DailyDirt: More Plastic Cars
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
It’s been a while since the Pontiac Fiero was considered a “radical” car. If you don’t remember it, the Fiero had a plastic body — which some folks said made it unsafe (even though owners of it were more likely to be injured from an engine fire). Plastic cars have continued to improve, and here are just a few more car parts that are being made from environmentally-friendly plastic.
- Bridgestone has designed some air-free tires from recyclable plastics. These tires aren’t quite ready for full-size cars yet, but maybe someday no one will have to check the air pressure in tires. [url]
- Replacing steel in cars with composite materials will make our four-wheeled friends lighter and more fuel efficient. Unfortunately, carbon fiber car parts are still a bit too expensive, but that could change…. [url]
- Car parts from mad cows? Does anyone want to drive a car made from infected cow skulls, brains, nerves, eyes, tonsils and spinal cords? Oh, Canada! [url]
- To discover more interesting car-related content, check out what’s driving around StumbleUpon. [url]
By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
Filed Under: carbon fiber, cars, environmentally friendly, lightweight cars, mad cows, plastic, tires
Companies: bridgestone, pontiac
Comments on “DailyDirt: More Plastic Cars”
Recyclable Plastic Cars?
One of the first things to get pirated in the near future.
Don’t believe me? We’re half way there:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13827
Printing
We need more downloadable cars. Print out then off down the shops.
The only downloadable car I have seen to date was nearly 700TB. Kind of huge to confirm if it was valid.
Re: Printing
Ironically, downloading cars would require far less bandwidth then shitty movies and blu-ray rips.
Re: Printing
That is why we need SOPA, first you steal music and movies, now you want to steal cars!
Or maybe in the future we all will have a common base that can be used to secure our own frames, where you just bolt down the frame, something like we do today with RC Car models.
Youtube – How To Make Your Own Carbon Fiber (Fibre) Parts
candlepowerforums – DIY fully carbon fiber knife building. 🙂 Lots of pics!
Instructables – How I built a carbon bike frame at home (and a bamboo frame too)
Steampunkworkshop – A Victorian RV
“Replacing steel in cars with composite materials will make our four-wheeled friends lighter and more fuel efficient.”
With the added bonus that they’ll fly a lot farther when I hit them with my heavy ass truck!
Fiero
I’ve always wanted a Fiero.
This is nothing new. Back in the 70’s we made a van entirely out of fiberweed.
Re: Re:
“Back in the 70’s we made a van entirely out of fiberweed.”
I think you were smoking the fiberweed. Up in smoke.
Ironic
Fiero was definitely an ironic name.
Tires that don’t require air isn’t news, they’ve been around for almost a decade for civilian vehicles, and quite a bit longer for military vehicles.
What’s newsworthy about Bridgestone’s new tires is they’re made from recyclable materials, not that they’re non-pneumatic.
Printing
I expect to see cars available for download over the next few years. This would be done lawfully under Creative Commons which would mean free to use at home but any commercial sales needs a license agreement.
This one act would kick off a major billion dollar market. The local showrooms and factories would gain when they would have the huge 3D printers and can handle colours, mods and upgrades which would win over the home market.
The Fiero….ugh.
I drove several when they had first come out. I can’t remember a more cheap feeling vehicle outside of the Dodge Omni/Charger 2+2 family at the time (The special edition Shelby’s were high comedy….several interior trim pieces vibrated off including the rear view mirror). Compare the similar Toyota MR2 during that period and its night and day. Tight, solid, nimble and fun. Fiero was none of these things. There isn’t a better example of why the American car industry ended up a sad joke that is just now starting to get its head out of its ass.