Volkswagen Unveils 'ID Buzz' Electric Microbus Concept (ibtimes.co.uk) 52
New submitter drunkdrone quotes a report from International Business Times: Given the emissions scandal that rocked Volkswagen in 2015, we reckon Scooby Doo and the gang would opt for something a little more environmentally-sound were they to be reinvented for the 21st Century. VW's new ID Buzz electric concept car, unveiled at the International Auto Show in Detroit on 8 January, is exactly the sort of thing we can imagine the overbearing talking dog and four meddlesome kids driving around in today. The ID Buzz is the second electric concept vehicle to come from Volkswagen in recent months, following the VW I.D. concept car unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September 2016. The ID Buzz is a re-imagining of sorts of the German automaker's classic VW Microbus, with 'Buzz' being a phonetic play on 'bus' and, according to VW, "refers to the silent buzzing of the drive system." The all-electric van boasts a driving range of up to 270 miles, which VW says is comparable to traditional petrol-powered vehicles, and features a "fully-autonomous" mode that allows the driver's seat to swing round 180 degrees for a more social seating arrangement. Additional cutting-edge features include a heads-up display that projects navigational information as augmented reality images, which can appear as directional cues as much as 49 feet ahead of the car. This provides a more visual system that marks directions on the road itself, rather than having to rely on a 2D image as in the case with traditional sat-navs. VW calls the effect "astonishingly realistic."
Silent Buzzing? (Score:5, Insightful)
"refers to the silent buzzing of the drive system."
If it's buzzing, then it isn't silent.
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It is if you only *feel* the buzz.
So, back to the 70's?
Cool, maybe this time I'll remember them...
Re:Silent Buzzing? (Score:4, Funny)
If it's buzzing, then it isn't silent.
True, but I think their point it it wont bee that noisy.
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True, but I think their point it it wont bee that noisy.
I see what you did there.
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This is their fourth prototype being glared in the public eye, just to make us forget about dieselgate.
Die, VW. The Hitler car has run out of gas.
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"refers to the silent buzzing of the drive system."
If it's buzzing, then it isn't silent.
That's the problem with EV's. They still make a crapload of noise. Most of the noise you get from ICE cars is road noise rather than engine or exhaust noise. Well for petrol cars at least. The majority of the noise comes from the tyres impacting against the road surface. You have the same issue with EV's. You also have wind noise at high speeds.
I used to have a 90's Civic VTi with the D16 engine, that thing was silent. You had to ramp it past 5000 RPM for it to become noticeable over the road noise.
mystery machine (Score:1)
mystery machine was not a vw microbus
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And in their Harvey Birdman Interpretation, Scooby Doo and Shaggy were not exactly worried about massive CO2 emissions.
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Electric cars suck.
I own one and can confidently state that, for some people, they can be awesome. I wouldn't trade mine for anything (unless that thing was also electric).
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What are you doing on a news for nerds site? A microbus is a microbus is a microbus within the bounds of each technology. When a microbus technology comes through an revolutionises driving and transportation people care.
I won't buy another microbus till my current one dies, but I care to see progress rather than the world settling for the "it's just an idiot microbus" attitude. Interestingly you cared enough about it to post. Thanks for showing an interest in the story.
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DogDudeIsCool has five posts so far today. They all read nearly the same. Don't get too worked up over someone's comments. Literally...
Insert Standard Slashdot Responses (Score:5, Funny)
[Response 1: My commute is 300 miles! As a result this electric vehicle is useless for everyone!]
[Response 2: Some electricity is coal-generated! As a result, in all jurisdictions, this car is more polluting than a 1973 VW Microbus!]
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[Response 1: My commute is 300 miles! As a result this electric vehicle is useless for everyone!]
Variation: Once a month, I go visit my parents/grandparents/sweetheart/cat 300 miles away! Between the people who drive 300 miles to work and people like me who travel a long distance once a month, it won't work!
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Variation: Once a month, I go visit my parents/grandparents/sweetheart/cat 300 miles away! Between the people who drive 300 miles to work and people like me who travel a long distance once a month, it won't work!
Take the wife's car.
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But her car IS the electric car
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Then take the other one. Problem solved!
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[Response 3: My mother was killed by a electric vehicle, you insensitive clod!]
[Response 4: I will only consider getting one when they add fins and mount a laser on the front.] ;)
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It's actually worse than this. You can't look at electricity consumption overall. You have to look at the marginal increase in electricity production in response to adding a marginal increase in consumption (the EV). In nearly all locations, this added increase in consumption is met by electricity generated from burning coal or natural gas. So EVs are actually almost e
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That's some twisted logic you've got there. Congratulations, you must be proud of yourself. But it's utter bullshit.
Utilities will continue to add capacity as it becomes necessary, and that capacity increasingly (not always, but increasingly) comes from renewable sources. Furthermore, the technology curve tends to dictate that even when adding fossil-fuel-powered plants, the newer plants will tend to be cleaner and more efficient from the get-go than their decades-old predecessors.
And if all that wasn't eno
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Some can come from Hydro, which is dispatched
Until we start dis
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Wow, that is wonderful work of art, trying to argue that EVs are actually bad for the environment. Whichever company is hiring you to write that, they're using their money well.
What's your next task, to prove that black is actually white? I'd love to read that one.
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How about:
I tow for the Boy Scouts and personal camping, and need cargo capacity for camping gear for three people. I will happily buy a tow capible electric truck, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
Not my style ... (Score:4, Funny)
Now if they can come up with a modern version of a Chevy panel van. With porthole windows, cheesy mural, orange shag carpeting and a bumper sticker, "If this van's rocking, don't come knocking" they will have addressed my demographic.
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AC beat me to it. I was going to ask if you hand out candy from the side door.
Not horrible (Score:2)
The thing is not horrible looking. I like the idea of dual motors, would be even more impressed with 4 motors, one directly hooked to each wheel, but they are getting there. As for the noise, I've always wanted to have a recording of an old steam train instead of a car sound anyways, or maybe even an mp3 of horse hooves from a stage coach. The range seems a bit short, but in reality for most cases recharge time is more important than actual range. YMMV of course...
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If you prefer the classic micro bus, the real VW bug, a Porsche 356 or 912 or 914, there is a company in Tampa that makes an electric conversion for anything that uses the 200mm clutch that all these cars have in common....
Overbearing? (Score:2)
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Maybe he was thinking of Scrappy [wikipedia.org]...
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Fiat Multipla
The Italians have made some nice looking cars. They also made the ugliest car ever. They have yet to make a reliable car.
Just a ploy (Score:2)
Price? (Score:2)
Considering that something like this probably costs an order of magnitude more than the old version did, I can't see the scooby gang in one anytime soon.
Nothing new here... (Score:1)