The car that’s like a bicycle

Nasser Al Shawaf was frustrated by the fact that he didn't get any exercise when he drove to work. So he teamed up with Dutch firm BPO and together they've created a car that has bicycle pedals instead of a gas pedal. So, you have to pedal to get your car to move. The faster you pedal, the faster it goes. The brake is controlled with a hand lever. The details:


I suppose it would provide a disincentive to speeding if you had to pedal like crazy to keep going fast. So in that sense it's similar to the Deaccelerator that I posted about recently. Though it might make it hard to overtake people. After all, what if you got tired as you were trying to frantically pedal? And what if you were in mixed driving conditions where you had to switch rapidly from slow to fast speeds? How easy would it be to transition from slow to fast mode? Overall, I can only see this having very limited appeal.

More details.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 20, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Inventions, Cars

The Deaccelerator

Richard Schulman's solution to the problem of speeding: make it harder for motorists to step on the gas pedal. From the Chicago Tribune (Nov 20, 1986):


Schulman invented it in the mid-1980s, and even started a company, the Deaccelerator Corporation, to market it. As of 2005, he was still publishing about it, but evidently the idea met with resistance (pun intended) since I'm not aware of any cars equipped with the device. The people who need it most would be exactly the ones who would refuse to buy a car that had one.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 06, 2019 - Comments (6)
Category: Inventions, 1980s, Cars

GPS of the 1920s

I can think of one obvious problem with mounting the map in front of the windshield.

Popular Mechanics - Nov 1927

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 26, 2018 - Comments (2)
Category: Geography and Maps, 1920s, Cars

Assembling a Maverick

Thanks to WU-vie MarkMcD, I was alerted to the existence of this great commercial, the inverse of my earlier post on disassembling a Beetle.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 14, 2018 - Comments (3)
Category: Advertising, Reader Recommendation, 1970s, Cars

How to Take Apart a Volkswagen Beetle

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 06, 2018 - Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Twentieth Century, Cars

Testing Cab Drivers

Back in the 1920s, one Chicago cab company had some interesting tests it required its drivers to take. One was a "strength trial for the arms" in which the driver had to hold down a spring with his outstretched arm for as long as he could. There was also a psychological test:


Perhaps Uber should consider similar tests for its drivers.

Popular Mechanics - Oct 1927

Sedalia Democrat - June 15, 1926

Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 27, 2018 - Comments (7)
Category: Jobs and Occupations, 1920s, Cars

Unoccupied car bursts into flames

A short-circuit? Sounds more like the car was possessed.

The Bridgeport Post - Apr 10, 1972

Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 20, 2018 - Comments (4)
Category: 1970s, Cars

Early Uber

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 16, 2018 - Comments (0)
Category: 1960s, United Kingdom, Cars

Stretch limo snowcat

Currently for sale on Craigslist Vancouver. They're asking $6000 for it.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 15, 2018 - Comments (0)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Cars

Shrine for the repose of the souls of people killed by Toyota cars

Built in 1970 at a cost of $445,000 (which, I'm sure, is a lot more in today's money). It was located in the Japanese mountain resort of Tateshina. I assume it's still there, though I haven't been able to find any recent references to it online.

Murfreesboro Daily News-Journal - Aug 3, 1970

Update: A more recent photo of it, via Tripadvisor. It's called the Tateshinayamashoko-ji Temple.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 15, 2018 - Comments (12)
Category: Death, Religion, 1970s, Cars