China’s “NEW” Little Car

1 12 2014

I can’t help wondering what the future holds for machines like this…… it’s still personal transport, it still emits CO2 in its manufacture (and the ratio of manufacture to driving emissions is far higher than in the case of building a conventional car, seeing its remarkable fuel consumption). I think we should be saving all the fossil fuels we have now left to build low amounts of renewables for the future, not private transport…… what do you think?

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Date : 01/12/2014
Categories : design

15 responses

1 12 2014: Chris Harries (08:18:09) :

China is also producing tens of millions of electric bikes and scooters.

I think that if we insist on evidence-based science on climate change that we ought to also insist on evidence-based science for remedial climate policies. All the evidence that I’ve seen so far, and this seems to be accepted, is that an EV car has a similar carbon footprint to a efficient internal combustion engined car having similar performance. That is, if the energy source is fossil fuelled electricity – which is the case through most of the world.

This means if I go out and buy an EV I do nothing to remediate climate change, even though I may feel good about it.

However, size does matter a lot. My guesstimate is that for every person who invests in an electric assist bicycle half of them decide to dispense with a car altogether (I’m going on anecdotal evidence in the population that I know). SO whilst I try to dampen the environmental enthusiasm for EV cars, I’ve been an advocate for electric assist bikes.

A second reason for doing so is that many people I know don’t feel fit enough to cycle everywhere in hilly Hobart, but can do so with some electric assist. And to add to this observation, a local bike retailer says the main interest in electric assist bikes comes from the over 50 year old demographic.

A third reason is that chubby, unfit people who buy EV bikes tend to actually get into better health more easily.

Getting back to the micro car, some of the above observations also apply here. It’s a step to ‘powering down’. My main reservation would be on quality. If the product is shabbily built then it’s just another piece of Chinese junk.

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1 12 2014: pendantry (09:44:44) :

if I go out and buy an EV I do nothing to remediate climate change

While that’s true, it does make you ‘renewable-energy-ready’ for when solar/wind/tidal power really takes off (assuming it’s ever given the opportunity).

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1 12 2014: Nathan A (11:45:15) :

I believe this article is largely fake. I remember seeing it earlier in the year. I thought it was debunked at Snopes, but I ended up Googling it and found this:

http://www.jefflewis.net/blog/2013/03/cool_car_e-mail_debunking_-_ch.html

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1 12 2014: Idiocracy (13:43:53) :

Yep, it’s fake… that was the 2002 concept car, the XL1 limited production model is Europe only and costs a GOOD BIT 🙂 more than $600.

To your question though Mike, yes we are totally pissing away this finite resource (petroleum) and we should be using it much more wisely. Private transport aside, how much does all levels/forms of motorsport guzzle each year? Not to mention agricultural machinery… but hey, the economy’s gotta grow!

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1 12 2014: mikestasse (14:41:35) :

The XL1 was a bigger car that sat two people and had a 1L 3 cylinder engine… this may be a spin off, but I too find the $600 price tag hard to swallow, my bicycle cost way more than that!
2 12 2014: EtyerePetyere (10:06:53) :

600$ car ! It is an economical impossibility . Unless you want to make a loss of 10,000 $ on each unit . This is ridiculous

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2 12 2014: EtyerePetyere (10:33:37) :

To give it another spin My Dad who lives in europe Just bought himself a car a VW Golf Mark 7 Bluemotion TDI that car gets an astounding 88miles / gallon official test and that car sits 5!!!! FIVE people comfortably and a shitload of luggage on top of it so that makes it to a 440 miles per gallon per person car plus substantial portion of luggage not like this shoe box And it does this with no hybrid battery shenanigans just plain otto diesel engine tweaked to the highest level of german automobile technology now that car the Golf Mark 7 1,6liter TDI bluemotion designed and sold to the euro market does this for something like 27,000$ But the shoe box the Chinese allegedly making will do it for 600$ you kidding ??_!! How can one believe something like this ?? and post it as something to be admired and to be followed .. ?? The Germans need to be following the Chinese in automobile technology Or the Americans ? C`mon ! This is absolute laughable . The chinese those folks never in their entire existence had one original idea ever not since the huan dynasty at least 2000 years ago . Like if we would just be able to do like the chinese do it would be all good . Ridiculous

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2 12 2014: mikestasse (10:43:55) :

I don’t necessarily post stuff as “something to be admired and to be followed”, sometimes something is just interesting and worthy of discussion….. and we’ve had good discussion here, including yours.

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2 12 2014: EtyerePetyere (11:03:35) :

Ok No hard feelings we are all trying to hahaha (stop making sense ???!!!) The way i see it . We have reached the very pinnacles of efficiencies in technologies . Also technology is Not energy and however and howmuch technology we are trying to use to tweak existing tech we wont be able to squeeze much more out of it . So this is running its course . Those backward folks they are throwing low paid manpower and dirty energy into the mix to keep them afloat since all they cared about up until lately how to procreate in mindnumbing numbers and now they are running short so they have to run like hell to not drown in their own shit . Not something i want to follow them to . This whole business with energy and cars and big cityes and billions of people is now running its course . I know it they , the masses don`t want to know it don`t want to educate themselves and see it so what they are left with this running . I am just watching and laughing . So don`t take yourself seriously if you do you are one of them

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2 12 2014: brendoncrook (19:21:11) :

EtyerePetyere,
I know & have met the owner of this blog more than once & I can can tell you from personal experience this man is DEFINITELY not one of the dumb masses that live their lives in either total denial or ignorant bliss. I’ve learnt much from him & his blog.
I agree with what you’ve written about the levels of technology & energy nearing it’s end. The perceptive & feeling among our species certainly know somethings amiss…………………………………………

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3 12 2014: Idiocracy (20:01:33) :

Hear hear! Mike (aka Mr whatever his name who owns this blog is 😛 ) does us all a great service with this blog. And I’m very thankful for it.

And Mr Petyere, I hope you’re doing more then just “watching and laughing” otherwise it won’t matter how educated you, you’ll very quickly find yourself in the same boat as the masses as it all unfolds.

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3 12 2014: EtyerePetyere (03:21:31) :

I know i know .. But this was to big of a fake news to not call it . Of course Mr whatever his name who owns this blog is ok . I did not mean it personal i post general for the audience for fun for comedy and madness positive madness . it is all we can do at this point to get a good laugh out of it . And piss of them folks who think they cam make it .. hahahaha I love to see them angry and all wind up . what else oh yes of course the good fight for the greater good i just discovered this Latin verse i thought it was remarkable .Una salus victus nullam sperare salutem- Keep fighting, for you are already dead

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4 12 2014: Chris Harries (16:10:31) :

It has always been feasible to manufacture very high efficiency IC vehicles, but until now there’s hasn’t been the stimulus to do so. Climate change and Oil depletion and emission standards have provided that stimulus.
My educated guess, re the worlds future vehicle fleet, is that very efficient IC engined cars will out perform EVs in all three areas, performance, purchase cost and carbon footprint. And this will be the case no matter whether the EVs are charged from solar, wind or coal fired power. If that sounds challenging than look back through this website on cradle-to-grave energy input / output analyses.

Nothing will stop the development of EVs, but we should abandon any simplistic notion that this technology switch will just automatically happen. I’m not in the new car market, but if I was I would go for a high efficiency IC – on environmental grounds.

Our first priority should be to get away from private motorised transport modes wherever that is practical.

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21 12 2014: Daniel Bon (01:50:32) :

well the BMW Isetta helped BMW sales big time with a ‘similar’ car

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7 01 2015: Chris Harries (17:10:29) :

Here’s a further demonstration of what car manufacturers can do when they have the incentive to:
http://www.caradvice.com.au/278476/peugeot-308-euro-coty-claims-fuel-economy-record-with-new-three-cylinder-petrol-engine/

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