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> If you want a vehicle that is large enough to hold a human and can push air out of the way at 60 mph But do we really need to go 60 mph? Vehicles seem to be

> If you want a vehicle that is large enough to hold a human and can push air out of the way at 60 mph But do we really need to go 60 mph? Vehicles seem to be optimized for less-common use cases (e.g. 5 people in the car traveling 60 mph) instead of their more common uses (e.g. one person commuting at 30-40 mph). I, for one, would like to see smaller vehicles - NOT SmartCars and the like but an actual rethinking of the car that would be optimized for the single person commute.

guptaneil 15y ago
I suppose this depends on where you live, but going above 60mph is normal usage for me. In fact, a minimum speed limit of 45mph on freeways is fairly common (unless you can't due to traffic, of course).
- GFischer 15y ago
  On the other hand, I've never been able to drive above 45 mph on my normal commute, I'm only able to do so when I go on holidays. Some cities are just not planned for cars (European cities like Vienna for example, where you cannot enter the downtown, or some South American cities like Montevideo). I used to have a Maruti car and it was plenty for 99% of the time, and I'd buy a low-range electric/hydrogen/whatever car if it was cheap and offered me a better mileage equivalent.
jessriedel 15y ago
Fuel economy can only improve by a factor of order unity (typically, less than 2) by changing speeds. And as I said, vehicle size is also incapable of reaching the orders of magnitude needed.
mindslight 15y ago
They're called bicycles, motorcycles, buses, and trains. The first two give up protection from the elements, the second two give up independence. Keeping both the constraints nets you a single-person car-like device with say a 30hp motor - somewhat more efficient, but not enough to drive adoption. Gasoline (and energy in general) just isn't expensive enough for any of the alternatives to be taken seriously (infrastructure-wise) anywhere but dense urban areas.
subpixel 15y ago
When visiting family in SC and FL I usually gag when I see people driving around (even running errands) in golf carts. Maybe I should give them a high-five instead.
calloc 15y ago
My commute is mostly highway, at 65 Mph. The most common use case for my vehicle is thus very different from yours. Your vehicle would add extra time to my commute, and would not be useful for me in any situations where I am travelling long distance (120 km/h is the norm in Europe, that is about 75 Mph) I want to go faster, I don't want my trip to take even longer.

guptaneil 15y ago

I suppose this depends on where you live, but going above 60mph is normal usage for me. In fact, a minimum speed limit of 45mph on freeways is fairly common (unless you can't due to traffic, of course).

GFischer 15y ago
On the other hand, I've never been able to drive above 45 mph on my normal commute, I'm only able to do so when I go on holidays. Some cities are just not planned for cars (European cities like Vienna for example, where you cannot enter the downtown, or some South American cities like Montevideo). I used to have a Maruti car and it was plenty for 99% of the time, and I'd buy a low-range electric/hydrogen/whatever car if it was cheap and offered me a better mileage equivalent.

jessriedel 15y ago

Fuel economy can only improve by a factor of order unity (typically, less than 2) by changing speeds. And as I said, vehicle size is also incapable of reaching the orders of magnitude needed.

mindslight 15y ago

They're called bicycles, motorcycles, buses, and trains. The first two give up protection from the elements, the second two give up independence. Keeping both the constraints nets you a single-person car-like device with say a 30hp motor - somewhat more efficient, but not enough to drive adoption. Gasoline (and energy in general) just isn't expensive enough for any of the alternatives to be taken seriously (infrastructure-wise) anywhere but dense urban areas.

subpixel 15y ago

When visiting family in SC and FL I usually gag when I see people driving around (even running errands) in golf carts. Maybe I should give them a high-five instead.

calloc 15y ago

My commute is mostly highway, at 65 Mph. The most common use case for my vehicle is thus very different from yours. Your vehicle would add extra time to my commute, and would not be useful for me in any situations where I am travelling long distance (120 km/h is the norm in Europe, that is about 75 Mph) I want to go faster, I don't want my trip to take even longer.