The Big, Fast Limo

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For a VERY long time now, and thanks in part to a certain amount of influence from the works of Syd Mead, I've sketched various versions of a purpose-built limousine -- and by that I mean a vehicle designed to be a limousine, as opposed to a stretched-out sedan.

The layout involves a cockpit forward of the front wheels, a passenger compartment with benches facing one another in the middle, and (back when I conceived the vehicle type) an engine between the rear wheels -- basically an updated stagecoach arrangement...

To be clear, and to remind you, I don't sketch very much anymore.  I just checked, and it doesn't look like I've scanned any of my old pencilwork involving this vehicle type -- and I don't feel like opening the Pandora's box of all those old sketches just now.  Sorry, but this means that once again I don't have an image to share.

An interesting thing has happened in recent years:  Wheel manufacturers have been making them bigger and bigger -- not as big (yet) as what I used to put on my high-speed limos, but getting close.  This has made me consider designing something meant to take something as 'small' as a 36" rim -- but with the envelope being pushed as far as it is, I could probably ask a tire manufacturer to supply rubber to fit a 48" rim (4 feet) or even a set measuring 60" (5 feet).  Believe me, I used to draw them bigger than that...

Excessive?  Absolutely -- but there are buyers for vehicles costing millions (of dollars, Euros, pounds, whatever).  There's a market, and there's potential for profit.  It's just that no one has offered this type of vehicle yet.  With recent advancements in electric vehicle technology, owners won't even have to feel guilty about fuel consumption.

Just imagine, if you will, such a machine.  The lines are that of a sports car, but it's much, much larger.  You and your friends arrive in style, more than anyone has before.  It looks like it would do 200mph between LA and Vegas -- and maybe it could.

Please hire a competent chauffeur.

Phil Smith

December 19, 2008

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Big Three Bailouts?

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What's in it for US?

I have questions.  Do you?

The 'Big Three' US automotive manufacturers, in order of viability Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, are asking for a government bailout.

Really?

We -- or, 'we' -- already bailed out several financial institutions.  That was a big deal and very controversial, and now as 'we' slide further into a recession this other shit comes up, much more relevant to someone like ME, a lifelong automotive enthusiast who would like to one day build and sell vehicles of my own design.

Automotive manufacturers are failing, and asking for governmental grants.

To me this is bullshit.  As for the bailouts of other corporations, yeah that's bullshit too -- but it's done and over with already.  Plus, that whole deal is/was beyond my ken.  I don't like math, don't comprehend why anyone thinks credit is a good idea, and the entire phenomenon of the stock market, to me, is an anomaly.  These are people who make money by moving money around, and somehow they failed at it, and somehow it's vitally important to the economy that they don't suffer for their failure -- and you've lost me.

On the other hand we have corporations that produce a tangible product, and are failing.  Okay, that means you're done -- and your corporation is done unless someone else wants to buy it and turn it around, different management, same name.  I understand many Chinese investors would be interested.  Court them, sell, take your money and retire somewhere.  No?

The automotive landscape is littered with failed companies, many of which have been resurrected over and over through buyouts (especially in England, for some reason).  Should it matter how large a corporation is, when it fails?  Shouldn't those involved simply take their licks and move on?

Those at General Motors wanted to buy Chrysler, when Chrysler appeared to be in serious trouble.  What the GM people apparently realized was that they were in trouble too...  I guess there was a slew of conference calls leading to the Big Three's march on Washington...  Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Again I say BULLSHIT.  Are these people capitalists, or socialists?  Maybe they switch back and forth depending upon their situations...

The United States of America is SUPPOSED to be a democratic republic -- yeah and I suppose a certain amount of socialism has crept in, not that socialism in and of itself is necessarily a bad thing, but if we are a democratic socialist republic we should know about it...

...and here's the thing:  If we're going to participate in socialism, THE PEOPLE ought to benefit.

It's a simple concept.  If the People's money is used to bail out a corporation, the People ought to gain a percentage of ownership in that corporation.  Please tell me if you think that doesn't make sense.

Money from taxes goes to the government.  Sure, the government decides what to do with it, but if it's invested in corporations, are we not all then shareholders?  Shouldn't we be?

Look, I'm familiar with the argument.  These particular corporations employ a lot of people, and their suppliers employ exponentially more.  If they go down, a lot of people lose their jobs.  But hey, that's capitalism.  If you're leading a large corporation and you're too stupid to not back your shit up, a lot of people suffer -- and it's on your head.  It's your fault for not having enough foresight, and you should know that you have a lot of apologizing to do for people who have lost their jobs -- unless...

...Unless you can arrange to sell your company to someone who can do a better job of managing it.  This is where the Chinese could come in.  They're ready.  They're willing -- and they just might be able.  It shouldn't matter, as long as they have the money (which they do).  This is business.

But no, they have to fly into D.C. on their private jets and whine.  Boo fucking hoo.

I personally don't give a shit if Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler all go down the tubes.  I don't even give a shit about their employees, who thanks to their union make ridiculous salaries for jobs that don't require that much skill.

That's right, motherfuckers, I once worked in a cardboard box factory for minimum wage.  If anything on an automotive production line is significantly more complicated and requires THAT much more skill, to legitimize those wages...  Point is, automotive workers are overpaid, and that's part of the corporations' problem.

Don't get me started about unions.  On some levels, they are quite useful in getting their workers a fair wage (and benefits, and working conditions) -- but some go too far.

Right now I'm cringing at the idea that, in trying to get my cars built, I'll come up against a union telling me how much my workers ought to earn, and what they can and cannot be expected to do, and so on and so forth.  I've never had employees, but it seems to me they can decide for themselves what they are willing to do for a specific wage.  After all, we live in a completely different age from the one in which unions were initiated.

I have digressed, and gone off on a rant.

Maybe letters to Congress can make a difference -- I don't know -- but seriously the People deserve something in return if their tax money goes to corporations.  A friend of mine said:

"I think every US taxpayer (including the working poor who may or may not file but still sure as hell pay taxes)

should be given the choice of $10,000 in cash, stock options or a new efficient subcompact car.

"I am absolutely serious. Financial crisis solved, auto industry saved, environment helped, millions of new jobs created (as so many people would take the car)...  Hell, think how many people would take the money and use it for education..."

Ask me, the automotive industry in the United States of America has been a dinosaur for decades.  It's continually playing catch-up with imports, with mostly dismal results.  This is a result of complacency.  Apparently there exists a passel of executives who are extremely out-of-touch with the reality of the business of peddling merchandise.  They have failed to provide customers with what they want, with enough of a profit...

The whole point of this post is to suggest that, if our government is to throw money at these corporations, this being taxpayer money -- the taxpayers ought to, if not have a say in it, at least get a percentage.  What's that?  My money is being given to GM?  Do I get some stock?

Seriously.

Phil Smith

December 4, 2008

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Runabout

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15 months ago I outlined a small vehicle concept that has been very much on my mind over the past couple of days.  No, sorry, I still don't have an image of the Tellurian Runabout to share -- but I do have this shot of a Polaris Ranger (cropped from a screenshot of the Polaris website):

I'd like to use those rims, and the image gives you a rough idea of how small this vehicle is to be.  Just imagine a trapezoidal frame -- of square steel tubing -- extending out past the wheels, and mirror-tinted windows filling in the spaces...

The Runabout has no body to speak of -- it's all greenhouse and exoframe above the wheels and black bedliner-coated 'tub'...  William Towns' Microdot will help you visualize...

Speaking of visualization, I've perhaps been concentrating on this concept (which I see as the logical first Tellurian Motors offering) because I recently watched The Secret.  I see myself with sudden money, able to afford to convert my '81 Cressida to electric while I order a Westfield XI kit (to build as an EV), pay off previous debts, find some suitable real estate, and get to building the first Tellurian Motors vehicle -- a Runabout.

TELLURIAN MOTORS

vehicles for Planet Earth and beyond

The Runabout makes sense as a first because of its relative simplicity -- not to mention its otherworldly, even post-apocalyptic appearance.  It should make a splash and make people ask what's next.  Plus, well, it is to be an electric vehicle that meets a lot of drivers' daily demands -- traversing less than 100 miles in a day alone or with one passenger, with little cargo, at speeds which do not exceed 25 miles per hour (making it registerable as a Low Speed Vehicle, or 'LSV').

The way I imagine it, it could certainly exceed 25, and an owner could enter a 'cheat' into its central processor to disable the limiter -- or simply select an 'off-road' mode...

And, hey, it would be attractive to some buyers as simply an electric UTV...

You know what?  I really don't care how marketable the Tellurian Runabout -- or any of my other concepts -- may be.  I just want to create, and as a lifelong automotive enthusiast and amateur automotive designer I see a niche for every vehicle I conceptualize.  Much more than that, I'd just like to be able to drive the things I dream up.  Automotive design, to me, is the ultimate in 'performance art'.

Deal with it.

Phil Smith

December 2, 2008

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Electric Lotus Land

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A few months ago I may have seemed to have been drooling like a teen over the Tesla Roadster.  Yes, it's impressive, and no doubt it has inspired many.  For that matter, I'd still like to have one -- but I'd rather have an Aptera, if I had to choose...

The Tesla Roadster is about as close to an electric Lotus as you can get, considering the level of involvement Lotus had in its development -- and that Lotus indeed builds most of each Roadster in England, then ships the 'gliders' to California for final assembly.  It was also, more or less, the newest Lotus and the first entirely new Lotus (with the exception of a few specialty models) since the Elise was introduced in 1996...

...but this year Lotus has unveiled the Evora.  Much as I may have wanted an Elise, the Evora is much more 'civilized' and quite lovely (except for its taillights, which could and would be modified, just as those on the TR would be, if I owned one -- don't ask me why Lotus can't seem to design nice taillights these days)...  I'll take one in Isotope Green, please, with a Paprika interior...

HOWEVER.

I can't see myself spending that much on a new car.  The old saying, "They don't build 'em like they used to," still rings true.  As far as I'm concerned there have been very few decent automotive designs put into production since, let's say, the mid-Seventies.  This is from a purely aesthetic standpoint, of course, and being surrounded by late-model vehicles every day tends to soften that opinion, but I stand by it.

Blame the government.  Beginning in 1974, all new passenger cars sold in the United States of America were required to have bumpers that could withstand a 5mph impact with 'no' damage.  Near as I can tell, this (and horsepower-sapping smog regulations) made all the talented American designers give up.  I figure some of them found other creative outlets, while others found drugs and alcohol.  They certainly don't seem to be around to teach the latest generation.

Vehicles simply shouldn't be designed to crash.  You should look at your car and be able to appreciate the art of it.  When considerably more time has been spent making sure it meets safety regulations than goes into making it beautiful, something is wrong.  Of course things have changed, and we can have beauty and safety wrapped up in the same package -- theoretically.

In practice, it hardly ever works out.  Many a gorgeous concept has been transformed into a mediocre production vehicle.  The classics are classics not just because they're of a certain vintage;  They are of superior design, aesthetically.

SO.

So if I had the money to throw at a new car, I'd rather buy an old one and convert it to electric.  Even better, I'd like to build one of my own design (and yes, that's what this blog is supposed to be about).

Okay, but if I'm gonna do that, let's take a few well-thought-out steps toward that goal.  First, yes, convert an existing car to electric.  I already have a candidate languishing out on the street...  Rather than jumping from that straight into an original build, though, let's take an intermediate step and assemble a component car.

The Westfield XI is a reproduction of the Lotus Eleven, a Frank Costin design and one of the most beautiful things, in my humble opinion, to ever hit road or track.

You will no doubt have your own opinion.  There are a number of other kits I could go with -- and maybe I would, after this one.

Anyway, in a nutshell, an electric Westfield XI is my idea of an electric Lotus.  One could be built at a fraction of the price of a Tesla Roadster...

Phil Smith

November 24, 2008

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Adaptation

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Technology keeps marching along, and the atmosphere for 'alternative' technology keeps getting better.

I could have been designing my vehicles, all along, with 'free' energy in mind. I knew it was there, knew it was real -- but also knew that people weren't ready for it.

I talked about the latest in battery technology, then switched over to that very promising development -- ultracapacitors -- after seeing evidence of them as being tangible. Through all this I knew that, eventually, there would be devices that would produce electricity more or less out of thin air. Only small amounts of electricity, if any, would need to be stored.

Any electric vehicle could be upgraded to take advantage of these developments, and that's one reason I swung up onto the electric bandwagon.

A couple of guys in Australia have managed to come up with a viable, reliable, and mass-producible 'over-unity' system. It's a magnetic motor pressed into service as a generator. It works. Give it a kick-start and it will power your house. No, seriously. Buy one of these and you won't need to be on the power grid (though you may still want to, so you can sell the excess to your local utility).

People have been tinkering with this idea for years, but it has been met with skepticism from two fronts. Not only is it a 'perpetual motion machine', it is also an 'overunity device' -- so, to conventional thinking, it's doubly impossible.

You just can't do that. No, no. NO.

Any sense in arguing? Just prove them wrong.


Eventually there will be more elegant (solid-state) devices that output electricity with little or no input, but what we have NOW, after all these years of suppression, is the magnetic motor/generator -- let's call it MMG for short -- and it will do nicely.

The good news is that we no longer need to worry about storing X amount of electricity onboard a vehicle. No large and heavy battery packs, no massive banks of ultracapacitors -- and range is now unlimited. The bad news? Quite frankly I don't see any for Tellurian Motors, except that we will have to wait in line with the rest of the world to acquire these devices -- which is preferable to having to negotiate with Zenn for the rights to use the ultracapacitors made by EeStor (see previous posts).

The emergence of the MMG may spell bad news for many, but no, certainly not for Tellurian Motors -- and it is unequivocally good news for Tellurians (AKA Earth Humans).


As the sole designer for Tellurian Motors, I will be taking on the task of adapting our range of vehicles to carry MMGs. Since each model exists mostly in my head, this is easy as pie. I could design them to accommodate smaller, lighter (solid-state) systems, but I like them to reflect the technologies that are or will soon be available -- tangibly futuristic, if you will.

One thing about powering a vehicle with 'free' energy is that you really don't have to worry about aerodynamics, unless you want to go faster than anyone should think of going on public roads. Use all the energy you want -- or at least, all your systems can handle. Efficiency is still important, but we won't need to bang our heads together trying to make our vehicles slip through the air like so many flightless birds. Weight's not an issue, either. Both curb weight and aerodynamics will continue to be important for performance, of course...

What will emerge (again) as the most important aspect of vehicles, in my estimation, is STYLE. Sure, being stylish can mean using recycled and/or organic materials... Do aluminum and leather count? In any case, I think the public will find themselves ready for my angular designs.


The future, as I've said, is electric, and that becomes more and more evident as new technology is developed. We will adapt, and our world will be transformed.




Phil Smith
July 29, 2008


Update: I've noticed a scrolling message on the Lutec site that reads, "Product release date postponed indefinitely due to possible Transfer of Technology negotiations". Not sure what the means, except that we now have no idea when the LEA will become available... Argh.

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Driver's Ed

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Prepare yourselves, for I'm about to rant.


While I'm come to accept that people (in general) are stupid, every day when I go out on the streets I see them doing things that get me agitated.

Fairly often, when they do these stupid things behind the wheel they are also talking on handheld cellphones -- which is a stupid thing to do in and of itself, especially when the damned thing is in the left hand, making the use of a turn signal rather difficult... Argh. Hang on, now...


I've realized that, in order to be a better driver myself, I have to try to keep these things from getting to me. The act of complaining to my passengers, I can see, represents the very kind of distraction that we all need to avoid. Now that I think of it, when I'm driving by myself I may mutter a bit, but I don't go on and on to myself about whatever act of vehicular stupidity I've just seen...

What I need to do, and what everyone should do, is to look at the streets and highways as a battlefield. Be aware of every potential threat, use your best strategy -- and don't complain about it. The bad drivers are GOING to be there. They don't have a clue how easily they could maim or kill someone, so we must treat them as hazards.


You might find yourself in the turn lane in the middle of a seven-lane street, waiting for a break in traffic so you can turn left -- only to have someone in the near lane stop to let you through. This is someone being a dumbass, while trying to be nice. You can't see well enough past the line of traffic behind that person's vehicle to know whether it's safe. You could try to wave that person on, but from my experience it's better to flip your turn signal stalk upward, signalling right instead of left, and merging back into traffic to try again at the next left. The driver trying to be courteous simply doesn't realize how hazardous it may be for you to go on and make your left turn. I can't tell you how many times I've had to deal with this exact situation at Murdoch and West Virginia Avenue here in Parkersburg. ARGH! Just GO! I can wait!

[continuing, ~5 days later]

There is a four-way stop on West Virginia Avenue that wasn't always there -- but the change was made several years ago. Twice in one week, this summer, I witnessed people blowing right through that stop sign as if it didn't exist. One of them, I can tell you for certain, was holding a cellphone when she did it. I've been noticing more and more people running red lights, too -- so now more than ever, I look before starting to cross an intersection.

Back in May, over on my Phil's Mythos blog, I made a post called The Cellphone Number of the Beast, which I concluded with "I just wish they had the sense not to drive under the influence of microwaves." The town of Belpre, across the river in Ohio, passed an ordinance quite a while back against the use of hand-held phones while driving. I don't know how many of our States have banned the practice, but as of July 1st it is illegal in California, punishable by a $100 fine. How long do I have to wait before it is illegal here in West Virginia?

Please, if there is anyone reading this who talks on a cellphone while driving, STOP. If you absolutely must, please at least hold it in your RIGHT hand so it doesn't get in the way of making turn signals. If your car has a manual transmission, you really have no business trying to use a handheld while driving anyway.


A big part of the problem in THIS country is the ease with which people acquire (and keep) driver's licenses. As with all too much else, it's dumbed down. Neither the written test nor the driving test is very challenging, and no one is required to undergo ANY kind of instruction. To renew your license, you merely need to show up and pay a fee, and get a new picture taken -- unless you're above a certain age, in which case they might check your vision.

We might as well not require licenses at all.


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go out there and drive a bit, even though I've already had a few beers (and will likely have more at my destination). No matter how many I have, as long as I feel I can handle the task I know I'll do a much better job of driving than the vast majority of people out there -- especially the ones talking on cellphones.

Argh.



Phil Smith
July 14, 2008

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Wheels of Confusion

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It's not unusual for me to borrow a song title for a blog post. In this case, if you were wondering, it's one from Black Sabbath...

If you've been reading my Phil's Mythos blog, you're more up to date. You know about the Brubeck 2, and more than before about ultracapacitors...


Here's the thing:

While the oily stranglehold has us looking for alternatives, someone with inside knowledge is preaching to us on video about those who really rule the world -- and that they are keeping a mind-bendingly massive oil reserve secret.

Have you heard anyone talk about America's 'strategic oil reserves'? Turns out, the real strategy is to stay quiet about just how much oil is there, ready to tap and send down the pipeline, on Alaska's North Shore. Enough to supply us for 200 years, the former chaplain says.


WELL. That changes our outlook, doesn't it? Within the next decade, I personally predict that all such major secrets will be revealed...

Of course, electric vehicles will still be significantly more efficient -- but there will be far less pressure to convert existing vehicles. By the time the secret is revealed, however, I expect (and hope) that manufacturers worldwide will be offering full-electric vehicles as a complement to, if not in place of, their internal combustion and hybrid vehicles...

...and yes, progress continues. Ultracapacitors will soon eliminate electric vehicles' range issues.

For that matter, there are suppressed technologies that could have everyone who is anyone flitting about in 'flying saucers' within half a decade...


...but I digress. Maybe there's a silver lining here.

Shortage or no, we've been spurred to look for ways to use less oil. WHEN the secret of our vast reserves has been spread globally, we will already be well on our way.

What then?

It would make sense for automotive manufacturers to continue switching production over to all-electric vehicles until -- eventually -- internal combustion engines are no longer used for new vehicles. Things don't always make sense...

...but I think they will, more often, in the near future.


Meanwhile, Tellurian Motors remains no more than a daydream. Along with a few other daydreams, though, it will be featured in the novel I'm writing. Never fear; No matter how successful the novel is, I will still dream of building my own cars. Count on it.



Phil Smith
July 6/7, 2008

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THE FUTURE IS ELECTRIC

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Humor me if I repeat myself here and there...


There is a component being developed, called the 'supercapacitor' 'ultracapacitor', that is about to revolutionize the automotive industry -- and doubtless many other industries -- by replacing batteries with something much better.

One could say it's a bit of a shame that ultracapacitor developer EEStor is partnered with Canada's Zenn Motor as opposed to, for a couple of examples, California's Aptera Motors or Tesla Motors, but then there's something to be said for being associated with a firm that delivers an affordable product. Let's just hope Zenn's 'highway speed vehicle' is blessed with better styling than their current, low-speed offering -- but I digress...

Capacitors store electrical energy. They can be charged quickly, and can discharge quickly. A super- or ultracapacitor is capable of storing much MORE energy. The quick charging time of capacitors was undoubtedly part of the inspiration for developing capacitors to 'super' and 'ultra' levels. Someone must have thought, "Hey, if the performance of capacitors can be significantly increased, they could replace rechargeable batteries -- and outperform them!"

But, creating something in a laboratory is one thing, and mass-producing it and offering it to the public is another thing altogether. And, if you've got something with this kind of potential, you'll want to keep your cards close to your chest. So, we'll have to wait and wonder, while the general public remains completely in the dark -- and manufacturers relying on battery technology officially dismiss the idea as fantasy.


Now, let's just suspend disbelief for a moment. If this new type of energy storage system can do what they say it does, batteries will soon be relegated to history. While it remains to be seen how much more quickly they will charge as compared to batteries at the input power level we're used to, a high-voltage, high-amperage system could fully charge an ultracapacitor-equipped electric vehicle in about five minutes (so they say).

What this means for the automotive industry, ultimately, is the abandonment of the internal combustion engine. When electric vehicles attain the kind of range we've come to expect, coupled with charging times quick enough to mimic refueling times (and once enough charging stations are in place), why would any vehicle manufacturer want to stick with internal combustion?

Early adopters will no doubt face a bit of a challenge, but let's just say for the sake of argument that at 220 volts, ultracapacitors will charge in about half the time as lithium-ion batteries. That becomes very significant when you're talking about a partial charge, and a 220-volt home charging station is a relative cakewalk to wire up.

I really have no idea what the specs are, or will be -- but for that matter almost no one does. You'd have to ask the scientists, engineers, and technicians involved. Expect them to be sworn to secrecy for a while, though, maybe for as much as a year. It could be that their systems' performance will outstrip early claims right out of the box. Then again, those estimates might not be met or surpassed for a while yet. And, who knows how much these systems will cost...


Right now, even if you have to scrounge up a used forklift motor and buy a truckload of golf cart batteries, it makes sense to convert an existing car to electric. There are more and more conversion specialists going into business, if you're not up to doing the job yourself.

Me, I'd open a place called 'Harmonic Conversions' and have my mechanics wear overalls with QUANTUM embroidered on their backs...


It would be, will be, completely natural for some of these conversion outfits to begin offering original product. Some may order kits to assemble for customers, as electric replicas / enhanced versions of classics. Others will no doubt go a step further, and roll out their own creations. Existing kit car manufacturers will likely begin to offer electric power options.

For that matter, there have already been kit car customers who intended from the beginning to install batteries and electric motors instead of fuel tanks and gasoline engines, dating way back to the early days of kitting.


Where does Tellurian Motors fit in? Well, I don't want to have to deal with government regulations more than I have to. Many kit car companies manage to offer turnkey vehicles, by separating component sales from assembly fees -- and some even manage to refuse to sell kits without assembly. This is a loophole I'd like to exploit, should I manage to reach the point where I'm not just building my designs for myself and a few close contacts. I wouldn't have to sacrifice any complete rollers to crash-testing, or lower myself to including airbags (which are never necessary if occupants are properly restrained and the vehicle is well-engineered -- or for that matter, if you're smart and diligent enough to avoid a serious collision).

Don't get me started about government.


The major manufacturers are about to be caught out. Hybrids? They're all proud of themselves for offering parallel hybrids, while plug-in series hybrids are much more efficient. Beyond that, any series hybrid is easily converted to pure electric. What are they thinking? They won't be able to switch over quickly enough.

No, they never should have 'killed' the electric car. Had they continued with their programs, they could have avoided being shown up by the much smaller companies that have since sprung up to (partially) fill the void.


We want electric cars, and we want solar panels. We want to rid ourselves of our dependence upon the enormous corporations that provide us with fuel and electricity. Will this level of liberty be allowed?

I say YES.

The times, they are a-changin'. The end of the world, as we know it, will not be a bad thing. Never mind political and/or social influences -- technological advances will have enough effect on their own. Sure, behind the scenes there has been a development that will assure that technology is no longer suppressed, but the vast majority will never know about it until their children and grandchildren tell them, wondering how they could have missed it.


Tellurian Motors, if it ever exists outside my own mind, will be building "vehicles for Planet Earth and beyond". They'll be rare, and sought after by discerning individuals, and powered by the latest technology available. If at some point I have to start designing flying saucers, so be it.


Stay crunchy.



Phil Smith
April 5, 2008

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heretic

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~*~ heretic ~*~

The words 'heretic' and 'heresy' are derived from a Greek word meaning 'to choose'. Why it should ever have been considered so heinous to choose what to believe is beyond me, but heresy is still considered to be a bad thing, and a heretic a bad person. Proud to be one myself, but never mind that...

Last October I posted about rods & customs, and gave a brief overview of a rod concept I call the Rumbler. I finally settled on a powertrain layout for it recently -- a pair of Ford flathead V8s in tandem...

So what about an electric hot rod? Well, if that's not heresy, I don't know what is. From its genesis, the hot rod scene has been centered around loud V8s. At its core, however, it was always about performance and style -- and the rod I'm about to describe is no slouch in either category.

Yes, it's very 'different' to shorten a 1934 Ford body by cutting out the cockpit, leaving the rumble seat as the only space for driver and passenger, but I've had another idea for a 1934 Ford five-window coupe all along (hey, I like the '34). It involves chopping & channeling the body, but only forward of the rear deck -- until, in fact, the roof is at the same level as the rear deck.

This is very different indeed, a 'choice' that I'm not aware of anyone else having made. While many have chopped & channeled their rides down to waist level, none of them (that I know of) have left the rear deck up in highboy territory.

Is there room? Fair question -- but by moving the firewall significantly forward and placing the electric motor directly in front of the differential (eliminating the driveshaft tunnel), we gain much space to make up for what is lost with the chop & channel. With a quick-change rear end, the final drive gear can be switched several times until the 'right' one is found for direct-drive (no transmission -- reverse by switch, turning the motor in the opposite direction).

Most cars of that era have fabric inserts in their roofs, and most rodders fill in that space with steel. A lot of those who have done extreme chop & channel jobs, on the other hand, have simply left the space open. The shape of the Heretic's body lends itself to the adoption of a soft, retractable roof inspired by that of a Citroen 2CV.

The Heretic will feature a fully independent suspension, cycle fenders all around (can't go fenderless here in West Virginia), and Halibrand magnesium wheels. Bumpers, front and rear, will be cut-down '64-'67 Stingray items. The grille shell will NOT be cut down, but laid back and filled with a yellow-tinted plastic panel, behind which will be some very powerful auxiliary lighting. I haven't settled on headlights and taillights yet.

There are wonderful little chrome steps that used to be fitted to the rear of cars with rumble seats, to aid ingress/egress. The Rumbler will have these, and I should be able to find space on the Heretic for them -- to allow driver and passenger to drop into the car through the open top more easily.

Paint? The Heretic should be the colour of dried blood, so deep a red that you might at first think it's black, but with a rich pearl to nearly always give a hint of sanguine -- and a little ground glass (blue) thrown in to further confuse the eye and generally make the car look that much more wicked.

Interior should be leather, in a hue I'd like to call Blueblood Blue.

That interior, it must be said, will be tight. There is barely room in this beast for batteries. Luggage space is nil. Plus, as with any electric, range is an issue. Both of these problems are solved with a teardrop trailer, fitted with a generator so that it can double as a 'pusher'.

A 'pusher' is a trailer-mounted generator that effectively turns an electric vehicle into a series hybrid. The Heretic's pusher teardrop will have a pair of large propane tanks, and will feature matching Halibrands and cycle fenders -- paint and interior to match as well, of course... Sleeps 2, grill out back...


The name has been used before, on other vehicles, but a quick Google search shows nothing called Heretic in the 'traditional' hot-rodding vein.


I know I should be spending my energy elsewhere, but this concept has been nearly all I can think about -- since last night, when it crept up on me like a...

Like a hairy tick? Yeah, I might airbrush a small one on its rump...



Phil Smith
March 25, 2008

UPDATE

Almost immediately after posting I knew I had more to say about the Heretic...

For one, Blueblood Blue is a colour determined by the hue of undyed, chromium-tanned leather. It's an odd fact that a significant portion of the leather you'll see has been dyed to look natural, after having been turned pale blue by the chrome process. I've always liked that colour, and see no reason to have the leather dyed. It will be oiled, yes, and that will darken it a bit -- and then that hue will be picked up a few shades darker for the carpet, retractable top section, and frame rails.

Yeah, earlier I hadn't thought about the colour of the frame rails. I don't generally come up with hot rod concepts... While I'm at it I should mention that I'm (now) thinking of simulated chrome powdercoat for the Rumbler's rails...

The headlights, I've now realized, should be mounted on stalks to ride up above the level of the grille shell and hood. They should also be, not sure what they're called, those buckets with turn signals incorporated on their tops, powdercoated the same Blueblood Blue 'suede' as the frame rails.

I'm also going to have to add a roof rack. The Heretic is very much in the mid-Sixties style of rodding, and should be able to carry at least one old-school longboard.

One other thing I didn't mention is that the Heretic is to have a full belly pan, likely of bare aluminum. Oh, and one of the reasons I want to use a five-window body has to do with character lines. The rear-quarter windows will be flipped upside-down, so that the bead lines will meld smoothly.


I fully realize that much of this post will read as nonsense to those unfamiliar with 1934 Fords, not to mention rodding and customization in general. It's certainly not lost on me, either, that the entire subject may seem at odds with what one may assume is the subject of this blog -- new concepts for a new car company...

Well, you've got to have a sense of history. The Rumbler and the Heretic, then, may be seen as preludes to entirely original designs. The basic concepts for both of them, if you can believe it, date back to the 8th grade, 1980/81. Thing is, in this genre I've seen a boatload of incredible creativity -- which has inspired me to be creative myself, within these particular parameters.

So yeah, among the vehicles in my ultimate fantasy garage are a few show-winning hot rods, pure flights of fancy. They share space with a few unmolested classics, some mild kustoms, and a bevy of original Tellurian Motors creations...



March 29, 2008

UPDATE 2

~ ULTRACAPACITORS ~

As mentioned previously in at least one of these blogs of mine, Zenn Motors is working with the highly secretive EEStor and hopes to release a vehicle powered by ultracapacitors by Autumn 2009.

Ultracapacitors change the game. Suddenly there are no issues with range and recharge time, and there are no excuses. The obvious choice for power will be electricity. Recharge stations will quickly become ubiquitous, and people will be buying electric cars as quickly as they can be built -- and converting existing cars as quickly as they can get their hands on ultracapacitors.

It's easy to forget ultracapacitors exist, as they're still in development and many within the electric vehicle community consider their viability to be a myth -- so as I was writing about the Heretic I was only considering currently available technology.

While I would still like to pair the Heretic with a teardrop trailer, and having a propane-powered generator onboard is still a good idea, you can see that it becomes less necessary.


Did I forget to mention solar panels? Onboard solar panels will make more sense when they are charging ultracapacitors instead of batteries. Using even a small solar array, your vehicle will effectively recharge itself -- at a much slower rate, of course, but hey, it's 'free'.


As someone who has more or less kept in touch with automotive developments for 30 years, I find it a bit disheartening to see little mention of the coming electric revolution in the pages of automotive publications (which I now read online). They report on concept vehicles, certainly, and the ongoing efforts of established manufacturers -- but as a group, they could be called 'clueless'.

Here's looking forward to a story by Winding Road about the Aptera...



April 4, 2008

UPDATE 3

The other night, something unusual happened. I drew a hot rod...

Some things to bear in mind: I don't draw nearly as much as I used to; I have never been much of one to draw what I can see, except what I see in my head; This was done without any images of '34 Fords for visual reference -- from memory...

There are a lot of things left out, in this sketch. For one, I completely forgot about the roof rack and the old-school longboard strapped to it (a fun feature, but one that can always be added later, unless I choose not to). You don't see any frame horns poking out in the front, and that's not because they're neatly tucked in. No split front bumper, no suspension bits, and I didn't even finish the cycle fenders. Well, this is the difference between a sketch and a rendering...

Sketches are for development work. After a few more, maybe I'll do a drawing...

One feature that was developed during this sketch was the 'hardtop'. Window frames are cut out of the doors and welded to the body, the rear-quarter windows are flipped over and swapped side-to-side -- and the 'posts' are removed. Thus, the character line running the full length of the stock body is married to the one around the windows -- where the line comes down from above the windows to join the full-length line on the stock body, here that line is no longer full-length. Follow it from the rear and it extends to the windshield; From the front, it goes along the door as usual, but then it sweeps up behind the rear-quarter window.

Those rear-quarter windows, fixed in place on the stock body, now retract. Instead of rolling down, though, they may pivot from a point below the leading edge. There's your hardtop window treatment.

...And there's your heretical electric hot rod. Eventually there will be a 'final' configuration, but until then many details are subject to change...


Phil Smith
April 8, 2008

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Time Further Out

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This is just a quick-and-dirty sketch from the other night, but (maybe) you get the idea...


Phil Smith
March 10, 2008

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anticipation

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You're just gonna have to wait.

Oh, I can see them, in my head, all the amazing vehicles I've posted about here, and more...


Do you have any idea how much I want to drive the Rumbler, that '34 Ford roadster shortened by the removal of the cockpit? Yeah, that's right, you open the rumble seat, raise the windshield, and climb in. Closed, the thing just looks like automotive sculpture, the only clue that it's more than that being the chrome handle on the lid -- and that's a clue just for those who know what a rumble seat is, and have enough imagination.

I'd paint it a dark reflective blue, of course... You want more details? Too bad. I'm keeping them in my head.


I still (or again) want the Brubeck to sport a pair of Kawasaki ZX14 engines, running on propane. Electric version later, sure...


I'd still love to resurrect the Checker Marathon/Taxi, as a business venture -- because no other vehicle could serve the purpose better than a Checker, and people still relate to that form as what a taxi should look like. Give it a body made from recycled plastic, a chassis capable of meeting modern safety standards, electric motivation, and a few styling tweaks by yours truly, and there you go. Build it in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as the original was. Put a lightweight shell on a monster truck chassis and call it 'Monster Taxi', for promotion...


Time Further Out? DUDE! You have no idea. This is a premium sedan, luxurious and sporty, done in my signature flat panel style -- in stainless steel. Yes, vintage jazz fans, the 'TFO' is named after a Dave Brubeck album -- and promises to be just as revolutionary.

I'm still struggling with how it will ultimately appear. It has to be the most elegant thing anyone has ever seen, and at once timeless and futuristic, so it's a tough assignment.



See, I'm not any closer to being able to afford, well, anything. I can carve 'utensil art' from wood I already have on hand, and I can write. All I really need, beyond the basics, is something to work with -- a creative outlet or two, or a few...

The carving brings me deep satisfaction. I swear, when I look at the finished pieces, even though I can recall every step of the process I can scarcely believe I had anything to do with such beauty. I remain in awe.

Writing? Well, I'm finally confident enough in my level of life experience and my writing skills, to be working on a novel.

The carvings are gifts. I could never put a price on them. The novel, well, it's probably also a gift -- but I do expect a lucrative publishing contract.

With book money, maybe I could build a car or two...


Meanwhile I have little time to be even writing about my automotive concepts, except within the novel. I certainly can't be expected to sketch them (or to resist, should the urge strike me) or hunt down a free CAD program. Rest assured, some of my concepts will be described as actual rolling stock, in print.




Phil Smith
March 4th, 2008

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SORCERER / TMX

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A while ago over on Fated to End Sometime I mused briefly about this small 4X4 concept, for which (I thought) I finally had a name, or at least a designation: TMX. Maybe the 'X' stands for 'cross-country', or maybe it's short for 'Tellurian Motors eXtreme'; It hardly matters, since while I was writing that short piece I came up with 'Small, Off-Road Capable, Environmentally Responsible Electric Roadster', or SORCERER.

As for the 'Capable' part, this vehicle is designed to rock-crawl with the best of its class -- out-Jeeping the Jeeps, out-roving the Rovers, out-cruising any Land Cruiser, and, if you'll excuse me, out-humming the Hummers (including their new HX concept).

Did I mention it's electric?

What I most certainly haven't mentioned before is something that has been frequently passed off as a myth within the electric vehicle community -- 'supercapacitors' with the capability to not only replace batteries, but outperform them. I'll spare you the technical details; Basically, this is what's been missing -- an electrical energy storage system capable of being recharged as quickly as a 'conventional' vehicle can be refuelled, while matching (or exceeding) the kind of range we've come to expect.

Of course the only company (that we know of) manufacturing these zappy little numbers has come under contract to a major military aircraft supplier and is now cloaked in a veil of secrecy. Of course.

This won't stop Tellurian Motors from making use of them...

WHY DO I SAY THAT?

I'm working on a novel of near-future science fiction, and so Tellurian Motors and our complete lineup will appear on the printed page long before I'll even be able to convert my derelict Toyota Cressida (the Defiant) to electric. Within this fictional world, things will be as I would like to see them, more and more, as the novel progresses. Along the way, a few plausible uses of technology will be revealed, supercapacitors being the least among them.

By the time the real Tellurian Motors is up and running, supercapacitors (also known as 'ultracapacitors') should be available. Right?



Phil Smith
January 15, 2008

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