Posted on 12/22/2008 9:07:00 PM PST by Schnucki
THE Carver One resembles a giant mechanical insect, yet its bizarre looks give no hint that the three-wheeler has moves to rival a “Dancing With the Stars” finalist.
It works like this: When steering into a corner, the front wheel and the passenger cabin lean like a motorcycle. Flick the steering wheel back and forth and the Carver bobs left and right like a prizefighter dodging jabs.
Meanwhile, the two rear wheels, along with the 4-cylinder engine mounted between them, remain parallel to the road. Hold the steering steady and the cabin quickly rights itself.
Engineered in the Netherlands and built in Germany, the Carver One is promoted as the world’s only available tilting car. Its balancing act is controlled by a high-tech hydraulic system that Carver calls Dynamic Vehicle Control. Linked to the steering, it calculates a lean angle based on vehicle speed and the cornering forces on the front wheel.
The Carver One tilts to a 45-degree maximum, which could be handy for picking up dropped change at a parkway toll booth or a fast food drive-thru.
As appealing as that may sound in today’s economy, don’t head off to the local auto mall for a test drive; the Carver is not offered in the United States (and sales this year will total only about 200, the company said). My test drive required a trip to the headquarters of Carver Europe, here in the western part of the Netherlands, about 15 miles southeast of Rotterdam.
Anton van den Brink, the company’s co-founder, said the idea for the Carver came to him while he was stuck in a Paris traffic jam about 20 years ago. Noticing that most cars had only a driver inside, he reasoned that a small three-wheel car would be vastly more efficient for transporting
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sounds like fun, but they have to bring the price WAY down.
Looks like the photographer needed a gyroscope for his camera - or he needs to lay off the Dutch beer.
It looks like fun. It’s pathetic, though, that something that small and that accelerates like a bored tortoise gets only 40 mpg. I drove a car in England that seated four and their luggage (to be sure, it was tight) and got better mileage than that.
In Sunday’s newspaper, I wrote about the Carver One, which looks like something from the future. But General Motors came up with a tilting three-wheeler about 25 years ago.
In 1982, G.M. introducted a skinny and streamlined concept car, aptly named The Lean Machine.
Preston Bruning, former chief designer of advanced vehicle concepts at G.M., was one of the lead designers of the vehicle. “It was originally an engineering staff proposal,” he said in a recent telephone interview.
The idea was first proposed by Frank Winchell, then head of Chevrolet’s research and development department. And the vehicle was to be developed as “a different way of approaching high-mileage solutions,” said Mr. Bruning, who is now retired.
As the concept evolved, Mr. Bruning spearheaded a variety of designs, including a military version (equipped with a fake machine gun) and even an airborne model. The latter version — pardon the pun — never got off the ground.
It might be hard to imagine G.M. — criticized for investing so heavily in gas-guzzling S.U.V.’s — creating a tilting vehicle built to squeeze every drop out of a gallon of gas. But when the Lean Machine made its first public appearance – at the World of Motion exhibit at Epcot in Florida – memories of oil embargoes and gas lines remained fresh in the public’s mind.
Mr. Bruning explained that the Lean Machine was capable of high mileage, which is an understatement. One prototype equipped with a 38-horsepower, 2-cylinder engine (taken from a snowmobile) averaged 100 to 150 miles a gallon. Yet, like the Carver One, the Lean Machine’s biggest party trick was its tilting mechanism.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Like, down by 90%.
I love the idea of a tiny little one- or two-seater, no meaningful cargo space, a Tata or a Smart. Plug-in hybrid or all-electric. I don't need a lot of comfort features.
But with those limitations, it won't be capable enough to be my only vehicle, and if I have to keep two, one of 'em is gonna have to be cheap. Get me an econobox for under $10K, and you'll seriously pique my interest. Under $5K, and I'll get on the waiting list.
Oh, and I’d need a gimballed cup-holder, like the ones for boats. Cheap car or not, I can’t do the morning commute without caffeine.
I am in 100% agreement except the hybrid or all-electric.
I don't like the battery issue of the hybrids, or the issue of heat in winter. (We don't really "need" A/C here in Seattle and my current car doesn't have it.) Plug-is another issue, even though we have at present relatively cheap electricity and my commute is short enough that electric would work.
Get it down to the $5-8k range and this would become my primary commute/local-business vehicle (the nearest commercial businesses are some 5 miles away).
Tiltvernugen?
Volkstiltvernugen?
Volksfarvertiltvernugen?
Tilt-a-whirl!
I’m particular to Mark’s
JUICY MUSIC
http://juicymusicaudio.com/
Class A Triode Linestage Preamp
Peach
Sorry, Workin on the analog stuff
see # 18
Messerschmidt!
Yup, we are just recreating the wheel here.
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