As mentioned by many authors, the auto-industry crisis is caused by a credit crisis, but also by an inadequate development strategy. The proposed solutions for solving the credit crisis, are to be restricted by a (legal, socially convenient )defininiton for "efficient/ adequated vehicles or personal cars" in correlation with a large scale/ national tax strategy too. (emited polluting noxes/ km, occupied ground surface and vehicle's mass must be firstly discouraged). This will not exclude any type of vehicle, but encourage the most efficient, useful, rational ones and redirect big sums towards public transportation and environement preserving.
The taxes shall cover proportionally the problems/ troubles of utilising a certain vehicle, and in big cities, for the smallest, cleanest personal vehicle, be higher than the public/ collective transportation alternative.
For instance the tax/ 1sqm of vehicle's ground surface shall be comparable with renting 1sqm of urban infrastructure, while for the noxes and vehicle's mass are to be taken into account the recycling/ depollution costs.
Direct public help for this industry might be accepted only for researching and developping new products (in the mentioned direction),saving/ creating a lot of jobs too. Otherwise every spent penny will lead to a bigger waste and to a more severe environement desaster.
Annexed I am also presenting the context difficulties of an initiative of mine, with the hope that together, the chances for identifying (better) soloutions are growing.
With consideration,
Marius Hegedus, Romania
www.dekaraso.ro , contact@dekaraso.ro
Even if not short, and implying many aspects, as road and urban legislation, manufacturers reorientation/ integration/ cooperation, etc., I will try to explain our project's "status".
We have some research activity in the field of transportation (urban congestion) and of small vehicles (automobiles). Our project is a ~2sqm ground surface vehicle that can carry 3 persons and ~300-700 l luggages (or 5 persons). It is based on a cabine strength structure very similar to a scooter/ ATV. We are searching international cooperation for fullfilling/ implementing the project.
Our team, including different researchers from an university, was not further financed for prototyping/ developping abroad the mentioned "idea product" ( in our country practicaly aren't manufactured motorcycles/ small vehicles, neither exists specific production infrastucture).
Even if leader of the team, I was the author of a technical solution for a relatively narrow aspect: arranging/ disposing the passengers, luggages "among" the vehicle's components (engine, transmission, strength structure, etc) in order to obtain the allready mentioned dimensional characteristics and transport capacity correlated with acceptable ergonomy,confort (safety wasn't my direct task). In this situation I am the "free" owner of a registrable patent too.
The idea started from a punctual demand/ necessity and from urban parking and traffic reasons. The further serious/scientific market research was also abandoned, so that it is difficult to forsee (for our market and not only) the preferences and demands for certain vehicles.
I was also analysing worldwide the motorcycle (ATVs, utility, sport) industry offers and some technical (presented) capacities. Because of its diversity it has resources to "mix" allready existing vehicles in "idea products" with relatively small efforts. I even identified many concrete technical possibilities and I think it (the profile industry) can be worldwide an opportune developper of such vehicles, but a stimulative adequated legislation must be adopted.
Now, because of the general crisis that affects the auto industry too, it is the moment to intensify convincing big cities and national administrations (worldwide) to adopt more severe (restrictive, antipolluting, vehicle street segregative) legislation in order to solve the allready deadlock problems and to reorientate the producers towards new and more rational concepts of "personal vehicles/cars". If people are not constricted by legislation, generally their (car) choises tend to satisfy personal (sport, luxury)ambitions, proud or social status, in contradiction with phisical objective laws or social necessities.
Just select worldwide some "personal" vehicles, and try to analyse their "ground surface efficiency" = ground surface of the vehicle/ no. of transported passengers. Our four wheeler can be pushed down to 0.5 sqm/passenger for seated places, correlated with ~L1.7-2m x l 1m ground dimensions! Without considering any other advantages, the traffic and parking capacity on the same infrastructure will be 4x higher, the vehicles assuring almost the same transport capacity and functionality like the present "personal" automobiles (of ~L4m x l 1.6m averidge ground size).
M.Hegedus