The Dagne: Video game on three wheels
Hold the presses! There is yet.another.enclosed.three-wheeled.vehicle.being developed in America. The Dagne from Revolution Motors is meant to be an "ultra-efficient, high-performance sustainable commuter vehicle" and will feature a serial-hybrid drivetrain. Though it does have lots in common with various other projects, the Dagne, named after the protagonist in in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged", will separate itself from the herd by featuring all-wheel electric drive with steering, acceleration and and braking controlled via a joystick. If that doesn't make you say "Whoa!" then we won't even mention that it also does that whole front-wheels-tilting thing.
With series production planned for 2011, they have been testing a prototype since January and say that "development is proceeding smoothly and quickly." They also hope to have a limited edition single-seat, topless version available even earlier, in mid-2010. The Progressive Automotive X-Prize contender has has pretty nice performance targets. Its range is listed as 120 miles in electric mode, 600 miles as a hybrid. Top speed is an ambitious 120 mph with a 0 to 60 Mph of 5 seconds. Price is a very optimistic "under $20,000." If you want to follow their progress or learn more they have a blog. We look forward to seeing some video of this rolling video game in the future.
[Source: Revolution Motors via Aptera Forum]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scrib 5:44PM (10/10/2008)
Grivetrain? So, ya gonna get your grive on?
No, I don't have anything useful to contribute, I just spam the intertubes with sardonic comments. Yes, this makes me completely ununique.
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Domenick Yoney 10:44PM (10/10/2008)
Grank you for that. Fixed.
GoodCheer 6:15PM (10/10/2008)
Not sure about the joy-stick.
I mean, don't driving video-games often come with a steering wheel? Wouldn't that support the hypothesis that people prefer to drive with a steering wheel?
I could see motorcycle style controls working, since owners of these vehicles will probably have some motorcycle experience (at least enough to get an M license endorsement).
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gulags 6:43PM (10/10/2008)
Huh.
Well, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. If it's for real, I bet they'll still get these things out before the first VentureOne hits the streets.
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gorr 10:45PM (10/10/2008)
This is an ambitious project, it's well taught. A battery plus a fuel reformer and a fuelcell that generate electricity plus 3 electric motors for regenerative breaking. A volt for the freaks.
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cheleball 10:46PM (10/10/2008)
Call me a cynic, but I doubt they'll hit their price target. I'm also dubious of the precision of steering with a joystick, as well as of the merits of controlling both acceleration and braking with the same unit. I suppose time will tell if the implementation works.
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Crosius 11:05AM (10/11/2008)
Saab experimented with a drive-by-wire joystick for their cars, but they never put one into production. I believe Saabs reasons for shelving the idea had to do with arm fatigue on longer drives (A joystick offers fewer alternative grip positions for the hand, and requires smaller, more precise movements than a steering wheel) and a lack of haptic feedback in the drive-by-wire system.
I can see advantages - the driver "envelope" can be smaller and still feel more "open" without a wheel, there's no steering wheel to bang into in a collision, etc.
My biggest objection to this vehicle is where (and from whom) they got the name.
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JDred 7:44AM (10/12/2008)
I susect the joystick control will be the first to go. Otherwise I wish them well in this endeavor.
Crosius, what the problem? Are you one of those "How dare those Conservative types stick their nose in our business and succeed!"
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fred schumacher 4:46PM (10/13/2008)
As I commented on the Hymotion3 concept, the tadpole 3-wheel vehicle is the right form factor to meet 80% of personal driving needs. Most of the time, most of the cars on the road are carrying only one person and no cargo.
I sketched out a design almost exactly like this about two years ago. It's got the aerodynamics right, the tilting, the roll cage, the cargo area over the rear wheel, the serial hybrid/no mechanical drive powertrain with small but sufficient battery pack. The performance specs are faster than needed. A downgrading in performance could help reduce the cost. A vehicle like this really needs to be in the under $10,000 price range to become an effective instrument for reducing our fuel use.
I'm skeptical of the joystick steering. In normal driving it would be OK, but in an emergency the required movements would not come naturally to a population reared on the steering wheel or bike handlebar. Joystick control, instead of a yoke, in the Cirrus range of airplanes has been implicated in several crashes, and could be the primary cause of pilot error. A low, recumbent bike style steering mechanism (see http://www.pedalcoupe.com/index.html) could be an alternative. I can see the desire to eliminate the steering wheel. It simplifies crash absorption design and frees up space. I would use a 4-point harness with this design.
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Snoopy 9:21PM (10/22/2008)
Well, if Venture Vehicles does end up dropping the Series-Hybrid plan for the VentureOne and moves to Parallel-Hybrid only, I guess this provides me with a decent alternative. It looks similar and is supposed to have a similar suggested price tag.
Sounds good so far.
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