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Commuter Cars, the future with the Tango
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The Commuter Cars Tango, ready to go.
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Last we looked at the Tango's incredible potential, we conclude today with what lies ahead for Commuter Cars.
As far as parking the Tango is only 8' 5" long and will fit perpendicular to the curb in 1/4 of a standard parallel parking space. According to a diagram in a Booze Allen Hamilton / UC Berkeley study, by striping a parking lot for cars of the Tango's dimensions, parking capacity is increased by 350%. Parking in San Francisco in the Avenues, one can park in any of the the 4' spaces that are between every pair of driveways. According to the parking departments of San Francisco and Los Angeles, you can park as many Tangos, cars or motorcycles in a metered space as can fit.
When it comes to rollover and safety, we've achieved the static rollover threshold of a Porsche 911. Seeing videos of the Tango racing around corners and parked perpendicularly on a 30% grade with people trying but failing to push it over should eventually sink in and convince people that its looks are deceiving. We parked one on upper Stanyan St. in San Francisco that has a 30% grade. After rocking it, we were finally relieved to see the car would not go anywhere.
Safety Above All. For safety reasons, the Tango has a full race car roll cage. So to the: "I wouldn't want to be hit by a semi in that thing." the answer is, you probably wouldn't want to be hit by a semi in any case but if you are, a full race car roll cage would protect you. Unfortunately, in the U.S. everyone falsely believes small cars are dangerous. With 4 times more side protection bars in a Tango door than in the largest SUV, our EV has proven to be safe. They are attached by specially designed hinges to to be as strong as the cage in front, and have 1/2" steel pins in the rear to attach the doors to the rest of the cage. The cage is exactly the same as those in race cars that crash at over 200 mph and has an FIA certification. There is no need for air bags since the Tango uses a 4 or 5-point harness, the same types that are used in pilot's seats of aircraft.
Range Anxiety Is Overplayed. The Tango does not try to be a family car, so range is not such an issue. According to transportation statistics, the average commute in the US is only 20 miles round trip and in Los Angeles, it's only 37. A normal commute works with lead-acid batteries which are inexpensive and have a low cost per mile when used properly.
Charging EVs. As far as charging, the Tango has an advantage. With the average commute a fraction of the range of the lead-acid battery, one can plug in the Tango every night. When more range is needed, lead-acid batteries can be charged in 10 minutes to 80% state of charge with a 200-amp service. Service stations could easily provide this service instead of adding another gasoline pump. Since the swappable battery topic is on everyone's mind, the Tango's battery box is standardized and can be easily removed in less than a minute, rivaling pouring gasoline in a traditional car.
The Future. Since we are on the future topic, 24 Tangos would fit on a double-decker train car crosswise. Like a ferry, trains could do the major part of a long commute while Tangoers sat in the lounge enjoying coffee and a book, much as the Eurostar does when going from France to England. The possibilities are endless.
For the Tango to get a foothold so that the doubling of lane capacity can be achieved, it must have immediate advantages over a standard car. In California, Europe, and Asia, lane-splitting is allowed for motorcycles, some of which are 5" wider than the Tango. The Tango is 5" narrower than a Honda Gold Wing.
It is Commuter Cars' goal to put 150-million Tangos on the roads of the world within 30 years or hopefully as little as 15. I believe that when the average commuter sees the benefit, enjoys the freedom and excitement of driving a Tango, they will reach the tipping point just as the Model-T and the PC did, and people will wonder how we ever got along without them.
Investment And Finances. With a $50-million investment, we could certify the Tango for the US, Canada, and Europe, and have the tooling and infrastructure to produce 10,000 Tangos per year for under $20,000. A $1.5-billion investment would get 100,000 per year volume required to build cars that retail in the $10k to $12k range. The Tango is no different and in some ways cheaper to build.
150-million Tangos, possibly $3-trillion in sales is only about half of the SINGLE-occupant commuters in the world. The US accounts for roughly 1/3 of the world automotive market. There would be a savings of $39-billion in retail cost of gasoline to consumers which would be replaced by $5.2-billion dollars of electricity at retail based on $.10 a kWh. It would also probably save most of the $17-billion in wasted gasoline due to traffic congestion. The electricity used may not all be clean yet, but clean sources like solar and wind become are becoming more commonplace and economically feasible.
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