REDS EV Concept Revolutionizes The City Car – Video The Revolutionary Electric Dream Space (REDS) launched at the LA Auto Show and is designed for Chinese cities by Chris Bangle of BMW fame. Probably don't need to mention this, but it's a bit unconventional looking. I, personally, love it, as it flies in the face of convention and still manages to be a practical city vehicle. Check out the video and maybe you'll "get it" too. Should be an interesting project to watch over the next few years.
I'm all for thinking outside the box. I'm also all for throwing away traditional gasmobile car design, which evolved from horse-drawn carriages. BEVs don't need a big motor in a big metal box at the front of the car, and this should free up car designers to try radical new designs. But I'm very far from convinced that the execution here is the right approach. Sure, having the interior customize-able is a good thing. But I don't for a second buy the claim that having a forward-leaning windshield is an advantage for streamlining. It's very obviously the reverse. Due to the extremely poor aerodynamics, would this thing even be stable if driven at highway speed? But IMHO the biggest mistake here is trying to design a car to appeal to teens, and people in general, to "hang out" in. We do have vehicles for that: RVs and motor homes. If you want to live in the vehicle, then it needs certain things: A bathroom with a shower, a kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator, and beds. Teens don't like better than anyone else to be crammed into a small restricted space. People put up with that for transportation, because they have to. There is no way the average person would choose to "hang out" inside a car when he didn't have to. Particularly not if he has to share that space with one or more other people... with the exception of romantic encounters. * * * * * Of course, there are exceptions for nearly every rule. As we all know, there are people who are forced to live out of their cars due to economic necessity. If this car is intended to appeal to that segment of society, then they should be upfront about it, and not pretend the intention is to create "a space where people will like to hang out". -
Perhaps think of the living in your car thing like this: you're a young person and your living arrangements are cramped, ie, you still live at with parents, or have a lot of roommates. This gives you a space that is your own where you can listen to music or hangout with a couple friends, etc. I see a number of people hanging out in their cars here in Florida. It's pretty normal to see people go to a drive-through, then pop over to the park (better view) to eat. Not sure how popular this might be in China, the market this is supposed to be designed for. Personally, I like the idea of driving down to the coast (about 20-some miles from me) and using it as an office space with an awesome view.
