this just in -- Deora III

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Both of these sketches were done after midnight, so these are being posted much more quickly than anything seen here before...



Maybe you've heard of the Deora, a show truck based on a Dodge A-100, which made its debut in 1966. Maybe you've also heard of the Deora II, a Hot Wheels model that was later built as a full-sized, semi-functional concept vehicle...

Well, the other morning I was musing about what I eventually realized should be called the Deora III -- and it was only later that day that I remembered, while writing about it in an e-mail to a friend, that one of the vehicle forms I was fond of sketching in the 1990s was the 'extreme forward control pickup'.


Tonight I finally did a couple of rough sketches. My scanner apparently isn't compatible with my current operating system, so I used the same little pink camera that has served me well for stills and video of my carvings.



These images are as raw as you can get [Can you tell they were lit with a 40-watt bulb?]. I almost want to do another sketch right now, but...

Anyway what I have in mind is somewhere in between the two in proportion, and there are many details to be worked out -- and some things I have in my head that just don't show up in these quick sketches.

Powertrain? As with all other Tellurian Motors offerings, the Deora III is a 'free energy' electric. Mechanically and structurally, it's a variation on BRUTRUCK. Please reference earlier posts for details.

In the sketches there is the barest hint of my intention to incorporate sideways-chevron-shaped 'bumperettes' at each corner. You may be able to imagine head- and taillight arrangements very similar to others in the family, but inverted.

Seating in the cab is for two and two only, in bucket seats just far enough apart to squeeze between -- there is a disappearing 'midgate' at the back of the cab for access to the bed, flanked by glass 'flying buttresses'.

Back in the 90s, when I sketched similar (but curvy) trucks, the concept was that they could be used much like small pleasure boats, but on land. The Deora III features hidden benches in the bedsides, that can be folded out flat for sleeping, sunbathing, or...


Could this truck be amphibious? Maybe.


The original Deora was nuts. It wasn't practical, but it was cool. The Deora II wasn't designed to be more than a toy. The Deora III (if I may call it that) at least has side-opening doors...



Stay tuned (and yes, it's going in the novel).




filsmyth
15July2009

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Estate, et cetera

Have I really not posted here since March?






The images above are supposed to have a transparent background, like some others seen on this blog. Maybe the fault is with Blogger, and maybe it's an issue unique to the Linux version of Firefox... It's annoying, but not the end of the world.




If you have been following along you can probably tell that the Estate is simply a wagon version of the Time Further Out sedan. These images were produced in April. I guess I've been busy with other things since then.

The Estate has a slightly higher roof than the TFO, and an elongated rear. It features seating for up to 8...

Each Tellurian Motors vehicle is built to spec, so it's up to the buyer to choose a swing-out or disappearing tailgate for his or her Estate. If you choose to include the rear-facing 'wayback' seats, bear in mind that the disappearing tailgate will seriously encroach on footroom while open, less so when closed.




...And now to the 'et cetera' portion...

Yes each Tellurian Motors vehicle is 'built to spec'. What this means is that beyond the production of prototypes as examples, all we can do is suggest options. Within reason, you can pretty much get what you want.

'Within reason'? There are things that go beyond the pale. It's an issue of taste, so we will gently refuse certain requests. If you want something that compromises the aesthetic value of any given Tellurian Motors design, you will either be talked down or influenced to look elsewhere.


Of course when Tellurian Motors vehicles will be built, it will be the beginning of a time when anyone can have anything, anything at all. Anyone is free to have a vehicle inspired by any one of our offerings built according to his or her own taste -- just please don't try to call it a Tellurian.



At Tellurian Motors we may or may not be using robotics wherever possible.

What?

I look at my designs and am quite certain that all of them can be built without the use of robotics -- and yet I've incorporated Tellurian Motors into the novel Virtual Dreamer, in which the main character has inherited his father's businesses, including 'Parkersburg Robot'.

Previously I've stated that Tellurian Motors will require no 'tooling' beyond frame jigs for each model -- but recently I've realized that a jig can be adaptable, even robotically so. One jig can be reconfigured as needed, and there is no reason the task can't be handled by robots.


Here I have to make the case for anthropomorphic robots, otherwise known as 'androids'. A robot built in the size and shape of a person will theoretically be able to perform the same tasks as an actual person, including the use of tools. Such a robot would be able to perform many more tasks than one built for a specific function. While task-specific robots are useful in mass-production, at Tellurian Motors we build vehicles one at a time, to spec. We may use a robotic welder, for instance, but that's a device that normally calls for human interaction...

It is quite possible that something as complex as a Tellurian Motors vehicle could be built from start to finish with no human involvement save the request and approval, up to and including delivery in the customer's driveway.

This is what we can expect from robotics.



More 'et cetera'? I have a design in my head for a van that will look very much the same from the rear as it does from the front. I have sketches, but no digital images to share at this writing.


Also I've been revisiting 'TMT' in my mind. The sketch posted here previously portrays a vehicle similar to an El Camino, Ranchero, or Australian 'ute'. While I like the simplicity and palandromicy of the designation 'TMT' (Tellurian Motors Truck), I've been considering the name 'Utruck'... Fine, I'll discard that.

My most recent thought about the TMT is that it should feature the option of rear-facing seats in the bed similar to what Subaru once featured in the BRAT...


Remember EXOVAN? I've been rethinking that as well. Expect considerable refinements.


Something else I've done is to rework an image of the BRUTRUCK into a BRUTRUCK Crew Truck, a four-door, shortened bed version. There is crappiness to that image that will have to be resolved before I can share it here.



It will be my extreme pleasure to be able to deliver Tellurian Motors vehicles to all who desire them -- but that's a long way off. Much more soonly will be their inclusion in the novel, Virtual Dreamer.


Stay tuned.






filsmyth
7/7/2009

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Quartet

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In the previous entry here I talked about the idea of using disappearing doors on an upcoming design. Well, I've had a few days to think about it, and sort of know what it will look like...

As my first flat-panel design was named after Dave Brubeck (since I was listening to his music at the time), and the Time Further Out is named after one of his albums, I looked to him again for inspiration in naming this latest design. The title of this post began as "the car with no name", and I thought it might stay like that as I reviewed the titles of his songs and albums...

...but I kept seeing the word 'quartet' -- and this car seats four, so there you go.

The Tellurian Quartet

Unlike most grand tourers (GTs), the Quartet is a true four-seater, not a 2+2. It has all-wheel-drive, thanks to electric motors front and rear. Click here and scroll down for an idea of where the power will come from -- on all Tellurian Motors vehicles.

I'm still not sold on designing it as a convertible, but we'll see. There could be a 2-seat roadster version (with flip-down hardtop), possibly called the Duo, but that almost cuts into the territory already occupied by the Brubeck...

Almost. Okay, I guess I can see the Brubeck remaining rear-drive only, and hardtop only, while the 'Duo' (for lack of a better name) will be larger and more luxurious...

The 'Duo' and Quartet will appear as fraternal twins, looking more like one another than anything else in the Tellurian Motors family and sharing more than a few components.

No, once again, I don't have any images to share (yet). However...



However I do plan to develop the Tellurian Motors website (yes it exists), the URL of which I won't bother to list for now, since there is next to no content at the moment. For one, developing the site will help make Tellurian Motors more real, assisting me with immersion into the fictional world of my novel, Virtual Dreamer. For another? I need to develop at least one website as an example of my ability to do so, for a chance to become a professional webmaster.

This needs to happen by the end of the quarter, so it shouldn't be long before you see a post here announcing the official launch of the site -- and, images of vehicle concepts will be important for that, so I'll be putting pencil to paper and paper to scanner more often.


Once again you may be asking if Tellurian Motors is purely fictional, or merely a fantasy. So far, yes, it's little more than a dream. Yes it will be included in the novel, along with Harmonic Conversions and Parkersburg Robot, which are other ventures I'd like to pursue in reality. I'm including my daydreams in the novel, and I must say they fell into it so easily, fit so perfectly, that it seems everything I've been imagining has led up to the writing of Virtual Dreamer. Perhaps sales will enable me to actually begin to build vehicles of my own design...

TELLURIAN MOTORS
vehicles for Planet Earth and beyond

Phil Smith
January 24, 2009

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