Sounds like fun, but they have to bring the price WAY down.
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 ...
I bet it’s a gas to drive on a curving road, just like a motorcycle.
Any turn on a motorcycle pushes you directly downwards onto the seat. There is no side to side motion, ever, unless you’re about to lay it down.
A tight turn in a car, on the other hand, slides you across the seat into the door handle or parking brake.
1400 pounds!
Who is going to drive this who would not also be happy on a motorcycle? Since motorcycles already exist, what is the purpose of this machine?
Frankly, motorcycles, ridden conservatively, have the ability to avoid many, many accidents that an automobile will helplessly skid into. If this contraption gives away any of the braking and maneuverability of a motorcycle, it will be the worst of all possible worlds, safety wise.
So it is slower than a Nissan Sentra and gets worse milage to boot. To achieve this great feat it gives up two seats, a trunk, airbags, anti-lock brakes and any pretense of dignity.
What is the purpose of this machine, again?
Not a diesel but still looks like fun to drive.
As long as it tilts within 5 seconds, you can also pick up the fries that you dropped.
