Ready to Tango?

Good heavens! Looks like the picture was taken near a cemetary. I guess that's where you would end up the first time you tried to corner this thing - unless it leans.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stuartinho @ Aug 22 2006, 12:12 PM) [snapback]307573[/snapback]</div>

It has a very low center of gravity. They have a website w/ videos and such.

 

So... what's the point?

A plug-in Prius offer several practical advantages.

 

Tango? Won't we need two?

 

That is the worst looking car ever. Why not build an electric vehicle that more than .75 people can ride in? I don't think it's even wide enough for me.

 

Well it is an interesting idea, and they are definitely trying something different which is admirable. I don't think I would want to drive one though. It seems like it would be fun and at the same time seems horribly claustrophobic.

And how about the price tag? You could buy 4 Prii for the price of the T600!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Aug 22 2006, 10:33 AM) [snapback]307623[/snapback]</div>

Unless,

it is the last one in Paris B)

 

I think this is an awesome concept.

And a T100 projected at under $20K, it would be perfect for my 66 mile round trip commute.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Aug 22 2006, 12:52 PM) [snapback]307594[/snapback]</div>

A plug-in Prius is also a great concept and I'm sure it will fit the bill for many people, perhaps even me. But at what price tag?

The point is, the promise of a fast, reasonable range all-electric 2-seat commuter for under $20K (T100) has me absolutely salivating. I don't necessarily want or need a jack-knife that has 50 gadgets on it. I'll use a knife when I need a knife and I will use a pair of scissors when I need a pair of scissors. They're both sharp bladed tools, but are intended for different purposes. Then I would be free to buy whatever long-range vehicle suited my needs. Perhaps it will be a plug-in Prius.

I came across the Tango website about a year ago and I've been keeping an eye on them ever since.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(M. Knight @ Aug 22 2006, 02:09 PM) [snapback]307651[/snapback]</div>

Comparable to the introduction of the Tesla Roadster. They've got to start somewhere.

It isn't like a GM or Ford or Toyota is absorbing the R&D and startup costs on the initial production

 

They need to make it look like a Lightbike from Tron!

 

Likely, none of us remember the early days of the petroleum powered cars, in the 1920's, when there were car manufacturers springing up like dandelions. Some of the cars produced then were so far ahead of their time that they didn't catch on because they didn't catch the imagination of the public. Some were ridiculous designs and deservedly failed.

It's exciting to see this happening again in the transition away from gasoline powered vehicles. The Tango is an interesting concept car, but the main reason for its shape and width, i.e., to increase the carrying capacity of highways by cutting the car width in half, is untenable because it would only be practical if virtually all cars were 39in wide. That probably won't happen, so what we're left with as we drive our Tango, is a car that is too narrow to be visible enough to the fat cars now dominating the roadways. Motorcycles suffer from the visibility problem because of their narrow width. The Tango is, basically, a covered electric motorcycle.

It makes more sense to go the Smart Car approach and make the car shorter rather than narrower. Length doesn't affect visibility (your visibility to other drivers) as much as width.

Seems to me that the biggest frontier here is in battery technology. I saw a photo of the interior of a car which was incinerated by a (defective Dell) laptop computer battery that caught fire. I think the driver escaped uninjured, but the car is a total. Lithium Ion batteries have this nasty tendency to ignite if conditions are right, and if this is what a laptop battery can do, I would hesitate to ride around in an electric car powered by same wondering what those batteries would do if they ignited and I was, say, on Interstate 5 doing 60 mph.

What is George Clooney doing with these electric cars? He just bought the first Tesla roadster for 100k.

Bob

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(floydenheimer @ Aug 22 2006, 04:10 PM) [snapback]307732[/snapback]</div>

I love these! If only I could figure out how the front wheel is attached, and how they steer!

 

LOL..thats funny !

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bob Allen @ Aug 22 2006, 04:16 PM) [snapback]307738[/snapback]</div>

Width has a bigger effect on drag though.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rancid13 @ Aug 22 2006, 10:54 AM) [snapback]307559[/snapback]</div>

This coming from the woman with ironfisted control over her husband. Very suspicious...

Too funny!

 

if i had the money i would buy myself one.

this "concept" has been around for a while now. Longer than the 2nd gen prius if i'm not mistakened.

you can split lanes. It will out handle most vehicles if not almost all... beacuse of it's size. Some say it won't turn.. but it turns on a dime. it's pretty amazing really.

granted it's only the high end model that gets the proper performance and distance. Last time i checked it had a sticker around 80k.

it could have changed. *shrug*.

 

Most of the cars on the road at any time are carrying only one passenger. I like the idea of tandem seating to reduce the cross-section and air resistance.

I definitely do not like a height to wheel track ratio worse than any SUV and more like a double decker bus. The acceleration performance together with this mini double decker design seems most absurd. (I read about the 1,000 pounds of batteries weighting the bottom -- weak solution to a fundamental flaw in my eyes.) I also don't like so little space on the sides for side impact collision protection. I doubt that this will ever be offered as more than a kit car to skirt the safety regulations it well never pass.

Tandem seating can be used to reduce the cross-section, radically improve the aerodynamics, and increase side impact protection compared to other small cars. Take a look at the VW 1L concept car pictured in my avatar. It uses tandem seating but by keeping the wheels spaced out and the seating low, rollover resistance and handling could be improved. By offering crumple space on both sides of the driver (and rear passenger), it could offer better side impact protection than than something like a Smart fortwo or even a rather safe Mini Cooper.

(The VW 1L really sacrificed acceleration to beat 1 L / 100km (over 240 mpg). I'd prefer one with admirable performance, grippy tires, affordable materials, and over 100 mpg.)

If I wanted such a narrow vehicle to split lanes in gridlocked traffic, I'd choose a motorbike with a built-in roll cage like the BMW C1 or the Benelli Adiva, or an electric motorcycle, so that I could lean into turns. When this car as narrow as a motorcycle doesn't doesn't succeed, perhaps they'll try to succeed it with a motorcycle as wide as a car?