OT - BMW Gina concept

[Ken35i]

http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/car_news_article.aspx?cp-documentid=8545931


The car's real sci-fi trick however is its ability to morph; changing shape like the liquid metal robot in Terminator 2 depending on what is required of it.

Too bad it doesn't "morph" into some that looks good, because it's hideous. :( I guess it's a neat display of technology...

Oh 'hallo thar', btw.:)

[repenttokyo]

saw this a couple of day's ago, can't wait until Bangle gives us BMW's covered in human skin which can bleed and cry.

[infurno]

IMHO I think its neat. It may have practical applications such as reduced drag, weight, and able to adapt for best aerodynamics for the current speeds. I can see this as the future of the automotive industry.

However, its not yet practical. I would love to see what thing would look like at 100 mph with everything flapping around. You would need a material that can turn from flexible to solid with an electric current, which really should not be that far off...

Its also worth noting that this concept car was not designed for public view. It was meant to be an inspiration for the designers at BMW. But I think its made a pretty good impression nonetheless, I love how BMW is always thinking ahead.

Our E34 cars are a great example of that.

[BMWDriver]

It looks like a genetic cross between a shark and a Z4.

Well, there are advanced materials coming our way. A lab was able to produce elastic metal after all.

True, the creative process is meant to take you places unimaginable and unpractical in order to advance. Then you choose and keep the interesting stuff out of it. It's quite a disturbing process for people who are not used to it.

I sort of like the headlights, though it's a bit too agressive.

[Ken35i]

You would need a material that can turn from flexible to solid with an electric current, which really should not be that far off...

Like in Batman! Yeah, I could see that happening.
This is what the next Z car will look like, according to the article. Looks like no BMW will escape obesity.:(

[t.wak]

Convertible owners hate having a canvas roof, imagine how many of these new cars will be sliced open? Haha

[SnakeyesTx]

This was talked about on 4chan's auto board for days already. The concensus made a lot of sense.... all you need is a knife to ruin a sweet ride.

Personally, I really like the hiding headlights, kind of a throwback if you think about it. Keep that Gina's body shape, and make that in aluminum finish almost like a Delorean's stainless steel finish, and use that material up front just for the hidaway headlights and roadster top, and you've got something that'll sell :D

[ThoreauHD]

I find that these days the least of my worries is what my car looks like. I wish they would stop screwing around with this pointless crap and release an all electric or hydro car that doesn't completely suck. The end is coming for these dumbasses, and they're tip-toeing around the tulips with a car condom.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y106/toasty0z/finger.jpg

[repenttokyo]

This was talked about on 4chan's auto board for days already. The concensus made a lot of sense.... all you need is a knife to ruin a sweet ride.



that's true of any car tho - i mean, even a set of keys can ruin your ride.

[SnakeyesTx]

Wasn't BMW the first manufacturer to offer the Hydrogen running 7-series like.... 6 years ago? They've already done it, but there's still not that one "person to rule the world" who figured out who to create hydrogen cheaply for mass production/distribution.

Personally, I'd love to see a "convert your gas engine to run on hydrogen" so I can keep my 39 :D

[Morgenster]

Personally, I'd love to see a "convert your gas engine to run on hydrogen" so I can keep my 39 :D

Hmmm... I'd prefer converting an E34 to electric. There's some sweet stuff you can do with that nowadays already. The only thing needing some work is batteries and I'm quietly hoping EESTOR pulls through and delivers what they promised.

[infurno]

Wasn't BMW the first manufacturer to offer the Hydrogen running 7-series like.... 6 years ago? They've already done it, but there's still not that one "person to rule the world" who figured out who to create hydrogen cheaply for mass production/distribution.

Personally, I'd love to see a "convert your gas engine to run on hydrogen" so I can keep my 39 :D

BMW's hydrogen car is a standard combustion engine converted to run on hydrogen. Should not be a complicated conversion, pretty much the same principals as gasoline. In fact, on a TV show called Myth Busters they started a car by injecting hydrogen into the carburetor. But last time I read, the Hydrogen 7 gets horrible mileage on hydrogen.


Hmmm... I'd prefer converting an E34 to electric. There's some sweet stuff you can do with that nowadays already. The only thing needing some work is batteries and I'm quietly hoping EESTOR pulls through and delivers what they promised.

I'm not sure if converting an E34 to electric is practical... At least not with the current battery technology... Our cars weigh what? Nearly 4,000 lbs? A Geo Metro or a small Honda is a much better candidate.

[repenttokyo]

BMW's hydrogen car is a standard combustion engine converted to run on hydrogen. Should not be a complicated conversion, pretty much the same principals as gasoline. In fact, on a TV show called Myth Busters they started a car by injecting hydrogen into the carburetor. But last time I read, the Hydrogen 7 gets horrible mileage on hydrogen.



I'm not sure if converting an E34 to electric is practical... At least not with the current battery technology... Our cars weigh what? Nearly 4,000 lbs? A Geo Metro or a small Honda is a much better candidate.

the thing is, you can't get hydrogen fuel anywhere.

very astute regaridng the weight of the e34, although a lot of that weight would be gone wehn the entire driveline was removed.

[SnakeyesTx]

3 Places in CA have Hydrogen ... what the hold-up is for other places is beyond me aside from money grubbing petro companies not building any, and little guys not having enough capital to do it. What about government grants to help these smaller guys? Oh wait... right.. paid off by petro-people. (face-palm)

[Ken35i]

Hydrogen is a very light fuel, so it's milage will be worse than petrol. It's good for low emmissions, but at the same time they are putting Diesel engines in all their cars...

[infurno]

Hydrogen is a very light fuel, so it's milage will be worse than petrol. It's good for low emmissions, but at the same time they are putting Diesel engines in all their cars...

Well, while BMW burns hydrogen in the cylinders, Honda on the other hand converts the hydrogen to electricity (fuel cells). This electricity is then used to drive 4 electric motors.

This may be a more efficient design. The Honda FCX is actually getting released to the public already for lease and limited sale. There are quite a few hydrogen fueling stations already open. I'm not sure if its any cheaper then gas per mile though.

The best option for our cars may be NG.

I would like to consider converting my e34 to NG but i'm not sure if I can justify the price, or if its really worth it in the end. How expensive is NG compared to gasoline per mile?

[infurno]

"CNG is much cheaper in some areas — like Oklahoma, where it's about 91 cents a gallon equivalent"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24792464/

[repenttokyo]

3 Places in CA have Hydrogen ... what the hold-up is for other places is beyond me aside from money grubbing petro companies not building any, and little guys not having enough capital to do it. What about government grants to help these smaller guys? Oh wait... right.. paid off by petro-people. (face-palm)


3 places in a state of 30 million?

the reason no one is building any is that hydrogen powered cars still require more energy to process the hydrogen than it provides as fuel. it's not a solution at this time.

[Morgenster]

I'm not sure if converting an E34 to electric is practical... At least not with the current battery technology... Our cars weigh what? Nearly 4,000 lbs? A Geo Metro or a small Honda is a much better candidate.

Well, yes and no. the 4000 lbs can be a hindrance if you don't have brake energy recovery. With brake energy recovery you recover most of the energy used in accelaration, so if the weight is constant that's not much of an issue. The weight isn't that much of a problem really. It's COD that's important, especially for higher speeds and the E34 does reasonably well with 0.31.

And like another poster stated: if you could remove the entire driveline you'll easily shave off a few pounds. Then replace with some decent wheelmotors like PML flightlink's motors (now being tested on a volvo C30), light wheels and suspension, etc and you won't gain more than 20 pounds. Then you can replace the entire driveline with batteries, even the fueltank. replace the weight of the entire engine, transmission and full fueltank with decent lithium batteries (as they exist now) and you can already get some serious mileage.
EESTOR's system would double that capacity at a lower price.