Designer brings bumper cars to city driving
Many of us look back fondly on those days when the only driving we did involved ramming full speed into others - usually as part of a big round of bumper cars. Thanks to a new green city car concept by designer Ayelet Fishman, adults may be tempted to do just that.
The Compact Urban Bump Car (CUB) is an all-electric two-seater built for city driving. Specifically, it comes outfitted with five energy-absorbing bumpers: one for each corner of the car, and one for its rear. The panels are detachable and can be removed as needed.
Fishman says she wanted to build a car “that copes with urban transportation problems such as driving in traffic jams, lack of space, parking problems and especially parking damages.”
Measuring only 91 inches long and 71 inches wide, the CUB's design features several other intriguing touches: it has no dashboard, so the (literally) front door slides up over the car (see photo above). It has no steering wheel: instead the CUB is driven via a joystick controlled by a drive-by-wire system. The car has charging ports on both sides, and instead of obtrusive side-view mirrors, Fishman installed around-view mirrors to do the job.
But beware: drivers may be tempted to take out their frustration on other cars - but beware, while this one might remain unscathed upon contact, the offending car may not (and that might prove to be even more of a headache).
Photo: Ayelet Fishman
via [EarthTechling]
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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com