RE: Must See! Beautiful Pre-Production Tango!

["Arnaud Hubert" <arnaud@siliconvalleyfrogs.com>]

The logic that smaller -or narrower- cars make for less traffic jam doesn't
work.

In Europe, even though people drive smaller and narrower vehicles, traffic
jams are very bad too. In fact, I drove in and around Paris for almost 10
years (not everyday though, thanks for an excellent public transportation
system - when there is no strike), and I can tell you that none of the
traffic jams I've seen in California comes nearly close to what you can
experience in the Paris area at rush hour. The fact that many people drive
small cars such as Golfs, Clios, or even smaller ones such as Smarts, and
that many other communters use motorcycles or mopeds doesn't make things any
easier (especially since Southern European two-wheeled drivers tend to
slalom dangerously between cars).

Also, I'm really not sure allowing Tangos to drive side by side in one lane
makes sense nor would be very safe. Don't forget that one of the reasons
motorcycles are allowed this is because many riders travel by groups.
It is unlikely that you will see the same behavior with Tango drivers, who
are likely to be drivers who are not "riding" together. When the one who is
driving on the left side of the left lane wants to exit the freeway to the
right, the situation could become very dangerous. I'm really not sure it
would very safe to allow this, and I'm pretty sure it won't be allowed.

In other words, smaller or narrower cars don't mean less traffic congestion,
and you don't buy your way out of a traffic jam with a narrower vehicle,
unless you break traffic laws and drive dangerously.

A. Hubert


-----Message d'origine-----
De : owner-ev@listproc.sjsu.edu [mailto:owner-ev@listproc.sjsu.edu]De la
part de Rick Woodbury
Envoyé : dimanche 27 janvier 2002 17:18
À : EV List List
Objet : RE: Must See! Beautiful Pre-Production Tango!


Chris Tromley wrote:

> I split lanes for many years in CA.  I think that, properly executed,
> it's a safe, efficient means to reduce traffic.  I certainly wouldn't do
> it on a Gold Wing (yes, others do), and a Tango is nearly as wide.  I
> also know that many CA drivers positively *despise* lane-splitters.

Agreed. Pushing this could possibly get the right for motorcycles revoked as
well. The logic is just that whatever is legal for a motorcycle should be
legal for a vehicle that's narrower than some motorcycles, much safer, and
is zero emission as well.

> Extending the practice to cars, even special ones, will meet with some
> resistance.

Allowing EVs in the HOV lane met with resistance too. It still happened.

> If you took it a step further and proposed it for other
> states, they'd think you had truly lost your mind.  (I say that with
> confidence, having lived in three states outside CA.)

I agree with this too. I wouldn't expect Washington state, for example, to
adopt a policy like this unless it really started making a huge difference
in California. If it clearly solves more problems than it creates, why
wouldn't other states follow suit?

> My apologies.  I wasn't referring to your comments, but those on the
> Commuter Cars site http://www.commutercars.com/.  On the home page is
> this quote, "The Tango, the first vehicle produced by Commuter Cars, is
> a glimpse into the future of commuting where we hope wasted time,
> energy, and freeway real estate due to traffic jams will be things of
> the past."  This is right under an artist's rendition of two Tangos
> side-by-side in a single lane.

This may be overly optimistic, but maybe not. Traffic seems to slow down
exponentially as it reaches saturation. If a situation developed where
people could commute in the 2 narrow left hand lanes at 70 mph or be stuck
in a lane with full-sized cars and trucks at 0 to 10 mph and back to 0; and
if the narrow cars were not too expensive, people might just buy them
because there would now be a way to buy yourself out of a traffic jam. If
this kept developing to the point that 80% of the worlds commuters drove
narrow vehicles, it could virtually end traffic jams. If not end them, it
would certainly make a huge improvement in traffic flow. If 80% of the
commuters were driving zero emission cars, the world would also be changed
for the better for cleaner air as well. Maybe it won't work, but it's the
most promising idea I've had so far. While I'm dreaming, I'd love to see
train ferries too for the longer commute. I hate driving long distances.
With short cars like the Smart, Sparrow, and Tango, and all motorcycles, you
could have ramps up to double decked train cars and park them all sideways.
When you reached your destination you'd just drive off the other side. I
love taking the ferry in the Seattle area. You have a half an hour to wander
around the boat, have a Latte, read the paper, or sleep. It sure beats
driving in a traffic jam. You'd have your own personal transportation and
storage then at both ends. To me this is even better than a station car.
Having my storage space travel with me is very useful. Those who require
more space than a Tango, Sparrow, or Motorcycle, could use a Smart or
possibly, for an additional fee, have their truck or SUV loaded
longitudinally.

> On the Safety page is this quote, "The Tango--being 6" narrower than
> many motorcycles--takes less than half the space of the average car on
> the freeway, thereby doubling the capacity of the existing freeway
> system.

This is an error. It should read "existing freeway lanes"

> The Tango can fit in a future 6 foot lane easier than a truck
> fits in a standard 12 foot lane."
>
> Think about it - how are you going to mark the lanes?  A simple lane
> change for a normal car would then be a "double" lane change.  Can you
> adequately see what's going on in two mini-lanes before moving over?
> We're talking about changing a lot of laws here, and reprogramming a lot
> of drivers' reflexes.

The left lane(s) would be reserved for narrow cars just like the HOV lane is
reserved multiple occupants. When your not in a special lane, you just
navigate traffic as if you were on a motorcycle--no better--no worse.
The stripe down the center making the narrow lanes could be purple, and
might be obeyed only during certain hours. Drivers of normal cars wouldn't
have to program anything other than stay out of the lanes--just like
everybody who drives solo has to stay out of the HOV lane, unless you're in
an EV of course :^)

> Someone at Commuter Cars thinks they can make major changes in the
> highway system, if not "change the world" (I'm thinking there's not much
> difference ;^).

All of us at Commuter Cars, all 3 of us, Bryan, Michael, a mechanical
engineering intern from Saarbrüken, Germany, and myself, believe that we can
help others change the world. We're just trying to supply a product that
people will like so that if people build and buy them, the world will be a
better place because of it.

> I truly admire the spirit, but realistically I have to
> say it ain't gonna happen.  Prove me wrong, and no one will be happier
> than me.

I think it's gonna happen. I don't think it can be stopped. If we all drop
dead, someone else will do it. I might just take longer.

BTW, I've seen "change the world" which everybody does to some degree and
"save the world" which is a whole different matter, used interchangeably.
You've heard what I think about changing the world, now I want to slip in a
few OT words about saving the world. I think that Sept. 11 was just a tip of
the iceberg. What if Osama had been able to buy a hydrogen bomb. To save the
world I think we need to stop ticking people off. If countries like the U.S.
put as much energy into feeding and educating the less fortunate in the
world as it does protecting its own interests, we might not have so many
people so angry that they would do as much damage as was done.

When I got back from Québec, next to our company's front door, I found an
American Flag with the words United we Stand written under it. It struck me
as exactly the kind of thinking that perpetuates the whole problem. I had
the flag removed an replaced with a photo of the planet earth as seen from a
satellite. It's not clear which countries are in view because of the cloud
cover. So let's stand united against Klingons and Romulins and any other
ruthless space aliens, unless they really exist--then we'll have to replace
the photo of earth with a photo of our galaxy. As Shanti Deva a famous
Buddhist once asked. "When to myself, as to my fellow beings, fear and pain
are hateful, why do I protect it and not others. This attitude, I believe,
will save the world.

> I think your suggestion of a narrow vehicle classification is much more
> achievable.  That's where Commuter Cars' advertising rhetoric should be
> directed.  I believe it would give the company a more practical "here
> and now" image than suggesting changes in how highways are laid out and
> navigated.

The above comment is referring to our long-term goal, not our marketing
strategy. We have a waiting list of people who want to buy Tangos. We don't
need to sell any now. We need to build them. The web page and our brochure
is directed to potential investors, suppliers, and automotive companies that
may help us toward the stated goal.

Our marketing strategy is to try to beat any production gasoline cars,
including Ferraris, Porsches, and Lamborghinis, around a road course like
Laguna Seca or Sears point and have the automotive press witness it. It
would hopefully be on the covers of the auto magazines. People would
hopefully covet the exotic and expensive Tango until we could build enough
of them to bring the price down to that of an affordable commuter car.

There's no need to ever sell what we don't have--like narrow lanes, Li-Ion
batteries, lane splitting and the like. We want the Tango to sell despite
the fact that it's electric with its known drawbacks. We think we've come up
with a winning package. A car that has more advantages than disadvantages
for millions of people--and it's producible right now.

I think I've written long enough. I hope I haven't ticked anyone off.

Best wishes,

Rick Woodbury                                     Phone: (509) 624-0762
President, Commuter Cars Corporation          Toll-free: (800) 468-0944
Doubling the capacity of freeways                   Fax: (509) 624-1466
Quadrupling the capacity of parking            Cellular: (509) 979-1815
Zero to 60 in under 4 seconds
715 E. Sprague Ave., Suite 114             Email: rick@commutercars.com
Spokane, WA 99202                      Web: http://www.commutercars.com