Swedish KR200-style Micro?

[AndrewG]

This may be vapourware, but a Swedish technology magazine has an article containing some nice 'modernised' KR200 images, such as this:



Ny-Teknik article and PDF.  The Vehiconomics web site hasn't got anything on the Smite.

Now, who can read Swedish?

Andrew

[Jawmedead]

Here it is translated in English.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&u=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nyteknik.se%2fpopular_teknik%2fteknikrevyn%2farticle532861.ece

[Jim Janecek]

A computer generated "example" is not a real car.

There are many "companies" trying to pitch new cars and get investors, many of them do not have anything beyond a drawing.
I receive several inquires throughout the year from "companies" that are looking for investors to "get in on the ground floor" of some "new" small car venture and all they have is a drawing.

You can "wrap" all kinds of graphics around a CG frame all day long, but in the end you have nothing but an image on your computer and nothing to drive.

[AndrewG]

I agree with Jim that there is no shortage of ideas and graphics - indeed, earning a living from investors while 'developing' an uneconomic idea is an excellent, if unprincipled, way of getting modestly wealthy....

However I got the impression that this is a real project, though there's many a slip twixt cup and production, as my grandmother would frequently say.  The "tomorrow" in this translation was 12 March, so you think there'd be a sign of it on Vehiconomics web site by now.  The $5,500 price seems rather optimistic - that's no more than some scooters.

Tomorrow new Swedish car company Vehiconomics will unveil a lightweight, three-wheeled economical vehicle the company hopes will begin to be seen in the streets of Swedish cities already in summer 2009. The first out, three-wheeled two-seater Smite, as it is currently called, weighs just 130 kilos (286 lbs.) and will cost under 50,000 Swedish crowns ($5,500), says Ny Teknik. It will debut in gas, ethanol, and all-electric versions, and is reported to have a top speed of 90 kilometers per hour - the clear opposite of that other famous Swedish vehicle, the Volvo.

Looks like a Messerschmitt, or a toy from Cars. 
Back at the end of WWII, very small, economical automobiles became popular in Europe for a time, many of them three wheelers and able to be licensed as motorcycles. They typically had aircraft-style bubble
canopies, giving rise to the term "bubble" cars. Many of them were manufactured in Germany and the UK, and their design was in response to the desire for personal transport and high fuel costs. Sound familiar?

Personal transport, high mileage, low price
Vehiconomics believes the large, heavy car era is over for urban transport. The Smite is built from extremely lightweight composite materials, and will draw about 1/5th of a liter of fuel for each 10 kilometers of travel (gas engine version). Smite will be just under 3 meters long, and according to its designers will be available in versions classed for up to 45 kilometers per hour as well as up to 90 kilometers per hour. Most small cars, the designers note, still weigh more than a ton and are constructed of aluminum.

But will it sell?
The Messerschmitt and other bubble cars were gradually overtaken by larger and larger cars during the oil-abundant era of cheap gas. Vehiconomics says it is targeting the Smite and other models toward those who want "safe city commuting." While the NY Teknik article on Smite generated lots of comment, skeptics noted that you might not want to meet a moose on a dark Swedish road driving the lightweight Smite. If Aptera can make thethree-wheeled 2e go and Zap can tout the Reservation, why not a low-cost Smite? Via: Ny Teknik

Andrew

[marcus]

Reading Jim's words reminded me of a thread on a drum forum. A fellow in Australia had seen a magazine article on some my drums and had decided to make his own version, and had done a lovely graphic of his design. Lots of people were going "Oooh" and "Aaaah, that's real neat, that's rilly cool" or "That sucks" according to taste, (and no prizes for guessing where that forum is based!).
 Although vaguely flattered that someone was immitating my design, I calmly pointed out that 1/2 inch / 12mm metal bar could not be bent to such tight radiuses and precise angles, (even with oxy-acetylene heating and formers) without it being massively expensive to tool up and produce. Even greater cost would result if he tried to do it as a PIC (Precision Investment Casting) or die casting. Also if it was done with carbon fibre or any other methods the cost would be astronomical.
It is SO easy to "design" objects on a computer, and many who do have little or no idea how real world materials behave.
That said, I like the idea of small compact vehicles for light commuting and shopping so good luck to this idea!

[blob]

There are many "companies" trying to pitch new cars and get investors, many of them do not have anything beyond a drawing.

Looks like they're following in the long tradition that many vintage companies followed back in the day. Many a time I've read the same story in a vintage article, "the car never went beyond the prototype stage" or "cars were pitched as half finished products" or simply stayed on the drawing board as figments of ones imagination.

[Chris Thomas]

Dear Dreamers

I always love to see designers dreams turned into graphics as the mental process of turning dreams into graphics is very inspiring for both the designer and the viewer/critic. The next stage of turning the graphic into a working product is perhaps the hardest part as it needs engineers to sort out the sort of technical problems that Marcus has explained. When you look at a finished product it looks easy but is far from easy. We can all see one item on a car that could be improved, but undertaking the improvement without affecting another component or dynamic is very difficult.

I say let designers dream on and even better if they get them into production, but at some stage all designs have to go through the graphic stage, even if it is on the back of a fag packet.

Chris Thomas

[marcus]

on the Smite.

Now, who can read Swedish?

I can't, but looking at the first link again i saw the pic of a Morgan, and I reckon the text beside it says British car maker Harry Morgan's first car was a 3 wheeler.
(I love Morgans 3wlrs!)

[Bob Purton]

Me too! Thats why we are hoping to have the celebration run stop off at the Morgan collection, you had better be there Marcus, gig or no gig! Cant the fez heads make do with a drum machine that day?

[marcus]

They can't even keep time with ME ! I keep having to change the beat when they speed up or slow down, but particularly when my darling brother shifts from the off-beat to the on beat, I mean, how difficult is 2 and 4 on the snare drum ?
2 or 3 years ago when some of the Morgans visited the RUM open day I did cadge a ride in one, a Morgan Matchless MX3, just about the best thing ever put on the road, and totally thrilling!

[Bob Purton]

No No Marcus you have it all wrong, playing behind the beat or ahead is artistic license, you just have to play rock steady to hold it all down! A machine does that perfectly, trouble is they don't stop start and paradiddle. Joking aside , I hate the things KEEP MUSIC LIVE!

[marcus]

Bob, you are so right about timing, tempo etc., in all bands, groups, orchestras etc.



BUT NOT IN THE FEZHEADS . An example: guitarist or bassist starts a song at wrong tempo...I get the blame...even though I have not yet even STARTED ! I keep a very solid beat, with very little flummery, but they will still lose it! Sometimes it's the beer's fault

[Bob Purton]

Oh dear! I wouldn't like to play with that lot. We used to do that sort of thing sometimes for a joke. There is a Shadows number we used to play called "The Savage", the rhythm  guitar part is not so much fast as frantic! I could just about keep it up but after three minutes my arm would be about to drop off! Our wag of a drummer would start off just a tad too fast, just enough to make it physically impossible to get the strokes in. Oh, they thought that was hilarious!

[marcus]

Aha, too fast eh? Well I get MY REVENGE, because they insist on doing Wipe Out. I actually do not like that song, it is just fast 4s, and does not swing despite being a drum feature, so I always play it FAST and FURIOUS to really toast them! (I think there are some phone-cam clips on you tube)

[Bob Purton]

I think you pointed out before that it was unusual that we as an instro band didn't play wipe-out, its for the same reason, non of us like it either!