn't it 8-).