Space technology has provided the auto industry with radial tires, electronic fuel injection, anti-lock brakes and air bags- to name a few items-- but it's surprising we have not seen larger, more revolutionary contributions. If only the R&D infrastructure of Apollo had been retained to address our future energy and transportation needs.......
At any rate, I thought it would be fun to get a thread going here to sling around some ideas for future or near future land vehicles; and I'll start by relating some things I've been dreaming of for a few decades. Later, I'll come back with a bunch of links for reference- for now I'll just ramble........
Some years ago I collaborated (well, actually we had a few meetings where alcohol was involved) with some other ex-space engineers and we tossed around ideas for a future car. For guidelines-
1) Electricity should be the prime mover- the vehicle should have very minimal hydrocarbon emission, if not zero.
2) It should be able to take on fuel to generate electricity from the existing supply infrastructure.
3) As such, it should have a cruising range equal to, if not better than existing compact automobiles, and should be capable of normal highway speeds.
4) It should minimally be able to carry two people and stowage for limited 'carry-on' luggage. We had routine work commuting and errand running in mind- as opposed to moving a large family.
One of our first 'innovations' was to go to a 3-wheeled design for the inherent reduction of rolling resistance. This brought up a re-examination of Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car... which led to some discussion on the merits or dangers of single rear-wheel steering. Proper C.O.G. placement could assure adequate anti-roll stability.
To meet #3 above, we figured a small internal combustion engine could be used to spin a high-output alternator or two that could maintain the batteries on long runs. Charging could be augmented while parked via 'plugging in'- and perhaps solar panels.
We sketched out our thinking- and the result looked very much like the Doran electric car that was later sold as a kit for awhile in the mid-80's. We were thinking of a frame of welded tubular aluminum for strength and crash safety- with an aerodynamic fiberglass outer body. The term 'hybrid vehicle' was not yet in popular use- but eventually we figured the on-board I.C. engine should be a small gas turbine- since they like to run at a constant speed, are fuel-efficient, and have just one moving part...... a mini APU, if you will. We never considered regenerative braking. In later years, it turns out NASA did some research along these lines using a gas turbine / electric drive for a full-size commuter bus.
All of this comes back to me now- because I recently became aware of a 3-wheeled (though 1-passenger) electric commuter vehicle called The Sparrow being built and sold by Corbin Motors of California.
The weight and expense of batteries continue to be a stumbling block for all EV technology- but encouraging development is happening in the field of "ultracapacitors".
As for our ideas from the past- when we figured out just what it would cost to build, de-bug and perfect enough prototypes- and then go for DOT safety certification..... well, we just didn't have a hundred million bucks sitting around.
But anyway- it might be fun to swap ideas here for the perfect 'space age' automobile- and see what we might come up with!
