Next Carsharing Advance: Electric Cars From a Vending Machine 62
cartechboy writes "When you're in a waiting room and get hungry, what do you do? You hit the vending machine for a candy bar or some salty snack food. Now, if you're in China and you need to borrow an electric car from the local car-sharing service, you can do exactly the same thing: go and get one from the vending machine. Just like the Smart-car dispensers seen across Europe, the Kandi car-sharing service dispenses two-seat electric cars with a 75-mile range from a big tower that looks like a huge vending machine full of candy, errrrr, cars. It costs $3.25 an hour to rent one, and China hopes it'll help cut emissions from transportation. So the next time you're in China, and you need a car, just hit up the biggest vending machine you can find."
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Nah, cars are considered sentient beings only in Japan.
Sounds like (Score:3)
Borderlands game play to me.
sounds familiar (Score:3)
I think I read that novel [amazon.com].
Interesting, but... (Score:3)
If this is the sole purpose of your visit, you might want to wait a while.
They've only built two of the car-vending machines so far (although they're working on more).
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You do for every country that doesn't recognize international drives licenses.
No you don't. Just because a country doesn't recognize the IDP doesn't mean it doesn't recognize other foreign licenses. I have never had a problem driving in China with my California drivers license.
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Re: Interesting, but... (Score:2)
Will they try to pull the ding and dent scam that (Score:2)
IS big in the usa with rent a car places and this system may even end having no one one site and you just get a bill the mail for the damage and they will not fix it and just bill each renter.
Re:Will they try to pull the ding and dent scam th (Score:4, Insightful)
Anyone else get a headache trying to read this?
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Slightly, but I'm skilled in the linguistics of potato. Let me try and translate:
As I understand it, this guy's insisting that car rental places are running a scam whereby they bill you for pre-existing damage to the car, and believes with a giant Chinese car vending machine in place, you'd just automagically get billed for damage to the car, without any human involvement.
As someone who rents cars all the time, I've yet to ever receive any sort of bill for pre-existing damage, superficial or not. I'm kind
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Some places are better than others. I've rented a car in Bethel, AK that
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I also take photos of every single bit of damage before I accept the car. The ones they try to bill are the ones that dare to not buy the add on "insurance" You want the insurance right, because something might happen to you. Guido, tell him more about the insurance...
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Who prevents you to walk once around the car and photograph it from all sides (with your cell phone)?
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but at that point the car is your responsibility and ours ends as soon as it comes out of the vending system.
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You're talking about the BandAid method. BandAids come with "Sterility Guaranteed unless opened" printed on them. Of course, you can't check to see if they're sterile without opening them, and then they are no longer guaranteed to be sterile.
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you have to return the car as each hour it's out will cost you and I think when hit's so much then it's the full price of the car and that better not go over your credit limit as then it's GTA.
Japan already did that (Score:1)
is there anything new for us to try that Japan hasn't beat us to?
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Some suggestions:
Gender equality.
Ending racism.
Preserving whales and dolphins.
A relaxed attitude to work and career.
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Assuming you are American: you have none of those. (and neither does my own country)
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Wow you're right, I misread that. Sorry!
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Ending racism
It's culturalism, not racism. Whether you are black white or asian, if you do not "act" Japanese they look down on you. However if you abide by the cultural norms that Japanese typically abide by, no one will even think twice. Of course there are some groups that organize around racist ideals, but judging the entire country based on these groups would be like judging the US for allowing the KKK to exist.
I'd say with just a few exceptions (the KKK being a notable one), most racism is culturalism in reality.
In other words, when I look down on people who suck the government teat dry, and teach their children to do so instead of attempting to make something of their lives, it's not racist unless I only look down on (say) black people who do so. I personally look down on any such person regardless of race.
And it never fails that someone will say, "Of course that's racist... only [insert color of person here]s
In plain english (Score:4, Interesting)
A "car vending machine" is an automated garages, only instead of giving you your own car back when you insert your credit card in the slot, it gives you a rental car.
Not really an earth-shattering concept...
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In my mind I pictured a vending machine like many pop machines.
You select your car then it clangs around through the machines inside and comes out at the opening at the bottom ... a mangled heap.
Of course not how it would really work, but a funny juxtaposition of calling these things "vending machines."
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Not earth-shattering, but potentially quite useful, especially if you can pick up the car near where you are, and drop it off near your destination. That would be much more practical than the current car-rental paradigm, where you have to find a place near your destination to park the rental car, continue paying for the rental car while you're at your destination, and likely pay for parking as well.
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>Not really an earth-shattering concept...
A bulldozer dispenser, however . . . :)
hawk
Fine, until one gets jammed in the dispenser... (Score:5, Funny)
I can see the headlines now:
Twelve Dead, Dozens Missing After Disgruntled Customer Tips Vending Machine
Re:Fine, until one gets jammed in the dispenser... (Score:5, Funny)
Some people will go to any length to try and get free Kandi.
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Or
car stuck court rules renter must pay for time stuck and costs to fix car and dispenser
Driving in China (Score:3)
OMG. Do not do it.
Got back from three weeks vacation out there. Driving is insane.
*ALL* driving rules are optional. And you might be thinking 'yeah, I sometimes break the driving laws.' No. It's not like that.
Do you routinely cut off oncoming traffic to make a left?
Do you routinely stop in the middle of the street and get out of your car (for whatever reason)?
Do you routinely drive down the emergency lane on freeways?
Do you routinely drive on the wrong side of the road?
These are all things that happen *all the time*. Not just sometimes. Insanity.
Re:Driving in China (Score:5, Informative)
I've driven in many places, and the chaos from the backseat seems less from the front. Unless you are just a bad driver.
I opened this article to point out that the summary is likely impossible. China is one of the few countries that didn't join the International Driving Convention. So, unlike most of the world, it's not legal to get an international license and drive there. You *must* get a local license. So the summary of "So the next time you're in China, and you need a car, just hit up the biggest vending machine you can find." is bad (and likely illegal) advice. When I was there, I looked at getting a license, and it was explained to me that the tests are only given in Chinese, so it'd be hard for a foreigner to pass, but there are services advertised that state they will be a translation service (but sound like you pay someone to take your test for you). I didn't want a license that bad, so I just let it go.
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I have traveled to many western countries (US, several in europe). I have driven in a few of 'em. I did not drive in Italy or Greece - I was poor at the time, and it looked pretty hairy.
China is not like that. Driving in China is insane.
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I've driven in NYC, Boston, Chicago, SF, LA during the freeway shootings (which my observations suggested were largely justified), and San Diego.
I live in Las Vegas with bad drivers from all of the above in no predictable pattern.
The night I learned to drive, my father took me down the aptly named "Blood Alley" in San Jose.
There's only one place I'm afraid to drive: a Roman Catholic parking lot after Mass . . .
*shudder*
hawk
It is zip car with a vertical parking lot (Score:2)
Why have a separate machine? (Score:1)
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Zipcar does that in the US. Well, not exactly as easy as using a credit card, but you have to apply and get their card. The car constantly reports its location to their system though. So if it moves when it is not supposed to move, the authorities are notified and lo-jack or whatever they have is activated.
Zoot Marlowe (Score:1)
Uhm, are they developing androids as well? If so I recommend people grab "Tubular Android Superheroes" to get tips on how to avoid being mind controlled.
Don't rock THIS vending machine! (Score:1)
hyperbole (Score:2)
> The traffic is like none North Americans have ever seen as well; Six rings of highways in Beijing, every road completely jammed with cars at all hours of the day.
That's where I stopped reading. Utter nonsense/hyperbole.