GG Quadster defies classification
Click on the image for more shots of the GG Quadster
Take a look at the GG Quadster, a machine which is designed with four wheels but powered by a motorcycle engine. The 1200cc liquid-cooled inline four cylinder design comes from BMW's range of K-bikes. This particular machine features 167 horsepower, which is enough to propel the lightweight vehicle to sixty miles per hour in no time at all. While these are very impressive acceleration statistics, for the purpose of this post, we don't care about that. We're more interested in the actual design and layout of the vehicle. Because this machine has four wheels, it cannot be classified as a motorcycle in the United States. That would make a machine such as this next to impossible to register as a road-legal vehicle. This fact raises an interesting conundrum: are vehicles like the GG Quadster really less safe than a motorcycle? If not, what are the rational reasons that it cannot be registered as such?
The engine powering the GG Quadster is quite modern, featuring electronic fuel injection, catalytic converters and all the electronic gadgetry necessary to pass emissions tests. While this particular beast was not really designed with efficiency in mind, it will likely return fuel mileage which is much better than most cars on the road. Many new vehicle designs, like that of the Aptera, are using three wheels to get around safety requirements. We are not suggesting for a minute that safety is not of utmost importance, because it is. But with all the motorcycles, including those with sidecars, circling our roads, what makes a vehicle such as this any less worthy of the same?
Gallery: GG Quadster
[Source: Faster and Faster]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 2:25PM (5/25/2008)
so, how exactly is ths a green automobile?
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rj 3:28PM (5/25/2008)
I'd say it's green in the sense that it's light weight and potentially is good on gas. It carries as many people as a smart car so maybe it has it's place. I'd never buy one myself. Very limited use vehicle.
Maybe it's green because it sits in the garage all the time and never gets used.
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Andy 3:28PM (5/25/2008)
...or I could just sit on the roof of my current car driving 60 mph and call that a quadster.
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Joe 5:54PM (5/25/2008)
One of two things needs to happen. Either,
1) The current motorcycle definition needs to be refined to include vehicles like this one or,
2) New categories of vehicles need to be created for 3 and 4 wheeled vehicles which simply are not cars.
This particular vehicle provides more safety than a motorcycle and should get considerably better gas mileage than a similar car. It should not by any means be held to the same requirements as a car because it clearly isn't one.
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stevefazek 7:17PM (5/25/2008)
we are lucky to see NEVs in this country. Remember big business tries to destroy many potential good laws.
Insurance companies were against the 55 MPH elimination because they claimed it would lead to carnage on the roads,
Truth be told accidents are down as are deaths. Their true issue with the law was that less speeding tickets were given so they couldn't raise their rates Of course they are now paying for towns to get redlight and speed cameras which simply cause people to speed in locations where they are not.
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Wave54 10:19PM (5/25/2008)
** This particular vehicle provides more safety than a motorcycle and should get considerably better gas mileage than a similar car. **
This lil' racer is a $65,000+ toy that hits 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. I doubt that it gets as good mileage as current subcompacts, especially at the speeds it will likely be driven.
Nobody's going to buy this to tool along at the speed limit to Home Depot for mulch.
Better to buy a Prius and 10,000 gallons of gas with the change.
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FrankBank 10:50PM (5/25/2008)
not at all green:
Aero - worse than small car (higher Cd), worse than motorcycle (higher area)
Rolling resistance - worse than small car (look at those tires) worse than motorcycle (4 instead of 2
This is only Autoblog material in that it entertains fantasy projects as if they were real or significant.
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jim 8:51AM (5/26/2008)
Joe, in what sense is this POS safer than a MC, excepting it won't fall over at rest? If you watch the video you'll notice the rider hanging on for dear life to keep from being thrown off due to centrifugal force. There is no additional crash protection and the added width increases the chance of striking an object that a single track vehicle will pass.
This is nothing but a toy, a less versatile road going permutation of a quad ATV.
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Kevin Nugent 8:06PM (5/26/2008)
It may not be all that green but realize that its gas mileage is guaranteed to be more than 25 mpg than the standard rated sedan so its a given you will save on gas
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GenWaylaid 9:50PM (5/27/2008)
I feel that the motorcycle / car distinction should center around what is expected to happen in a crash. In a car, you expect the occupants to remain inside and the vehicle to absorb the energy. That means a car must at least have seat belts and an energy-absorbing, encompassing frame. On a motorcycle, you expect the rider to be thrown in at least some types of crashes. That means the rider must wear a helmet, and preferably some armored clothing as well. In essence, a car should have the responsibility to protect its occupants in a crash, whereas a motorcycle rider must take care of the protection himself or herself.
This classification would put the GG Quad on the "motorcycle" side, which is consistent with how it is ridden. The Aptera would be considered a car. Interestingly, the BMW C1 enclosed scooter might be considered a car under this scheme, which is what the manufacturer apparently intended in attempting to exempt it from helmet laws. Obviously, then, the rider training requirements would have to be based on some other criterion, such as whether a vehicle is self-balancing.
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