The HumanCar: Bedrock Hotrod, 2010 Edition

[gm0n3y]

[citation][nom]elbert[/nom]If it was all aluminum body this would be a very good price. I guess this is carbon fiber tho. Nice ideal![/citation]
Aluminum is many times heavier than CF.

I don't understand how people are supposed to 'row' and steer at the same time. And why not make it leg powered too/instead? Your legs are the strongest muscles in your body providing more power and tiring less quickly. The only application I can see these being used for is as a kitschy niche vehicle used around university campuses, theme parks, etc.

That being said, I think it would be cool to have optional pedals added to a regular electric car. These would only be used by the passengers (unless we have steering wheel mounted controls) and could be detached or folded away. America (and the rest of the Western world) has an obesity problem and exercising to save transportation costs is something people might actually do. I'd exercise more often if I could see a dollar value generated. You could even just hook a stationary bike up to your battery charger at home.

 

[joebob2000]

[citation][nom]gm0n3y[/nom]I'd exercise more often if I could see a dollar value generated. You could even just hook a stationary bike up to your battery charger at home.[/citation]

You would probably be so terribly disappointed if you actually knew the costs involved as to be demotivated entirely. A gallon of gasoline has about 33,000 Kcals in it. If it costs $2.50 to buy one, that's once cent per 132 Kcals. Even if you had a 100% efficient means to convert your effort into energy for your car to use, this means that you need to do the equivalent of jogging for a solid hour (about 600 kcal/hr) to "earn" 4.5 cents worth of gas.

 

[tkgclimb]

I don't think this is supposed to be the next big leap of transportation, but a stepping stone in developmental technologies.

As for saying why not buy a bike, you can't go sixty with a bike

 

[djmpsf]

OMG, they took a kids Tonka toy car and made it for big people.....WHY?

 

[HavoCnMe]

Pretty sweet for arm powered transportation. but come on $15k, i can get a smartcar with extra's for that. Image hopping into that after the bar.....But on the safety note: any airbags or seat belts? How does it hold up smashing in a wall at top speed? Will it be totaled or will it survive to be come a salvage title?

 

[warezme]

I have a 2004 Ford pickup truck I paid off 2 yrs ago, it has 40,000 miles, I fill up once every 1.5 months, costs me $55 - $65 depending on price of gas, thats approximately $520 a year on gas and 2 oil changes because it equals to roughly 6,000 miles/yr (2 changes at 3,000) for a grand total of $620/yr to keep my used car going. It would take me 25yrs to pay of that butt ugly thing assuming I survived daily traffic. No thanks

 

[vider]

Most of you are short sited. People will buy this, it will help the creator of this car invest into his invention, improvements will be possible as budget will grow. Think long term. I hope it really works.