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45 Comments
- mbfielding, on 01/26/2009, -3/+16So you're building a nice aerodynamic car that's going to use wind powered turbines to generate electricity? Sounds horribly inefficient.
- pOwErEdByNOS, on 01/21/2009, -0/+10Except that it will use more energy to get it up to speed than will be regenerated by the turbines spinning. You can't just create power from nowhere. You will have a higher wind resistance with these integrated turbines.
- crazlunatic, on 01/21/2009, -2/+12so there are mini wind mills inside this car? all looks really cool but I bet you we won't be seeing anything close to a prototype for a few years. Wish they'd push stuff like this out faster
- inactive, on 01/21/2009, -0/+9This car just seems like someone's pipe dream to me. I'd like to actually see how it works. A drawing is a drawing.
Also, "inspired by nature?" That car looks like it's been in an accident. - jcsoc, on 01/21/2009, -0/+9My concept car design will clean the air, solve global warming by itself and make you muffins
- brainflakes, on 01/21/2009, -0/+8What? Air intakes that spin turbines to power the car??? Somebody doesn't understand conservation of energy!
- SiliconRain, on 01/21/2009, -0/+7This is just a concept by a designer/artist with zero engineering or science knowledge.
So there are air intakes that turn turbines that charge the battery? Where does he think the energy in the moving air comes from? Forcing air through the turbines will create drag, requiring more energy from the battery to push the car forward.
Given the inefficiencies in doing so and the extra energy required to carry around the turbines, there would be a net loss in energy and so you would be better without them at all. I wouldn't have thought the first law of thermodynamics was beyond the understanding of a car designer.
Electric cars have been and are being tried all over the place. This brings nothing to the table. - nowhereelse, on 01/21/2009, -0/+6Placing the battery compartment high up also struck me as particularly stupid. The heaviest component of the car should be as low as possible to prevent it flipping over when cornering.
- anagoge, on 01/21/2009, -0/+5It looks like something Batman has in his garage.
- deathcapt, on 01/21/2009, -0/+5This is just like people who "design Mechs" by drawing a picture of one with tags like "engine" "laser gun". The wind turbines are counter productive, the car is using electricity to move forwards, and then converting that forward motion back into electricity and each conversion is looking at no where near 100% efficiency. Unless these are going to be some form of air brakes that are only open when the car is stopping. Otherwise you're better off just using juice from the batteries to power the air purifier or what-ever.
Also, it would be a hell of a lot more effective to put those air purifiers on the exhaust pipe of the coal burning power plants generating the electricity that's being used to charge the car.
the wind turbine Idea would work, but it would be like a windmill that deploys when you park the car, so it recharges the battery while the vehicle is resting.
He also forgot to throw solar panels all over the car... - WHauser, on 01/21/2009, -1/+5this is retarded.
- Hilyin, on 01/21/2009, -0/+4Does it come with optional waffle maker? I'd prefer waffles to muffins.
- JT3989, on 01/21/2009, -1/+5so how often will you have to replace those air filters and how much will they cost
- inactive, on 01/21/2009, -1/+5Apparently, good intentions will trump horribly inefficient, at least in the world of the physics/economics challenged. Too bad it's so different from the real world...
- srg13, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2It doesn't work - it's just a concept by some designer. If you actually tried building it, you'd probably find that the wind turbines would hardly generate any power at all - unless you just happened to be driving through cyclonic winds. And even then I doubt you'd get enough energy to power the actual car... In normal driving it would just create a lot of drag, meaning that you would in fact consume more power.
There are more design flaws than that - as somebody already said, putting a very heavy part like the battery so high up would make the thing very easy to roll going around corners... - linagee, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2It's all about marketing.
- Philbert, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2Mmmm... Muffins...
- inactive, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2That is the best description yet. Cool looking pictures but this person obviously lacks a even a highschool level understanding of physics.
- maverex, on 01/21/2009, -1/+3If you look at the image, there is some spelling and punctuation errors, let alone messed up sentence structure. Buried for retarded hippies posting some "future car concept" made by random amateurs.
- WHauser, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2seriously? If the production car doesn't look or function like the one in the picture then it isn't the same car. Period. Besides, there is no manufacturer.. the car was probably 'designed' by an 8th grader with a knack for drawing (and an inability to form coherent sentences).
- phosphite, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2This car is a lot of hot, err, cool air.
- linagee, on 01/21/2009, -0/+2Homer: "In this household we will obey the laws of thermodynamics!" (to Lisa)
- ShiftyBizniss, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1photoshopped
- MaxxusFlamus, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1I'm all for electric cars and renewable energy, etc etc.
This is retarded. What ***** thought this was a reputable idea?
Of course people thought of a removable battery pack. Cept a battery pack that can be removed will get you all of 2 yards. Unless you have a super battery that has yet to be invented. Drag on turbines- also stupid. All and all stupid. - linagee, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1Is there a fresh pine scent?
- gctoinfinity, on 01/21/2009, -1/+2aw, common now... let the kid dream that he can power a sailboat with an on-board fan. Don't crush is dreams.
- linagee, on 01/25/2009, -0/+1@srg13: Or a closer array of solar panels and some way to transmit the electricity. (A long stretch of redundant wires or something? Hahaha.)
- ShannonGB, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1It's just a concept okay, it doesn't mean it'll look and function like this if ever it gets produced. The manufacturers will surely think up of something more to make this as a viable means of transportation in the future.
- linagee, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1You can't make energy from nothing, but the sun has the most energy in our entire solar system and it's an untapped resource.
- pygmy, on 01/22/2009, -0/+1I'll drive it while wearing one of those new invisibility cloaks that are coming out soon
- abupu, on 01/22/2009, -0/+1great idea in theory, but which company will honestly be able to afford to produce something that costs so much more to clean the air and see no return for it financially? the government needs to back projects like this, but they never will in the short term. all great ideas, but if we solve all our problems too quickly without replacing them with more problems, why would be need a government at all? and trust me, they don't want that to happen.
- HippyJM, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1I love when people complain how things like this are ugly. Someone shows you a product that will not only run by its self, but also will end the dependency on foriegn oil and fossil fuel. This not only saves money but also cleans the air so it is contributing to cleaning up after the problems caused by a dependency to said fossil fuels. And people complain about how it looks. I don't care if it is only available in pink with Hello Kitty stickers. I would drive it and I would be appreciative of having it.
This is very cool. Drive these around and park them on trains to get from city to city.. - srg13, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1The only problem is that it losses a lot of intensity going through our atmosphere, meaning that you need massive arrays of solar cells to generate much electricity...
- srg13, on 01/21/2009, -0/+11. This isn't a company - it's a random guy's idea.
2. This will never be built. Your friend is right - the turbines would create drag, and you would use far more energy than if they weren't there at all. - esperoboy, on 01/22/2009, -0/+1Why don't normal car come with exhost filter?
- MikeFromAmerica, on 01/21/2009, -0/+1Or just lay down on a warm rock.
- promixr, on 05/11/2009, -0/+1That's why they call it a *concept* car... they will probably never build it, yet technologies from this research into cars may end up improving the manufacture and operation of cars in the future...
- EMTtech, on 01/21/2009, -2/+2I'll clean your air!
- sanosuke001, on 01/21/2009, -0/+0OH WTF?! I thought about that wind turbine idea a year or two ago and a friend of mine said it would cause too much drag on the vehicle.... I'm suing him for stopping me and suing this company for taking my idea ><
/cry - fulecar, on 01/21/2009, -0/+0who can guess what car is it？
http://blog.fulecar.com/cars-news/who-can-guess-wh ... - glintingember, on 01/21/2009, -0/+0@HippyJM - The car would not run by itself. The batteries would need to get charged by plugging it into a recharging station, and that electricity would likely come from a coal power plant.
Here's a link to the competition with the whole illustration:
http://www.local-motors.com/entry.php?e=531
I don't think people are complaining about the looks of the vehicle so much as they are noting that it wouldn't work.
As others have said, the idea of using the air moving through the car's intakes while it's driving to spin "wind mills" to generate electricity is rather idiotic. It would increase drag, thereby reducing the vehicle's total range. They would add nothing more than a net loss of energy. If the wind turbines came outside of the car when it was parked and went up a decent height then it would be able to generate electricity from that, and a few solar panels would certainly help, but even then it would still probably have to be plugged in (unless you let the car sit for long periods of time in the right weather conditions).
The idea of cleaning the air while it's driving is interesting, but what would it remove from the air exactly and how? There's no mention of this.
It's just an idea, and it's unfortunate that inhabitat featured it. No offense but an 8 year old could come up with the same concept that this imaginary car is based on (but cool graphics though). - lovemorgul, on 01/21/2009, -3/+2Ok, But compressed air is not pure or clean.
- rarefactory, on 01/21/2009, -1/+1When I was 9 I had a similar idea for a wind-powered electric car (or at least having the wind assist and lengthening the battery's charge). I thought I was going to be a millionaire.
Then I learned more about the physics involved and had my spirit crushed.
Nice design though, looks a bit like a futuristic Mini. I'd drive it. - grandhi, on 01/21/2009, -3/+1dugg for green apple...i love it...!!
- LetTheEgoSoar, on 01/21/2009, -5/+2As long as it gets him from "A" to Beef:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/683aef46cb/head-z ...
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