To access Index go to bottom of page and click on "home".
Around the turn of the 20th Century when man invented the combustion
engine and the Electric motors that were to lead to the car, as we know
it today, they goofed big time! I can allow them their first mistakes,
but that those same engineers still continue on the same stupid course
really annoys me!
To understand my anger (and what should be your anger at their stupidity,)
I am going to spell it out for you by going back to the start of the first
days of the car.
We started out by taming the horse so we could ride instead of walking.
That was step 1. Then somewhere along the way someone decided that since
he couldn't pile all his goods onto the back of the horse he needed to
create a box the horse could pull. Somewhere along that distant time line
someone decided to make a box on wheels that he could ride in and shoot
arrows from and kill his fellow man that way. Both of these concepts
evolved into the convenience cart and the thrill of speed on wheels!
That's where we were by the end of the 19th Century when that engine was
invented. The designers even gave the power of the engine the name; Horse
power! (You might say they went back to square one) Put the engine where
the horse goes - in the front, and just made a fancier box for the buggy
and to accommodate the steering wheel and gearshift. Now I can go along
with them to a certain point in time. This engine was a totally new concept
in science. But there came a time by the late twenties or early thirties
that they had the skills in engineering and design to go beyond the concept
of the horse and buggy style which is still in use today in the construction
of cars and which in its time was really designed for the restrictions of
the horse.
By then the death toll on the roads was just beginning to mount and the
construction of cities and towns, roads and highways, was still in the
early stages, so a change at that time could have been accommodated to
alter our way of looking at the car. The question then remains; what kept
the engineers and designers in this outdated and outmoded design? Ego!
Never mind that people are still dying from car crashes, we'll stick to
the old style of construction because the advertisers have conditioned
men to the childish ego trip of the present structure even if it kills
them!
So how should cars be built? By dropping the horse-pulling concept they
can't get past! By looking at 3 things: engineering waste, safety, and
structural integrity and Ariel dynamics.
1. Every engineer knows that an engine works better if it is in the
center of the body of matter it must work with. Instead of 'pulling'
the mass it is both pushing and pulling the mass. When it is centered
the controls and parts that are needed are less. Also they are in a
more protected area from damage. Because of the way cars are designed
today we have given people the false concept that the engine in front
of us will protect us from harm! That is not the case.
2. Shape. Two boxes hitting each other at high speeds are hitting a
flat surface. Both surfaces will crush from the impact.
3. A box shape is not a dynamic design either from the standpoint of
speed or from the standpoint of control. An engine is the heaviest
part of the car and should be in the center of the mass for better
control and maneuverability.
Alteration: cars should be round with a bumper all around like the
bumper cars at the arcade. So you see we already know the proper design
for cars.
Alteration; An engine in the center of gravity and power would give
for more control and use less parts. The braking system would work far
more efficiently if centered, as would steering mechanisms to all
4 wheels. This would also allow for easier parking, as, if the wheels
were controlled from the central gear system you could move sideways
into a parking space.
Because of the circular shape it could be accommodated to a ring of
batteries in the outer perimeter which would also give it more stability.
And since the car is round, speed could actually be greater, since a head
on would only result in both of them spinning off of each other. It would
also allow for roll bar construction as a safety feature which you can't
have in the present shape.
Why won't it work? Mans ego! Over the years man has seen his horse as
an ego trip and not just a means of getting around. When cars came along
the companies used the same ego trip to sell bigger and better cars to
stroke that ego.
Imagine a world where cars are seen only as a convenience.
Imagine a world where your loved ones never died in a car accident.
Imagine a world where we never went to war to control oil fields.
Imagine a world where there was no pollution and the only ones
allowed to use the old engine were truckers, busses, fire Trucks
and ambulances.