http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=13088
"A highlight of last month’s Greener Gadgets conference in New York was a cute, emerald-colored product designed by Yves Béhar of FuseProject that is aimed for citizens of the developing world who might never have dreamed of possessing such an object.
"Not a computer this time, but a car.
"Inspired by what he learned as the industrial designer on the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, Béhar presented a similarly conceived bare-bones automobile concept whose flexible design encourages do-it-yourself modification. Intended for dirt roads and in areas of undependable or no power infrastructure, (((Favela Car))) the car is projected to have electrically driven wheels, but to accept various power plants. These might include batteries and charger, a small internal combustion engine, a hybrid system or even — in a scientifically over-optimistic suggestion — solar panels. (((Well, not if you've got a thousand of 'em. You'll be wanting some of those leftover, junked solar panels that were heading for the landfill anyway.)))
"Just as the OLPC computer is customizable to encourage children to expand its utility, Béhar says, he made the car “hackable” so it could be powered and configured in any number of ways and even serve as a de facto portable generator. The front and rear forms are symmetrical, for easier and cheaper fabrication.
"It would work well in China or India, Béhar believes, where he sees the electric vehicle infrastructure growing rapidly. “The developing world can leapfrog us in many ways, and this is one of them,” he said. He regards established auto companies as “very much stuck in a design rut.
“They need original design briefs and 21st-century business models.”
Intended as a set of ideas — a schematic and not a literal blueprint — Béhar’s “people’s car” was inspired by the Citroën 2CV (“Deux Chevaux”), the legendary French peasant car conceived for farmers to carry crops to market over dirt roads...."
(((Obviously needs an open-source garage, so I hope the guys at Open Structures are getting busy with the joints, fiberboard and bamboo.)))
