A "Clever" car: the Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transportation
Could you get by with half of a car? That might be a logical question to start asking ourselves, both if gas prices continue to rise and if the auto industry has a hard time meeting new CAFE standards at a price point that us average Joes can afford. There is a group of individuals who are working on a machine called the Clever that could almost qualify as just such a vehicle. It has three wheels, holds half as many passengers (two) than most cars do and manages to emit less then half the CO2 emissions than even the most efficient cars currently for sale. The vehicle was designed at the Technical University of Berlin, Institute for Motor Vehicles, with design help from BMW and partial funding from the 5th Frame Programme of the EU Commission. The engine was designed by BMW and runs on compressed natural gas.
The consortium of designers thinks that the vehicle should cost around $13,000 when and if it goes on sale within the next fours years or so. Would you buy one at that price?
[Source: Clever via Club of Pioneers]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chubaka 3:37PM (10/22/2008)
I actually would buy one today if existed - I ride a motorcycle to work whenever I can unfortunately where I live, the winter is too long so here is where Clever would come in... and when it rains.
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miike-1-2-7 1:44PM (7/19/2007)
You had me till you say "runs on natural gas".
- Where's the electric motor?
- Where's a small bio-diesel?
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hodad66 1:51PM (7/19/2007)
Yea, the Venture One is more interesting. What happened to the original Clever that's already been built?
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hodad66 1:53PM (7/19/2007)
My mistake... the Carver!!! DUH
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TG 2:30PM (7/19/2007)
Barking up the wrong tree on 2 counts.
[1] Like Mike 1-2-7 says, **Where is the..
Electric Motor?
Bio/TDI diesel motor?
Compressed air motor?
Natural Gas is for Central-Generator power plants.
[2] Safety. The accepted public transport form has been established as four wheels and 2000 pounds, plus or minus. Three wheels will only appeal to a maverick group a fraction the size of the motorcycle rider community.
Not a winner! Forget it.= TG
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TG 2:37PM (7/19/2007)
PS: It may have had a remote chance if the back had a stylish rounded cargo storage on the rear.
Take it to the French. They*ll make it look good. As it is, uglyness will kill it promptly! = TG
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amg 2:52PM (7/19/2007)
I agree with the consternation over natural gas, and while I see TG's point on how people tend to view "safe" automobiles, I think counting it out as another option for city commuters would be unfortunate. The public perception of big cars as being more safe is one that has been molded in large part by the auto industry, when many collisions could be avoided if drivers gave their full attention to the road. I would definitely drive something like this; in fact, I would drive a scooter. But I sure as heck would pay intense attention to the roadway when I do it.
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ug 3:19PM (7/19/2007)
I'd drive it if it were an EV, but I'd think twice about putting my daughter in the backseat. If you're going to do a 3-wheeler you have to come up with a way to have it pass crash-tests as well as a regular car.
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elf 4:00PM (7/19/2007)
Oh geez! I just designed a 3-wheeled EV for my industrial design summer class and it looks quite similar to this! Kind of a bummer that it has been done…
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kballs 4:51PM (7/19/2007)
Would definately consider something like this if it ran on diesel/gas/electric-hybrid. CNG and LPG isn't widely available as a vehicle fuel in North America so you'd be stuck close to home (with your home CNG compressor)... never understood why people think these are good vehicle fuels... MPG is lower with CNG too so your range is constricted. Also many people don't even realize that natural gas comes mostly from oil wells (as the lightest/least dense portion of the hydrocarbons it is in the top of the wells above the oil). Natural gas is made of hydrogen, methane, butane, and propane. Methane can come from actual "natural" sources (swamps, bogs, garbage dumps, sewage treatment facilities, yard waste processing facilities, etc.) but not in large quantities. Propane comes from natural gas (via separation).
While this thing is meant for urban commuting, I think it would be most fun on twisty rural roads, so you need easy refueling capability (gas/diesel). I think it also needs a "backpack" to strap on the back.
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A.Brien 5:05PM (7/19/2007)
One of the problem with a vehicle like that is that the front tire wear very rapidly. I have a motorcycle and the front tire wear in 13 000 miles approximately. I would prefer an eco-fueler as the
front tire is square and is power by natural gas too and have 3 seats.
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Turbofrog 7:23PM (7/19/2007)
Actually, TG, natural gas for electricity generation is frivolous and wasteful, period. When used for heating, even with old furnaces it's 60-80% efficient. When used with modern high-efficiency furnaces it's 85-95% efficient.
The absolute best combined-cycle natural gas turbines for power generation can barely crack 55%, if that.
When you take that and run it through the efficiency losses of the grid and internal losses in an electric vehicle, you end up with a pretty dismal number. Maybe burning it directly is a better idea, after all.
That said, I'd still prefer an alternative power plant. The less reliance on any form of fossil fuels the better (though I hope the above example demonstrates that it's a holistic dependance that counts on a whooole lot of factors...)
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Ian Bruce 8:17PM (7/19/2007)
I thought it was generally known that the CLEVER is a Bath University/TUB (there's a joke there somewhere) student project with some EU industry backing.
Notwithstanding its other shortcomings, the vehicle is cramped, steers improperly, and its last crash testing was pretty much a total disaster. That's fine, since there are no actual plans to commercialize it. To quote its creators, "A commercial version could be a decade away, assuming a manufacturer is interested...".
I get tired of saying this, but BMW didn't provide any design help OR the engine. The CLEVER team got ahold of a BMW 233cc motor and had it modified by the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) to run on natural gas.
On the plus side, the positive attention its form-factor's getting in the press justifies the enthusiasm we have for our own vehicle, the VentureOne.
http://www.flytheroad.com
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Chris M 10:21PM (7/19/2007)
It looks like a rip-off of the original Carver design, just not as well done. No mention of the Carver or its parent company, so I doubt they licensed it. They could end up getting hit by a nasty patent infringement suit.
Venture Vehicles has a better looking design, better power plant options, and has acknowledged and licensed the Carver technology.
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TIMMAH! 12:48AM (7/20/2007)
Yeah, I'd probably own one. I got a CNG fill up location about a half mile from my house. At my current fuel burn rates I could probably recoup the cost of the thing in 6 or 7 years.
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Scatter 4:38AM (7/20/2007)
I agree on the baggage point. Ian can I ask why you haven't gone for a rear mounted baggage pod on the VentureOne? I'd think it would improve the aerodynamics and would give a lot more space than a roof box.
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blackstripe77 7:50AM (7/20/2007)
There is also the Commuter Cars Tango, which is also a tandem two seater. It is narrower than a Honda Goldwing motorcycle, allowing for lane splitting. With over 200lbs of batteries in the floor, it allows for near-supercar-like handling. Fully electric, it does 0-60 in 4 seconds. www.commutercars.com
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geo.stewart 8:17AM (7/20/2007)
I'm in for the design issue. I would happily buy this as my car for 13K, if the engine/motor is practical. I live in suburbia and would buy this since I work out of the house and we use the wife's vehicle for family stuff.
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Angel 9:33AM (7/20/2007)
I would definitely consider driving something like this, but I think it is more a matter of people changing their attitude toward transportation. Those big cars aren't needed any more.
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PG 3:07PM (7/20/2007)
Love this thing - Saw it first here -
http://www.greenermachine.com/index.php?pOption=post&pPostId=25
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