The Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo, a famous example of a pedestrian scramble with diagonal crossings. Photo: Bruce from Sydney, Australia, 2017-12-31.
This weblog post was the oldest draft still waiting to be published. It was originally written on 2018-04-04, being initially saved at 17:21. It was finally scheduled to be published eight years and 39 minutes later, 2026-04-04 at 18:00. If you are reading this, there was no last minute reprieve. It was finally published!
Traffic lights/signals/robots, often = stoplights, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control the flow of traffic. Traffic refers to the movement of people, vehicles, ships, aircraft and more, in an area, along a street, through an air corridor, over a water route.
For those wanting to be impressed with my ability to use Google translate, here are some translations of traffic light into assorted languages: 紅綠燈 (Chinese), trafiklys (Danish), liikennevalo (Finnish), feux de circulation (French & Quebecois), Ampel (German), umferðarljós (Icelandic), trafikklys (Norwegian), trafikljus (Swedish), Світлофор (Ukrainian).
Traffic lights usually consist of three signals, transmitting meaningful information to road users through colours and graphic representatios, arrows especially, but also stick figures, sometimes lettering. The usual traffic light colours are: red to stop traffic, amber for traffic change, and green to allow traffic to proceed. These are arranged vertically or horizontally in that order, by international standard. Despite this, there are variations in traffic light sequences and laws.
There is a need in traffic situations for all participants to have a common understanding of what is happening. With various levels of autonomous as well as driver driven vehicles operating on streets, it is important that everyone (and everything, in an age of autonomous vehicles) be aware of what is to happening, especially at intersections. Situation awareness, and sometimes just clarity are the terms I prefer to use to describe a situation where people have this common understanding.
The world’s very first traffic signal was invented by John Peake Knight (1828-1886), a railway engineer from Nottingham. With 1102 fatalities and 1334 injuries documented on London roads in 1866, the signal was installed in London in 1868. It was based on railway signals mounted on a pillar, with three semaphore arms, and red and green gas lamps for nighttime use, and was operated by a police constable. It was an instant success until it was destroyed just over three weeks later by a gas explosion. The signal was declared a public safety hazard and removed.
I am not impressed with traffic in London. I remember a London taxi driver complaining to me, perhaps forty years ago, after I completed crossing a street, that he had no obligation to stop or slow down for me, if I was not in a zebra crossing (which did not exist at this intersection). Only his compassion had resulted in my continuing to live. I think this was the moment I decided that Britain, with its class society, lacked the social norms I appreciate.
Traffic lights, as we know them today, were invented in 1912 by Lester Wire (1887-1958), in Salt Lake City. He was inspired by a Biblical text from Matthew 5:15, Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all.
James Hoge (1866 – 1926) received a patent in 1913 for a manually controlled red and green (no amber) traffic light, installed in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio. Its operational rhythm could be adjusted in an emergency.
In 1917, Italian born, San Francisco resident William Ghiglieri (1866 – 1946) received a patent for an automatic traffic signal using red and green lights, with a provision for manual operation.
In 1920, William Potts (1883-1947) of Detroit invented electrically powered, hanging, automatic traffic lights to control four-way intersections. These were the first to include amber “caution” lights. They were first installed in Detroit.
In 1923, Garrett Augustus Morgan Sr. (1877-1963) received a patent for a reliable and inexpensive manually operated signal. Shortly after he sold his rights to General Electric for $40 000. GE used the patent in a failed attempt to gain a traffic light monopoly.
Yet again in Detroit, the first traffic tower in the US was installed at the intersection of Woodward and Michigan Avenues, in 1917. As they began being used in other cities, the towers assumed a wide variety of shapes and sizes, but were generally big, tall, right in the middle of all the traffic action, and visible. These traffic controlling structures were often manned, but not necessarily so, and were available with or without traffic lights.
Laying claim to the world’s oldest operating traffic light is the city of Ashville, Ohio. The light in question controlled traffic from its installation at the corner of Main and Long Streets for about 50 years, starting in 1932. Designed by Ashville resident Teddy Boor (1878 – 1954), the signal featured a slowly rotating hand that swept across the face of each light to let drivers know how much time remained before a light change. The signal was removed in 1982 by the Ohio Department of Transportation, which ordered it to be replaced with a standard traffic light.
The Teddy Boor traffic light, complete with rotating hand, inside the Ashville Museum. Photo: Dan O’Brien, 1981.
While it is no longer controlling car traffic, the light is still operating, and directing foot traffic inside the Ashville Museum, where it is the most popular exhibit. According to officials, “there is plenty of foot traffic.” The light has also been featured on Oprah and An American Moment With James Earl Jones
The first automated pedestrian signs featuring a lighted “don’t walk” signal were installed in New York City on 1952-02-05. The problem with these is that they assume an understanding of the written English language. Depictions of people walking or standing do not require an understanding of a specific language.
Red has been used to mean stop. The shade of red used in most traffic signals contains yellow hues to improve its visibility for people with color blindness. Opposite red on a color wheel is green, used for go. This colour was also used on on railways because white light could be misinterpreted, especially during daylight hours. Traffic light green includes some blue for colorblind people. Yellow, or amber, is the most visible color in the spectrum, and can be seen from a greater distance.
Traffic lights are designed to be seen in bright daylight. When they are equipped with Fresnel lenses they can focus light on a specific viewing area and obscure it from others.
Russian designer Evgeny Arinin (? – ) believes traffic signals could communicate instructions more clearly. He has designed a LED alternative, using shapes, including arrows and icons. The design concept shows some of the challenges of current traffic signage systems. A traffic signal rarely operates independently. It is part of a larger, sometimes scattered, ecosystem of signs that alert drivers to things like roadwork, school crossings, unprotected lefts, and when they can and can’t turn right on red. Drivers have to synthesize all this information as they approach an intersection. Soon enough, so will autonomous vehicles.
Some of arinin’s signals.
Most adults have a representation of a traffic light in their mind. That does not mean that people have a uniform conception of its operation. So there is a need to ensure that there is a consensus in people’s minds regarding their interaction with these object. Just take a common situation where one meets with an amber signal. Some people will want to accelerate through the intersection, while others will want to stop immediately. This can lead to actions that result in crashes, especially if the accelerating vehicle is behind the stopping vehicle.
One of my favourite traffic lights is the East German Ampelmännchen, designed by Traffic psychologist Karl Peglau (1927–2009) as part of a 1961 proposal for a new pedestrian traffic lights layout. In German, die Ampel (Plural, Ampeln) refers to a traffic light. So these are traffic light men.
East German Ampelmännchen = Traffic light men.
In addition, he made vehicular traffic signals, shown below, where Peglau’s proposal for a traffic lights layout (on the left) is compared to modern traffic lights (on the right). Peglau criticised the fact that the standard traffic lights colours = red, yellow, green, did not provide for road users who were unable to differentiate between colours (ten percent of the total population).
Peglau’s proposal for a traffic lights layout (on the left) is compared to modern traffic lights (on the right).
This traffic was designed by Municipal Signal, Ville St-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They also designed and constructed the first Solid State Traffic Controller, presented at the 1965 Miami, Florida meeting of the International Municipal Association. In those ancient times, solid state referred to electronic devices, such as transistors or crystals, that could control current = amperage, without the use of moving parts, heated filaments, or vacuum gaps.
Traffic signals in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The three lights have three different shapes to assist people with colourblindness. Photo: Sprocket, 2006-05-23.
My own work with traffic control occurred taking a microprocessor course. One major exercise was to design an intersection with four signals, each with three lights. We then had to modify it to fit changing parameters. Initial modifications included duration changes. Later, more advanced changes were needed, such as allowing approaching emergency vehicles to have right-of-way.
Virgin Atlantic Flight100, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines, using SAF = sustainable aviation fuel on a transatlantic crossing from London Heathrow to New York JFK. Photo: Rolls Royce.
With family equally divided between North America and Europe, I am doomed to an immoral life of using commercial airplanes to interact with them in person, between continents. Of course, additional immorality comes from flying for pleasure within Europe.
This weblog post reflects on the content of The six problems aviation must fix to hit net zero, an article by Joycelyn Timperley appearing in The Observer 2021-09-05. In it, she commented: Aviation is a complicated sector to decarbonise. It has some prickly ingredients: difficult technological solutions, hidden extra climate effects, an association with personal freedoms and a disproportionately wealthy and powerful customer base.
Almost four and a half years later, this weblog post will use her subject headings, but look what has happened in the intervening years, to address these issues. The first comment is that journalist Timperley is attempting to quote people to support her arguments. I have eliminated these quotations because they are general and unoriginal.
1. The fuel problem
Flying requires a lot of energy, and fuels with high energy density. I disagree with the premise that fossil fuels are the only available option for airplanes. One answer is to insist on the use of synthetic fuels, commonly called sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). This may require engine manufacturers such as Rolls Royce, to make/ modify engines specifically designed for the fuel. Even if fossil fuels continue to be used, they should be priced to ensure that the damage they contribute to the planet can be fully mitigated. There is no reason why the equivalent quantity of CO2 and other waste gasses cannot be scrubbed from the atmosphere, to make a carbon neutral product. SAFs accounted for less than 0.1% of aviation fuel consumption in 2018, in 2023 it was still less than 0.1%.
The fuel efficiency of aircraft improves over time. There is no magic involved, just the out-phasing of older aircraft with more efficient new aircraft. For example, switching from an older Boeing 747s to a more efficient Boeing 787s or Airbus A350s, can reduce carbon emissions by up to 30%. However, this improvement will not reduce total emissions. If aviation is becoming about 3% more efficient each year, passenger demand is increasing by about 5% a year.
In 2021, the European Commission presented the Fit for 55 package: a series of proposals to make the EU’s climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. The European Commission proposes obligations on fuel suppliers to provide a minimum share of SAF that increases over time. The main goal is to increase use of SAF, resulting in a reduction of overall aviation emissions. A major problem with these commission proposals, is that the numbers are not concrete, with adherence voluntary. This will result in most airlines ignoring the proposals to avoid increased costs.
SAF is technologically ready for use, but a European Union framework to increase SAF is not. Other governments, such as the UK, want at least 10% SAF in place by 2030. There seems to be no plan to increase that to anything above that level. There are currently less than 6 years to ramp up from 0.1 to 10%. Regulations in effect restrict SAFs to 50% of fuel used. The first SAF-powered transatlantic flight, Flight100, involved a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787, equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. It took place 2023-11-28 between London Heathrow and New York JFK. This demonstrated that such journeys are possible.
The SAF used on Flight100 was: 88% HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids) supplied by AirBP and 12% SAK (Synthetic Aromatic Kerosene) supplied by Virent. HEFA is made from waste fats, SAK is made from plant sugars, with the remainder of plant proteins, oil and fibres continuing into the food chain. SAK is needed in 100% SAF blends to give the fuel the required aromatics for engine function.
The real reason SAF is not used has to do with its price. Airlines as well as their customers prioritize lower costs. This means that regulators, government or international, will have to impose relevant regulations to ensure useage of SAF.
Despite many believers the most promising sustainable fuels will not be made from waste biofuels, like used cooking oils. They may be cheap and offer good life-cycle emissions, but its supply is limited. Even if all of these fuels were used exclusively for aviation, they would only provide about 2% of jet fuel use in the EU and US. In other words, it is not a solution.
Biofuels can also be made from crops such as palm, soya and corn. However, environmental groups have been arguing against these because they can compete with food production and drive deforestation – proposed EU legislation that aims to ramp up SAFs specifically excludes their use. Advanced biofuels from cellulosic plants and agricultural and forestry waste show more promise.
A final type of fuel that could be used in current aircraft is “electrofuel”, made using clean electricity and hydrogen. In theory, these could have an “almost unlimited supply”, says Rutherford, but they are currently very expensive to make.
There are also completely different kinds of aircraft on the horizon. While the size and weight of current battery technology mean electric propulsion is still a long way off for larger aircraft, electric planes are appearing on shorter routes. Yet, one of the key areas where electric aircraft need to make an impact, is with flight schools. For example, the Slovenian Pipistrel Velis Electro aircraft are in use for pilot training at Green Flight Academy in Skellefteå, Sweden. Starting in 2019, several smaller electric aircraft have appeared in this weblog: A retrofitted Beaver at YVR airport in Richmond, British Columbia;
Some companies are working on new kinds of aeroplanes designed to run on hydrogen gas, which could also be produced using clean electricity. Last year, Airbus revealed its concept for a hydrogen aircraft that it said could enter service by 2035, although it has also admitted such planes won’t be widely used until after 2050.
Chances of being solved? Clean fuels are likely to be used more and more but will make up only a few percent of fuel by 2030 and are unlikely to make a significant impact until after 2050.
2. The non-CO2 problem
Aviation accounts for about 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, but its warming impact is far larger because of other gases and particulates it emits at high altitudes. These are often called non-CO2 impacts, these include nitrogen oxides and contrail clouds = line-shaped vapor trail clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several km above the Earth’s surface. They are composed primarily of water, in the form of ice crystals. These are rarely specified in aviation climate goals, but they could triple the climate impacts of aviation compared with CO2 alone.
What’s problematic, but also promising, about these effects is that they vary substantially depending on the surrounding climatic conditions. For example, one study found that just 2% of flights contribute to 80% of contrail warming effects. Night-time flights are particularly bad, because contrails produce their warming impact mainly at night.
It’s important to note that low-carbon fuels can still produce non-CO2 impacts, although these are expected to be lower than for kerosene for most fuels.
Chances of being solved?Unlikely in the near term given low prominence. However, the EU is beginning to pay more attention to this issue.
3. The frequent flyer problem
Some argue technological solutions will be too slow to reduce emissions in the aviation sector, and measures to reduce the amount people fly are needed to limit the damage to the climate.
But flying is not an evenly spread activity. In the UK about 15% of the population take 70% of all flights, and around half of people don’t fly at all in any given year. “That’s a pattern replicated in many other counties,” says Cait Hewitt, policy director at the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF).
The inequality in flying is even more stark at a global level. One study estimated that just 1% of the world’s population emits 50% of CO2 from commercial aviation, while just 2-4% of people fly internationally in a given year.
Some campaigners therefore support a “frequent flyer levy” as a fairer way to limit aviation emissions. The UK campaign A Free Ride argues everyone should have one annual flight free from the levy, then pay a rising charge for every extra flight taken that year. The UK’s first climate assembly also backed the idea of a frequent flyer levy.
The problem with such a levy is that many people in the frequent flyer category are likely to have the wealth to pay a moderate levy, or to have it paid by their employers, says Wood.
Manuel Grebenjak, a campaigner at the Stay Grounded network, says measures to limit flights overall, such as banning flights on certain routes, could help to stem rising emissions in a fairer way. “If a flight is banned from a certain city to another one, no one can fly, so it’s very just,” he says.
France has already moved to ban domestic flights on routes that can be travelled by train within two-and-a-half hours. Even just providing an alternative to flying can be effective: new high-speed rail lines have reduced aviation transport on the same routes by up to 80%, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Chances of being solved? Governments,including the UK, tend to shy away from demand management approaches to limiting aviation emissions, but France and Austria are making good first steps.
4. The policy problem
All this feeds into a wider need for strong policy to tackle aviation emissions, which has largely been lacking so far. “International aviation sits outside the Paris climate agreement, because that agreement is about a country’s domestic emissions,” says Harvey. “So there was a real push to have a scheme for international aviation.”
After years of inaction, in 2016 countries at the UN aviation agency, ICAO, agreed on the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia), a global deal to “offset” the growth in aviation emissions above the average levels in 2019 and 2020. However, when flights plummeted during the pandemic, countries changed the baseline of this scheme, which means there are currently no obligations on airlines. Egeland says Corsia’s effectiveness will “ultimately depend on the quality of carbon offsets that ICAO will accept”.
ICAO is also in discussions over a long-term climate goal for aviation for 2050, but it is not clear when this will be agreed or what the target will be.
Meanwhile, policies are being increasingly discussed at the national and regional level. In particular, the EU’s proposed “Fit for 55” climate legislation includes plans to mandate targets for SAFs and to end aviation’s fuel tax exemption. “Aviation fuel is exempt from any taxes almost everywhere,” says Grebenjak. “The EU wants to end the basically free rider status of aviation, and implement a kerosene tax that’s at the same level as other fuels.”
Chances of being solved? ICAO has been notoriously slow to act on aviation emissions, and many environmental groups criticise CORSIA for being far too weak, but recent policy moves at the EU level represent a significant step change.
5. The new middle class problem
Action at the EU level is encouraging, and the UK government even has a consultation out on its strategy for net zero aviation. However, the biggest growth in flying in the coming decades is expected outside Europe and the US, especially among the growing middle classes of developing countries.
Asia and the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East are the regions expected to see the most growth in the next 20 years, and last year China overtook the US as the world’s largest air passenger market. “The rise of a travelling middle-class in China and India has seen passenger demand grow at around 10% per annum,” says Hewitt.
Rutherford adds that frequent flyers look similar wherever in the world they are, namely upper-middle-class professionals. A global frequent flyer levy could therefore be one way to curb the growth, he says.
Chinese airlines will also increasingly have to meet local rules designed for climate mitigation if they want access to international airports, says Hewitt. But the vast majority of flights in China take place within its borders, which international policies would not apply to. “States will need to take domestic action to supplement international agreements in order to achieve net zero for aviation by 2050,” says Hewitt.
Chances of being solved?It’s up to developed countries to lead the way on reducing aviation emissions, which will then give more leeway to put pressure on developing countries.
6. The supersonic problem
Even amid growing efforts to reconcile aviation with a net zero world, some companies are pushing to develop aircraft that are even more polluting.
Earlier this year, United Airlines announced plans to buy 15 supersonic aircraft from Boom Supersonic, with the aim to begin using them by 2029. Rolls-Royce and the US air force also have deals with Boom.
As well as the noise issues with supersonics, these super-fast flights could consume five to seven times as much fuel for each passenger as subsonic aircrafts. There’s also a concern that supersonics, which will be operating high in the stratosphere, will have a disproportionate impact through non-CO2 emissions, says Rutherford. Developing emissions-intensive supersonic planes could also end up being a distraction from zero emission technologies such as hydrogen planes, he adds.
Rutherford says the best way to prevent climate damage from supersonic aircraft may be to require them to meet the same environmental standards as other airplanes. “That would, in essence, act like a ban,” he says. “They just can’t meet those standards.”
Challenger Deep (CD) is the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere. It is located in the Marianna Trench, in the Federated States of Micronesia. The depression is named after the British Royal Navy survey ships HMS Challenger (1858 – 1980), the fifth of eight ships with that name, whose expedition of 1872–1876 first located the Deep, and HMS Challenger II (1932 – 1954), whose expedition of 1950–1952 established its record-setting depth, 10 935 m below the surface. Its coordinates are at 11°22′ N 142°35′ E.
CD is a slot-shaped valley in the floor of Mariana Trench, with depths exceeding 10 850 meters. It consists of three basins, each 6 to 10 km long and 2 km wide. They are separated by mounds between the basins 200 to 300 m higher. The three basins extend about 48 km west to east if measured at the 10 650 m isobath.
The first descent by any vehicle was conducted by the United States Navy using the bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960-01-23 crewed by Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard (1922 – 2008) and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh (1931 – 2023). The Trieste is currently preserved as an exhibit in the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington, D.C. It was decommissioned in 1966 after its deep-sea explorations.
The only bathyscaphe I have seen in person is the Trieste II, a vessel designed modified by the Naval Electronics Laboratory in San Diego, California and built at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, located on Mare Island, a peninsula part of the city of Vallejo, on San Pablo Bay in San Francisco Bay, California. It incorporated the original Terni, Italian-built sphere used in Trieste. This sphere was suspended from a new, more seaworthy and streamlined float, operating on the same principles. It was completed in 1964, then placed on board USNS Francis X. McGraw (T-AK241) and shipped, via the Panama Canal, to Boston.
Trieste II conducted dives in the vicinity of the loss site of USS Thresher (SSN-593), lost on 1963-04-10, during deep-diving tests about 350 km east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, killing everyone on board. This lead to the implementation of a rigorous submarine safety program = SUBSAFE. Wreckage from the Thresher was found.
Between 1965-09 and 1966-05, Trieste II underwent extensive modification and conversion at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. A third reconfiguration followed resulting in the installation of a new pressure sphere, designed for operation to 6,100 m depth. She was then used as a test vehicle for the deep submergence. This resulted in the design and construction of other deep-diving submersibles which could be used in rescuing crews and recovering objects from submarines in distress below levels reachable by conventional methods.
The Trieste II was listed as equipment in the Navy inventory until 1969-09-01, when it was placed in service, with the hull number X-1. She was reclassified as a deep submergence vehicle (DSV) on 1971-06-01. The Trieste class DSV were replaced by the Alvin class DSV: more capable, more maneuverable and less fragile. After that the Trieste II was preserved as a museum ship at the Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport, Washington.
Pressure Drop
The most extensive sonar mapping of CD was undertaken by the DSSV (deep submersible support vessel) Pressure Drop, a 68.3-metre former US Navy ship. Refitted to accommodate 47 people – including 19 crew and 12 technical specialists. In previous lives it was USNS Indomitable (T-AGOS-7), a United States Navy Stalwart-class ocean surveillance ship in service from 1985 to 2002. From 2003 until 2014, she was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the oceanographic research ship NOAAS McArthur II (R 330). It was then sold to Victor Vescovo’s (1966 – ) company Caladan Oceanic.
Vescovo graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University, followed by a M.S. in Defense and Arms Control Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Inkfish purchased the DSSV Pressure Drop in 2022 and the crewed Deep Submersible Vehicle (DSV) Limiting Factor and was part of a package for marine research purposes. Inkfish was founded by Gabe Newell (1962 – ), a video-game developer who co-founded Valve and the digital distribution service Steam. Inkfish is a global philanthropic organization focused on marine research and innovation, known for its advanced research vessels and commitment to developing new technologies for scientific exploration. Limiting Factor has been renamed Bakunawa. The name refers to the Philippine moon dragon or moon-eating dragon, a serpent that looks like a Dragon, in Philippine mythology. It was given the designation Triton 36000/2 by its manufacturer Triton Submarines, located in Sebastian, Florida, USA.
A Norwegian Kongsberg SIMRAD EM124 multibeam echosounder system, was used to show the bottom of Challenger Deep comprised three ‘pools’ – Western, Central and Eastern.
In 2012, James Cameron became the first person to solo dive that point. Piccard, Walsh and Cameron remained the only people to reach the Challenger Deep until 2019, when regular dives in DSV Limiting Factor began. To date, 19 of the 22 successful descents have been made in the DSV Limiting Factor. No other craft has made a repeat descent. To date, there have been 27 people who have descended to the CD, the last on 2022-07-12.
My interest in deep dives began by reading about William Beebe (1877-1962). Beebe was an American naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer and writer. He conducted numerous expeditions for the New York Zoological Society, such as the Arcturus mission (a six-month-long research expedition in 1925 from New York to the Sargasso Sea, Cocos Island and the Galápagos Islands). He undertook deep dives in the Bathysphere, a spherical deep-sea submersible lowered into the ocean on a cable. It was used to conduct a series of dives off Nonsuch, Bermuda from 1930 to 1934. The Bathysphere was designed in 1928 and 1929 by the American engineer Otis Barton (1899 – 1992), to be used by Beebe to study undersea wildlife. Beebe and Barton conducted dives in the Bathysphere together, marking the first time that a marine biologist observed deep-sea animals in their native environment. Many of the descents made by Beebe and Barton in the Bathysphere were described by Beebe in his book, Half-Mile Down (1934). I frequently borrowed this book from New Westminster Public Library. Currently, I have an e-book edition of this book.
The bathysphere had a number of limitations. Thus, the next step was to produce a vehicle that offered independent movement. The first undertaking were made by Jacques Piccard’s, father Auguste (1884 – 1962).
Context: The father was a physicist and professor of meteorology, who first experimented with balloons. In 1931 he and Paul Kipfer (1885 – 1975) used a balloon launched in Augsburg, Germany to reach a height of 15 781 m to measure cosmic radiation. In 1932 Piccard and Belgian Max Cosyns (1906 – 1998) reached 16 940 m, starting off from Dübendorf, Switzerland. The older Piccard completed 27 balloon expeditions, ultimately reaching a height of 23 000 m. The balloon used was the FNRS 1, named after Belgian Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique, the funding organization for the venture.
After World War II Auguste Piccard, used his experience to explore the ocean depths. In 1937 he designed the FNRS 2, built in Belgium between 1946 and 1948. It was damaged during 1948 trials in the Cape Verde Islands. It was then substantially rebuilt and greatly improved. The vessel was renamed FNRS 3 and carried out a series of descents including one to 4 000 m into the Atlantic off Dakar, Senegal, in 1954.
An improved bathyscaphe, the Trieste, was designed by Auguste Piccard and built by the Italian shipyards Acciaierie Terni and Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico. It was launched in 1953, and dived to 3 150 metres that year. In 1958, the Trieste was acquired by the United States Navy, taken to California, and equipped with a new cabin designed to enable it to reach the seabed of the great oceanic trenches.
On I had written a weblog post titled Objets trouvés = found objects. It mentioned the destruction of the Red Bridge in Kamloops. The post was mainly about objects found in Muustrøparken, the sculpture park in Straumen, 13 km east of Cliff Cottage, where we live. In that earlier post, I admitted regret that I had not taken a photo, but promised to include it in a future weblog post. It is a photo of a very simple garage, the one shown above. In it there is space for exactly one vehicle (on the right), and a compact workshop (on the left). I wanted to include this photo because it shows the maximum space most people have at their disposition if they want to work on/ play with a vehicle. I did not want the doors open, because I wanted everyone to use their imagination to envisage the interior of the garage. For example, I would want an assembly/ finishing/ inspection/ test/working/ workshop pit.
Four years ago today, on 2021-10-29, a weblog post titled Downsizing the Garage, updated an eight-year old post, from 2017-10-29, Stuffing a 10-car Garage. Now, it is time to make a new update, Shrinking the Garage. During these three iterations, the number of vehicles has declined from an initial 10 in 2017 to 6 in 2021 to 3 in 2025. Originally, I had been aiming at four vehicles: a pickup, a van, a rural passenger vehicle and an urban passenger vehicle. Then at the end of 2025-04, Slate was announced. It allowed a pickup to be transformed into a SUV = rural passenger vehicle. Then I discovered the Honda N-van E FUN, which was a van/ MPV = Multi-Purpose Vehicle. At the beginning of 2025-04, I had expected to rely on a Hyundai Inster as an inexpensive urban vehicle. At the time it was expected to cost NOK 320 k. However, when the Nio Firefly was announced it cost NOK 289 k. These prices were far too expensive for families with young children. The Hyundai Inster is now being sold in Norway, at a price of NOK 245 k. This is approaching affordable.
The main selection criteria were: 1) small, 2) inexpensive, 3) battery electric. On 2023-03-05 one source said there were 40 battery electric models available in USA. There are now about 70 models available at the end of 2025-04. In Europe, the Alternative Fuels Observatory claims there have been 371 models available up to the end of 2023. In terms of small, I have tried to find something smallish. Most often I have been attracted to Japanese Kei vehicles. Yes, smallness is more of an art than a science.
Perhaps the hardest criteria to meet has been that of price. Price is always difficult because of a lack of corporate transparency. Consumers do not know how the companies allocate the income from the sale of a vehicle. They suspect that profits are whatever is leftover, but they underestimate the greed of investors. There are four large slices of that pie: material and component costs; labour costs; debt costs; and, dividend costs paid out to shareholders. My suspicion is that shareholders want the largest slice of the pie. This is difficult with EVs, because these vehicles have large material and component costs.
Then there is the problem of software. I have not been impressed with the software on Buzz. It is almost adequate. German society does not do software well. Indeed, I worry that almost the entire automotive software industry, outside of China, should receive a failing grade. Everywhere else, corporations are more concerned about mechanical engineering.
Returning to the opening paragraph, people may be wondering why a garage is so important. The answer is Right to Repair. In the neighbourhood where I grew up, there were youths who had constructed their own hot rods, ideally a deuce (= 1932 Ford, with an emphasis on the 2) coupe = a two seater. Others restored Model A Fords, with varying degrees of success. This does not seem to be done any more, as cars have become more complex and have to meet improved safety standards. Manufacturers are putting limits on what people are allowed to do with their vehicles. The Model A Ford was made between 1928 and 1931, with the model year actually starting in August of the year before, so the oldest Model A is about 98 years old. It is only about six years before those deuce coupes reach the century mark.
With the exception of our 2012 Mazda 5, now owned by Alasdair, all of our previous vehicles have been crushed. At one point, I attempted to buy back our 2002 Citroën Berlingo. However, it too had reached its ultimate fate. I regarded it as the ultimate inexpensive family vehicle in Europe. We bought it with the only two factory options available, a left rear door, and ABS brakes.
EVs are increasing in popularity, and improving, technically and in terms of design. Unfortunately, most of this development is happening in vehicle segments that people should be avoiding . This weblog post presents two EVs made by two companies for four different segments on two different continents. During the year this post has been in development, all of four models originally selected have departed the list, and been replaced by others.
The 2025 United Nations COP 30 Climate Change Conference, is scheduled to be held 2025-11-10 to 21 in Belém, Brazil. This is important because it finally takes the climate change focus into the Amazon.
In Europe, auto segments range from A (mini) to F (luxury). In addition there are sports utility (J), Multi-purpose (M) and sports (S). Our current vehicle, a Volkswagen Buzz EV is in the M category.
Pickup
Pickups are as American as pizza, so there would probably not have been many objections if this slot had been filled by any number of American vehicles including, in alphabetical order by brand, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, the Ford F-150 Lightning, the GMC Hummer EV, the Rivian R1T, and the Tesla Cybertruck, There was a time when this list might have also included the Havelaar Bison, the Lordstown Endurance and the Nikola Badger.
With the exception of the Bison, none of the vehicles listed above appeal to me. They are too massive. I saw a Ford F-150 Lightning for the first time on 2024-06-11, on display at TRD = Trondheim Airport Værnes. However, I will also admit, that the first vehicle I leaned to drive on, at the tender age of 14, was a Chevrolet Advance Design 3100 pickup, probably from 1952, in the farm fields of Okanagan Mission, near Kelowna. It belonged to Harry Raymer. Later, in the early 1970s, I drove Ernie Jickles – whose eyesight was failing and was not allowed to drive – around in his wife’s Ford Courier pickup, so we could photograph. The Courier was a rebadged Mazda B-1800. In the late 1980s, in Inderøy, I drove a Nissan pickup working on a lafted house project out in Malm.
I say that because somewhere deep inside me, I am waiting for a 1) battery electric, 2) small size, 3) inexpensive pickup, like the …
Slate
I have actually begun to spell Slate as sla/Te, which can be manipulated to become Te/sla, or even Tesla. Yes, the antithesis of the non-functional Cybertruck. Most of the specifications for the Slate are below the second vehicle under consideration. Slate makes the comparison that its size is similar to to a 1985 Toyota pickup. However, since numerous pickup owners have tried to impress me with their pickup beds, here are the bed statistics for Slate. Yes, that means that almost a quarter of sheets of plywood will stick out. With the tailgate folded down, about 1524 + 483 + 6 (to create a round number) = 2 010 mm of a standard sheet of plywood would be contained leaving 2440 – 2010 mm = 430 mm sticking out beyond the confines of the truck. There should be no problem with width as a standard sheet = 1220 mm in width.
Bed Size
L = 1 524 mm
W = 1 524 mm
H = 483 mm
Honda N-Van e FUN
Honda N-Van e is small, but can carry a lot of stuff. This RHD version has pillar-less entry on the passenger side, and sufficient space to carry a lot of things, or up to four passengers, in the L4 or FUN variants.
The N originally stood for norimono, literally a litter, where two (sometimes more) people carry a high-status person, but which in modern Japanese loosely translates as vehicle. The N-Van is only built for the Japanese market, so it is only available with right hand drive (RHD). This is not a problem, but a customization challenge in left-hand drive territories, such as most of Europe or the Americas.
Current available colours are: Frame Red, French Blue Pearl, Admiral Gray Metallic, Nighthawk Black Pearl, Sonic Gray Pearl and Platinum White Pearl. Discontinued Colours: Premium Yellow Pearl, Surf Blue and Pink. When buying a used N-Van, the exterior colour is not an issue. Indeed to negotiate a lower price, I would even accept some fading, or minor rust damage. I would want to repaint it a fairly unusual colour such as turquoise.
Yes, the darker turquoise in this turquoise and gold wallpaper would look very nice as the main or lower colour of an N-van. The roof could be white, and the wheels gold.
The interior is fully black instead of having grey interior trims seen on many kei commercial vehicles. It is also equipped with a high-performance dust collection filter compatible with PM2.5, an optional special package for driving navigation possibly not suitable outside of Japan, front two speakers, and USB jacks for charging, with 2 quick charging compatible types. Two accessory sockets (DC12V) are fitted, of which one is located at the passenger seat, and the other is at the left rear panel in the cargo area. The rear seats also comes with headrests. The door mirrors are retractable. The front two windows have heat shield IR/UV cut, while the front windscreen has Super UV protection as standard. For the sliding door, rear quarter and tailgate, privacy glass is standard equipment.
So, what is the real reason for promoting a right-hand drive (RHD) vehicle in a left-hand drive (LHD) country? First, it would be interesting to work on a small, inexpensive, battery electric vehicle. Second, I am attracted to vans, not sedans or coupes or even convertibles. Third, this is not a high priority item for me, so I would prefer to schedule it at a time of my life when I don’t have other obligations, such as between 2033 and 2038, when I am between 85 and 90 years old, what some people would call overtime. One of my goals would be to transform it into a LHD vehicle.
There are other models that could work equally well, these include the newly launched design triplet EVs:Toyota Pixis Van, Suzuki Every and Daihatsu Hijet (All made by Daihatsu). These have about 200 km of range. There is also the older Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV. Beyond Japan, there is the South Korean Kia Ray. Of course, another approach is to take an ICE Suzuki Jimney or Subaru Sambar or an older Daihatsu Hijet and convert it to an EV.
This was a British Daihatsu advertisement from 1996. Such a vehicle with a non-functioning engine would be appropriate to have as an EV project vehicle.
This could make a great runabout for Shelagh on her 50th birthday in 2039! Hopefully by then she will have a driving license.
Hyundai Inster
Hyundai Inster with typical customer. Photo: Hyundai
At one time in Norway it seemed that almost everyone over the age of 70 was driving either a Suzuki Swift or a Hyundai i10. The Swift 4×4 hybrid is still available, but I am uncertain how many people are buying it. It costs NOK 345 k. The i10 has been replaced by the Inster. Except, the Inster seems to have attracted younger and more feminine drivers.
Having written a weblog about the Hyundai Casper, I feel no need to repeat myself. Most of the relevant information about the Inster is found at this link. One videograph described the Inster as: More for Less, or was it Less is More.
Company
Model
Segment
Country
Slate
–
Pickup => SUV
USA
Honda
N-Van-e FUN
MPV
Japan
Hyundai
Inster
Crossover City Car
South Korea
Two companies in two countries on two continents, producing four or more vehicle models for assorted segments.
Vehicle type
Slate
N-Van
Inster
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (s)
4.0
Passenger accommodation
2 – 5
4
4
Range (km)
550
230
327
Charging Speed 20-80% (minutes)
20
30
Top Speed (km/h)
200
140
Power (kW)
380
47
71
Mass (kg)
2 000
1 060
1 335
Length (mm)
3 861
3 395
3 825
Width (mm)
1 854
1 475
1 610
Height (mm)
1 676
1 950
1 610
Wheelbase (mm)
2 520
2 580
Ground clearance (mm)
Base Price
Yes, some data is missing, so the table will be completed as relevant data emerges.
Cirrus may refer to a type of high-altitude cloud made of ice crystals, typically appearing wispy and delicate. The name comes from the Latin word meaning curl or fringe, and these clouds usually form between 4 000 and 20 000 meters above sea level. Interesting, but it is not the cirrus being discussed here.
Quill-shaped cirrus cloud over Gåseberg, Sweden. The sun is setting behind and to the right of the cloud bank, illuminating the “quill” while some of the lower clouds are in shadow at the time, so they appear darker. Photo: W. Carter, 2016-09-28.
In general aviation = light aircraft, Cirrus is an aircraft manufacturer, known for developing some of the most popular piston aircraft and light jets in the world. It The was founded in 1984 by brothers Alan (1958 – ) and Dale (1961 – ) Klapmeier, who started by designing and building a kit aircraft called the VK-30 in their parents’ dairy barn. The prototype debuted at Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh in 1987 and took flight the following year, eventually leading to a small run of kit deliveries.
In the late 1990s, Cirrus shifted to certified aircraft production and launched the SR20 in 1999. The SR in Cirrus aircraft stands for Single-engine Reciprocating, indicating that these are single-engine piston planes. This naming convention was chosen to sound appealing and modern, similar to military aircraft designations. With its advanced avionics, composite materials, and safety-first features like the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), the SR20 marked a major turning point. The more powerful SR22 followed in 2001 and has since become the best-selling general aviation aircraft of the 21st century, with nearly 8,000 units delivered.
Cirrus SR22 at Schönhagen Airfield, Trebbin, south-west of Berlin, Germany. Photo: Matti Blume, 2020-09-18.
Cirrus was the first aircraft manufacturer to install CAPS = a whole-plane parachute recovery system as a standard on all its models—designed to lower the airplane (and occupants) safely to the ground in case of an emergency. The device is attributed with saving over 200 lives to date. In addition, an all-composite airframe construction and glass panel cockpits on production aircraft were used. These features revolutionized general aviation
Scott Anderson (1965 – 1999) was director of flight operations and chief test pilot for Cirrus. He was responsible for the certification of its SR20 single-engine four-seat composite aircraft. Innovative design features included a single power-lever that adjusted both throttle and propeller RPM, a side-yoke flight control system, a spin-resistant wing design, and a large LCD cockpit display for the avionics. In 1997, Anderson became the lead test pilot on a groundbreaking safety innovation by Ballistic Recovery Systems and Cirrus Aircraft. CAPS was first installed on the SR20 to counteract a loss of control or structural failure, such as: engine failure, mid-air collisions, pilot disorientation or incapacitation, unrecovered spins, extreme icing and fuel exhaustion.
An SR20 aircraft, piloted by Scott Anderson, descending to the ground, supported by a ballistic parachute. The system was designed in the mid-1990s by Cirrus and Ballistic Recovery Systems. Photo: NASA, 1998.
Anderson died while putting the first production SR20 through experimental test flights before it went on sale. The purpose of the flight was to perform routine torture-test maneuvers and assess changes to the aileron if there were any issues. The incident occurred after the plane’s aileron had jammed. Cirrus redesigned the aileron to prevent the problem that killed Anderson, and sold their first SR20 in July 1999.
Building on that success, Cirrus introduced its first jet in 2016, the single-engine Vision Jet. It was marketed towards owner-operators seeking a step up from turboprops. The aircraft features a pressurized cabin, a parachute system, and an autoland function. The latest version, the Vision Jet G2+, entered the market in 2021 with improved takeoff performance and onboard WiFi.
In 2022, Cirrus sold 539 SR-aircraft (almost 40% of the entire piston market) and 90 Vision Jets = 629 deliveries, nearly $1 billion in total revenue. It became the largest single producer of general aviation aircraft in 2022 for the first time in the manufacturer’s history. It continued this trend in 2023, with SR shipments accounting for over 50 percent of the worldwide piston market, more than twice the output of any competitor.
Since the start of the pandemic, the company has experienced supply chain problems resulting in a backlog of almost 700 SR aircraft (as of March 2022) or nearly two years (as of January 2023). It has also faced challenges from the Federal Aviation Administration with two separate airworthiness directives dealing with its Continental piston engines and SR power levers, as well as a company service bulletin dealing with its firing mechanisms for the primer material that ignites the parachute rocket on some SR and Vision Jet aircraft.
Cirrus has helped lead sustainable efforts in the general aviation industry, becoming one of the first OEMs to conduct tests of unleaded fuel in SR22/22Ts and continuing tests of G100UL as part of a program to move towards full unleaded fuels, along with being an early adopter of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the Vision Jet’s Williams FJ33 engine.
Furthermore, most recently, in early 2024, the company unveiled the new variant of SR22, the G7. It features upgraded avionics, a higher-output engine, and enhanced cockpit systems while retaining the design characteristics that have made the model a staple of modern private aviation.
Other General Aviation Manufacturers
Textron, incorporating Cessna and Beechcraft
Clyde Cessna (1879 – 1954), a farmer in Rago, Kansas, built his own aircraft and flew it in June 1911. He started a wood-and-fabric aircraft venture in Enid, Oklahoma. When bankers in Enid refused to lend him more money to build his planes, he moved to Wichita, Kansas.
Cessna became best known for producing small, high-wing, piston aircraft. Its most popular and iconic aircraft is the Cessna 172, delivered since 1956 (with a break from 1986 to 1996), with more sold than any other aircraft in history. The Citation family of low-wing business jets has been well known since the first model was delivered in 1972.
Cessna was purchased by General Dynamics in 1985, then by Textron in 1992. In March 2014, when Textron purchased the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft corporations, Cessna ceased operations as a subsidiary company, and joined the others as one of the three distinct brands produced by Textron Aviation.
Prominent models: Cessna 172 Skyhawk – high-wing, single piston-engined, four-seat aircraft in production since 1956. Cessna 182 Skylane – high-wing, single piston-engined, four-seat aircraft in production since 1956. Cessna 206 Stationair – high-wing, single piston-engined, six-seat utility aircraft in production since 1962. Cessna 208 Caravan – high-wing single-turboprop utility aircraft in production since 1984. Cessna 408 SkyCourier – high-wing twin-turboprop utility aircraft in production since 2022. Cessna Citation family – twin-engined business jets
Beech Aircraft Company was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1932. It began operations in an idle Cessna factory. The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous production longer than any other aircraft in history. More than 17 000 Bonanzas of all variants have been built, produced in both distinctive V-tail and conventional tail configurations; early conventional-tail versions were marketed as the Debonair.
Beech was sold to Raytheon Company in 1980. In 1994, Raytheon merged Beechcraft with the Hawker product line it had acquired in 1993 from British Aerospace, forming Raytheon Aircraft Company. In 2002, the Beechcraft brand was revived to again designate the Wichita-produced aircraft. In 2006, Raytheon sold Raytheon Aircraft to Goldman Sachs creating Hawker Beechcraft.
Hawker Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy in 2012, but emerged in 2013, as a new entity, Beechcraft Corporation. Among the Beechcraft models produced are the Bonanza series of single-engined piston general aviation aircraft, Baron twin-engined piston utility aircraft, Denali single-engined turboprop, and (Super) King Air twin-engined turboprops.
In April 2022, Textron purchased Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel to form a new division called Textron eAviation, for electric aircraft development.
Piper
Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, originally located in Rochester, New York. It moved to Bradford, Pennsylvania in 1937. Since 1970 it has been located in Vero Beach, Florida. Since 2009, it has been owned by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th century, it was considered to be one of the Big Three in the field of general aviation manufacturing, along with Beechcraft and Cessna. Between its founding in 1927 and the end of 2009, the company produced 144,000 aircraft in 160 certified models, of which 90,000 are still flying. It has been difficult to find out how many aircraft have been produced since 2009. Among the models currently produced are the Archer DLX, Archer LX, M500 and M350.
Diamond
Diamond Aircraft Industries is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft and motor gliders, based in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria, Austria. It has been a subsidiary of the Chinese company Wanfeng Aviation since 2017. It is the third largest manufacturer of aircraft for the general aviation sector, and has operational facilities in both Lower Austria and London, Ontario, Canada. It produces the single-engined DA20, DA40 and DA50 RG, as well as the twin-engined DA42 and DA62.
Value alignment
I have a lot of unprocessed content, waiting for some event to trigger publication. Today I discovered that my values do not align with Cirrus Aircraft. Why? They had invited Irene Entropy, a content creator, to collaborate during this year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. After one day, Cirrus ended the partnership, telling her that their brands did not align, refering to the fact that she was not wearing a bra.
I have been interacting with people for almost 77 years, about half of those have been female, and I have learned not to impose my standards when it comes to clothing taste, especially when it comes to young women. I learned early in my teaching career, not to look at female students below their necks. This despite the fact that on summer days, pupils would request classes outdoors. I have on good authority that many of these would remove their blouses and T-shirts. No, they were not topless because social norms prohibited that. They all wore bras. I hope they used sunscreen. Yes, this is what happens in a climate with excessive darkness for six months of the year.
Irene
Irene describes herself as a storyteller, artist, mechanical engineer, and musician who found herself navigating the collapse of her identity after leaving Mormonism. She spent four years working in aerospace as a lead design engineer and project engineer before choosing to pursue Irene’s Entropy full time. She is a student pilot. Her surname and birth year are unknown to me, despite searching for them.
She was invited by Cirrus to film content during the EAA event. On this first day, she flew one of the company’s Vision Jets and said the experience went well. She described positive interactions with Cirrus employees and others, and added that some attendees even recognized her and came to the company’s booth to take photos. On day 1, Irene says she had been wearing tank tops with either a golf skirt or jean shorts (similar to other creators at the event), but noted that she was not wearing a bra, which she was told had drawn comments. On the second morning, however, she was informed that the company was ending the partnership.
The whole incident may be attributable to a culture clash. In 2001, a majority interest in Cirrus was sold to Bahrain-based Arcapita. In 2011, it was acquired by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), which is a division of the Chinese state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). In 2024, it became a minority publicly-owned company, trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
A Renault 4 on display for the opening of the Paris Auto Show, 2024-10-14. Photo: Renault
This post was published on the second anniversary of acquiring Buzz, our Volkswagen electric minivan = 2025-02-13.
I note that automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as VW, GM, Ford and many others, but especially Stellantis, are doing little to promote inexpensive electric vehicles, on dedicated EV platforms. Stellantis wants the flexibility to drop a random power plant (gasoline, diesel, hybid, electric) into an engine bay. All of these OEMs have been prioritizing dedicated EVs for people with high incomes, and are begging authorities to delay mandatory production percentage goals, while our planet – the only one we have – is boiling, at least figuratively.
Another trend that I notice, is that OEMs want to upgrade features, by making them available on a subscription basis. For example, on 2025-02-10, /. (slashdot.org) reported that Stellantis had introduced full-screen pop-up ads on Jeep infotainment systems, for Mopar’s extended warranty service. These ads appear every time the vehicle comes to a stop, for example at a red light. This means that drivers are now forced to manually close out ads just to access basic vehicle functions.
Recently, I read that VW was spending €60 billion to develop a new fossil-fueled engine, to be available in 2028. Yes, they are living in the past! They also have an agreement to sell some of their factories to Chinese OEMs. The German government reluctantly approved this. Reluctantly, because that would allow cars produced in these plants to be considered European, much like VWs produced in China are considered Chinese. However, if the government had not approved it, they would then have to pay a large sum to VW, as compensation. Yes, international agreements can be messy.
The two existing automotive OEMs that I appreciate the most are Renault and Volvo. Saab could have been on the list, except it was taken over by General Motors, then died. Renault and Volvo had a close relationship, including shared dealerships in Norway. This is no longer the situation. When both Volvo and Saab were Swedish owned, all their vehicles were suitable for Scandinavian roads. Police in Vail and Aspen, both ski resorts in Colorado, used Saab patrol cars from 1974 to 2005.
Sometimes, even a few Renault models ended up with appropriate characteristics for Scandinavia. That did not apply to all models, because they were also interesting in selling their vehicles in more southern climates.
Here are some American vehicle longevity estimates. The Environmental Protection Agency assumes a typical car is driven 24 Mm = 24 megameters = 24 000 km per year. According to the New York Times, in the 1960s and 1970s, the typical car reached its end of life around 160 Mm. Due, in part, to manufacturing improvements, by 2012 the typical car was estimated to last for 320 Mm. Junk Car Reapers estimates the average car in 2024 lasted almost 260 Mm. So there has been a decline. Junk Car Medics puts the average vehicle longevity at 16.58 years and almost 250 Mm. Daniel Bleakly, writing in The Driven in 2023, estimated that by 2030, ICE vehicles will only make it to 225 Mm while EVs will last 800 Mm. If this is true, then Buzz can expect a lifespan of 80 years, since for the past two years, he has gone less than 10 Mm a year.
I support a right to repair law, so that consumers are not at the mercy of OEMs, or their dealers. This would be aided if open source automotive computer systems were developed, capable of replacing proprietary systems. There are efforts to do this. Even OEMs want open source, because that would reduce their software investment costs. They just don’t want the public to have access to them. These two measures could free car/ truck/ tractor users from being serfs to their OEM overloads.
Fueling and charging
While petroleum product fueling stations provide for access to fuel tanks on three sides of an ICE vehicle, EVs are generally charged at home with a dedicated charger. The location of a charging port is a subject of discussion, with differing opinions. Most often the services of an electrician are needed to install a charger, so it can be expensive to change its placement. We ended up putting the charger near the front right of Buzz, when fronted into the carport. The charge port on Buzz is located at the right rear, as it is on most German cars. This charger location allows three of the most common charge port locations to be served. Only the left rear is difficult, and would probably require a vehicle to be backed in for charging. Some manufacturers, such as Renault, vary the charge port location with the model. For road trips another measure = DC charging, is needed.
In some forgotten source, I had read that the reason for the left rear location on a Tesla, has to do with it being the location most suitable for Elon Musk’s charger at the Bel Air house he rented while designing the Tesla Roadster. Many, should I add older?, drivers find backing into a charging stall difficult, but necessary because of the short leads at Tesla supercharger stations. Thus, some people maintain that a charging point on the front (but not in the middle) is ideal.
When we bought Buzz, it was being heralded as the ultimate family vehicle. We agree, that it has many characteristics families want, including space for five people and for luggage. However, it has a price that puts it out of the reach of families with young children. Families wanting to buy a new vehicle, may have to accept that they must survive with something more affordable. In addition, there are two dimensions that make this vehicle problematic for Norway: 1) its large width, and 2) its limited ground clearance. We were aware of the width when we put in our order, but not the ground clearance. In addition, it was first announced that it would come with a heat pump. We do not have a heat pump on our Buzz, and one is not available for aftermarket installation.
Buzz has the following specifications: length x width x height = 4 712 x 1 985 x 1 937, with a wheelbase = 2 938; ground clearance = 153 mm; curb weight/ mass = 2 459 kg; maximum power = 150 kw; maximum torque = 310 Nm; acceleration 0 – 100 km/h = 10.0 s; maximum speed = 145 km/h; wheels driven = rear wheel drive; battery capacity = 77 kWh with a theoretical range of 418 km; charge port = rear right; trunk space = 1 121 litres; towing capacity = 1 000 kg.
On 2025-01-22 at about 10:05, my assistance was requested. While Buzz had managed to back out of the carport, he refused to move forward with Trish driving. Sensors told him there was an obstacle. Initially, everything under him seemed fine, but he still refused to move. After I dislodged a small icicle growing underneath him, the warning disappeared, and Trish could head off to Straumen. Yes, a 10 cm long icicle disabled the vehicle. In terms of batteries and operating systems, I regard Buzz as a mule, a test bed to try out new components and systems, over a period of decades, possibly by several generations of owners.
Buzz is vastly different from the first car we purchased in Norway, Robin, a red 1986 Subaru Justy. length x width x height = 3 540 x 1 540 x 1 390, with a wheelbase = 2 280; ground clearance = 150 mm; curb weight/ mass = 670 kg. It was equipped with a 3-cylinder gasoline engine. Maximum power = 40 kw; maximum torque = 80 Nm; acceleration 0 – 100 km/h = 16.4 s; maximum speed = 150 km/h; wheels driven = front or all; fuel tank capacity = 35 litres with a range of 585 km; trunk space = 200 litres.
We used Robin when, with two young children, we travelled through Sweden and Denmark to Germany, Netherlands and Belgium and, in another direction, to England and Scotland. Yes, it was cramped, but Robin was all we could afford. Indeed, we had to borrow most of the purchase price from our bank, paying 17% interest! Somehow we survived. One of our secrets, learned in the days of high interest rates, was to prioritize living within our budget, and to become debt free as quickly as possible.
One of the things we learned with Robin, was that its 150 mm ground clearance, was an absolute minimum, given Norway’s road conditions, with lots of snow. At delivery, we were disappointed, but aware, that Buzz barely met this requirement, but concluded that we could avoid driving when driving conditions were unacceptable. This was not possible in our working years, when we were expected to show up for work. Over the seven years of owning Robin, we also learned that we didn’t need to have drive on all four wheels. From 1993 to 2023 = 30 years we survived with just front wheel drive. We quickly learned to accept that Buzz has rear wheel drive.
Our years of driving in Norway, taught us that, apart from ground clearance, the most important dimension is vehicle width, for that influences the roads people can drive on. We have been able to buy a wider car than otherwise because we made a decision to restrict some of the roads we would drive on.
When we looked at EVs back in 2022, we were mainly looking at vans, but also investigated various other vehicles to understand the market. This included driving a Renault Zöe. It was the most pleasant of the small cars we drove. The negative side was that a purchase of such a vehicle, would require us to keep our Mazda 5, in order to tow our utility trailer, used to transport building materials. In Norway, utility trailers are a common, cheap substitute for a pickup truck. The ground clearance on the Zöe was totally unacceptable.
Zöe specifications: Length x Width x Height = 4 087 x 1 730 x 1 562, with a wheelbase = 2 588; ground clearance = 120 mm; curb weight/ mass = 1 577 kg; maximum power = 50 kw; maximum torque = 245 Nm; acceleration 0 – 100 km/h = 9.5 s; maximum speed = 140 km/h; wheels driven = front; battery capacity = 52 kWh with a theoretical range of 386 km; charge port = front middle; trunk space = 338 litres; towing capacity = not permitted. The Zöe is now out of production, to be replaced by the Renault 5.
The parents of one of my friends were the first people to sell Datsun vehicles in Vancouver. In the years before Japanese manufacturers offered four wheel drive (4WD) vehicles, I knew people who modified these pickups trucks to 4WD for use in the British Columbia forest industry. Yes, Japanese manufacturers make good cars, but they have their challenges. With respect to Toyota, I liked their Yaris Verso, especially, but Trish found it awkward to shift gears. Toyota is better at making iterative changes, but finds it almost impossible to take revolutionary steps necessary to produce EVs. My mother always liked her Honda Civic, my sister liked her Subaru Outback. I considered a Nissan Evalia, when we bought the Mazda. I considered a Mitsubishi Lancer, when we bought a Volkswagen Golf.
There is no point in comparing the technical specification of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with EVs. So here, these characteristics will just be ignored. What won’t be ignored is the fact that combustion is unhealthy, and noisy. Thus, I am puzzled by Dodge making an electric 2024 Charger Daytona, with a Fratzonic chambered exhaust = two speakers driven by a dedicated 600 W amplifier, mounted in a 42.5 litre enclosure hung under the back of the car = meaningless, excessive noise.
The rest of this weblog post will look at Renault’s upcoming EV lineup, to be made available in Norway. It consists of four vehicles. The place to begin when choosing a vehicle is with something small. If there is some reason why it is too small, then look for something larger. That said, the Twingo will not be offered in Norway. It is too small, but is suitable for more southerly, less wealthy markets. The same applies to the Mobilize Duo (2-seater tandem = one behind the other) and Bento (cargo) quadricycles made in Tangier, Morocco, that have replaced the Twizy, a 2-seater tandem quadricycle made in Valladolid, Spain (2012 – 2018), then in Busan, South Korea (2019 – 2023).
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find all of the specifications for Duo. Here is what I have been able to find: length x width x height = 2 430 x 1 300 x 1 640, with a wheelbase = ?; ground clearance = ? mm; curb weight/ mass = ? kg; maximum power = 7 kw; maximum torque = ? Nm; acceleration 0 – 30 km/h = 10.0 s; maximum speed (45) = 45 km/h (80) = 80 km/h; wheels driven = rear; battery capacity = 10.3 kWh with a theoretical range of 160 km (summer) 100 km (winter); charge port = front middle; trunk space = 300 litres; towing capacity = 0 = unavailable. In some places the 40 version can be driven by unlicenced people aged 14 and over. The 80 version generally requires a driving licence, with the person aged 18 and over. One cannot buy this vehicle outright. It appears to be only available on lease. Private persons can enter into agreements for 3 months and longer. Companies may have to have longer terms, one year or more.
A Mobilize Bento (left) cargo vehicle and Duo (right) passenger vehicle. Photo: Renault
Many people enjoy hot hatches. Yes, a hot hatch EV can represent a minimalist solution to transportation nightmares. Cars have to fulfill multiple rolls. Small vehicles are more problematic, because there is less dedicated space for any particular role. At its most basic, an EV should be small enough to be comfortably driven in cities with narrow streets, yet hot = powerful enough for highway driving. In Norway, one can add over mountain passes, to that last sentence. Minimal storage space requirements is a weeks worth of groceries. We have owned a couple of cold = underpowered hatches that have been inappropriate to drive, and I would not encourage anyone to take that pathway. The best example of a cold hatch in the EV world is the Dacia Spring. Fortunately, most modern EVs can accelerate faster than muscle cars could in the 1960s, despite having their maximum speed controlled.
Renault 5 in Pop Green Photo: RenaultThe yellow interior of a Renault 5 e-Tech. Photo: Renault.
When we looked at EVs back in 2022, one of the smallest vehicles that appealed in snowless May was the Renault Zöe. This has been replaced with the Renault 5. Its dimensions length x width x height = 3 930 x 1 770 x 1 550, with a wheelbase = 2 540; curb weight/ mass = 1350 – 1450 kg; maximum power = 90/ 110 kw; maximum torque = 225/ 245 Nm; acceleration 0 – 100 km/h = 9.0/ 8.0 s; maximum speed = 140/ 150 km/h; wheels driven = front; battery capacity = 40 kWh/ 52kWh with a range of 300/ 410 km, respectively; trunk space = 326 litres. Storage space of 300 litres is a minimum for carrying a week’s worth of groceries. Three disappointment with this vehicle are: 1) its 500 kg towing capacity, 2) 145 mm ground clearance and – more importantly – 3) its 4-star Euro NCAP test results.
We also looked at a Renault Megane in 2022, which was larger and more expensive than the Zöe, However, it is totally unsuitable in 2025. Its dimensions length x width x height = 4 210 x 1 780 x 1 500, with a wheelbase = 2 700; ground clearance = 128 mm; curb weight/ mass = 1650 kg; maximum power = 96 kw; maximum torque = 250 Nm; acceleration 0 – 100 km/h = 10.0 s (the same as Buzz); maximum speed = 150 km/h; wheels driven = front; battery capacity = 40 k with a range of 298 km; charge port = front left; trunk space = 440 litres. Again, the Megane can only tow 500 kg, There are so many characteristics that make this model unsuitable for families.
Back in 1996, Alasdair encouraged me to test drive a Renault Scenic, when it first appeared. He was interested in getting some sort of premium to be awarded to people who test drove the vehicle. If I remember correctly, despite being the first people to test drive one, the local Renault dealer did not have any of these premiums to give away. So we met with false advertising, an important lesson.
Original Renault Scenic ICE version: Length x Width x Height = 4 168 mm x 1 719 x 1 609 mm, and a wheelbase of 2 580 mm, the original Scenic was much smaller than the Mazda 5. The new Renault Scenic EV version is still smaller than the Mazda 5, but closer in size, with length x width x height = 4 470 x 1 964 x 1 571 with a wheelbase of 2 785 mm; ground clearance = 121 mm; curb weight/ mass = 1727 kg; maximum power = 125 kw; maximum torque = 280 Nm; acceleration 0 – 100 km/h = 8.6 s; maximum speed = 150 km/h; wheels driven = front; battery capacity = 60 kWh with a range of 430 km, respectively; charge port = front left; trunk space = 545 litres. It can tow 1 100 kg, making it 100 kg better than the VW Buzz, but 100 kg worse than the Mazda 5. The Renault Scenic E-Tech has 5-stars in the Euro-NCAP, and won the award for European Car of the Year 2024. However, like the other Renault EVs, it has minimal ground clearance.
A 2024 Renault Scenic e-Tech. Photo: M 93 2024-06-30.
When we lived in Molde, 1980 – 1985, we knew two families who owned Renault 4s. We even borrowed one of them to go on our first automotive holiday in Norway! From my perspective the Renault 4 seemed to be more in harmony with the Norwegian spirit and values than the hot hatch Renault 5. That applied then, and it applies now. Here are the specifications for the new Renault 4 (with differences from the new Renault 5): length x width x height = 4 140 (+210) x 1 800 (+30) x 1 570 (+20), with a wheelbase = 2 620 (+80); = 181 mm ; curb weight/ mass = ?; maximum power = 100 kw; maximum torque = 245 Nm; acceleration 0 – 100 km/h = 8.5 s; maximum speed = 150 km/h; wheels driven = front; battery capacity = 52kWh with a range of 400 km, respectively; charge port = front left; trunk space = 420 litres.
As I was writing this weblog post, I came across an article in the Norwegian automotive magazine, Motor, which began (translated into English): PARIS (Motor): The car [referring to a Renault 4] completes a renewal of the Renault portfolio that has happened at an astonishing pace under the Italian boss, Luca de Meo.
“I would say we now have the best model range that Renault has presented in more than 30 years. This year has been rock’n’roll for us, with a new model every month, and now we are releasing the fireworks with four launches this month”, [de Meo] said when he opened the Renault stand at the Paris show on [2024-10-14].
Only one of the four is relevant for Norway. And that is the Renault 4. (end of quotation) The photo below will explain why.
A typical country road in Mosvik, across Skarnsund Bridge from Cliff Cottage, in 2016-01. Cars can use this road without complaint. There are some meeting points along this road, where it is safe for two cars to pass each other. Photo: Patricia McLellan.A country road in Mosvik, across Skarnsund Bridge from Cliff Cottage, in 2025-01. Buzz complains when he has to use this road. This road is considerably worse now in 2025, when the municipality decided to save money by using a snow plow, instead of a snow blower. It resulted in the ditches on either side of the road being filled with gravel, which will have to be removed at a cost that far exceeds the savings that came from using inappropriate snow equipment. Yes, in Norway everyone, even people born in Vancouver, is entitled to opinions about the quality of winter roads.
I understand what the journalist is referring to. The Renault 4 is appropriate for Norway, and roads where snow does not get removed as quickly as possible. It has a ground clearance that exceeds my mental minimum = 160 mm. It also has a towing capacity of 750 kg.
Renault 4 Photo: Renault.
While I am happy with Buzz, I am less happy with Volkswagen. Trish often compares Buzz with previous vehicles, such as the Mazda 5, that could drive 1 Mm = 1 000 km between fuelings. Buzz offers less than 400 km. A 250% increase, or even doubling of the current range = 1 000 or 800 km, should be a realistic goal in the next ten years. I see no need for a larger range than that.
Currently, we have absolutely no plans to purchase another EV. Buzz is a sunk cost. I encourage the people who inherit it from us to upgrade it regularly at, say, ten year intervals. New batteries will be developed, and equipped with heat pumps. Sodium based batteries, while being heavier in terms of their power/ mass ratio, appear to operate better in cold weather, compared to lithium based batteries.
Once the ability to have Volkswagen pay for anything expires (such as after 8 years for batteries), I hope the owners of Buzz, will be able to comoditize the vehicle, so that it conforms to their needs. This is a task for the upcoming generations, not an old man.
Cariad is the Volkswagen Group’s in-house software division . It was founded in 2020, but since then it has had to deal with: reorganizations, setbacks of assorted types, delays, hiring sprees followed by layoff sprees.
I use their software on a weekly basis driving a VW ID. Buzz. However, I am far from a fanboy. It leaves me unimpressed.
VW CEO Herbert Diess (1958 – ) received a doctorate in mechanical engineering and production technologies in 1987. This does not help with the critical issues facing electric vehicle manufacturing in the 2020s. At one point he seemed to be in a bro-manse with Elon Musk. My suspicion then was that VW wanted software help from Tesla. They didn’t get it.
Now VW is in a relationship with Rivian. It is anything but a bro-manse because one participant is providing a needed service (Rivian), and the other participant (VW) is paying for it. It is referred to as a software joint venture, but joint does not refer to any form of equality in the relationship. Volkswagen is investing up to $5 billion into Rivian. To understand why this is happening, one has to return to Dieselgate, when the Volkswagen Group faced an earth-shattering scandal that led it to commit to one day going all-electric.
This electification meant that the VW Group needed, for lack of a better term, a Tesla-like approach to software and digital technology. Historically, the auto industry trivialized software. It was only used for a few things, like engine management, or driver-facing bits like infotainment and navigation. The components using software were made by different suppliers, with different software standards, and there was no need for this software to communicate with other bits of software. A key term here is piecemeal. It was also old-school, compared to the smartphones and tablets that have now become an integral part of human life.
A piecemeal approach doesn’t work in a world where cars need over-the-air software updates. It doesn’t work when companies need revenue from downloadable features. It doesn’t work when effective EV battery management has to be integrated with DC fast charger and slower home charging systems. It doesn’t work when drivers are dependent on advanced automated driving assistance and, one day, fully autonomous cars.
Today’s electric cars need to be computers on wheels, more than anything else. Volkswagen needs to be great at making computers. The alternative it becomes a car body manufacturer, supplying components for tech companies, or sells its plant and equipment to manufacturers who understand the new manufacturing requirements. Many of these will be located in China.
Almost every legacy automaker has struggled with pivoting their 100-year-old businesses to do this stuff well. (Companies like the recently bankrupt Fisker show the startups aren’t automatically better.)
Issues with software have led to negative reviews of early examples of cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4. The key problem here has been the lack of physical buttons, and a reliance on screens that require far too much scrolling, and take attention away from the road. Other problems can be classified as delays. This applies to individual models such as the Porsche Macan EV and Audi Q6 E-Tron.
Even worse, it applies to platforms, such as one for Project Trinity, involving: “a newly developed electronics platform with state-of-the-art software, the simplification of the supply structure, and fully networked and intelligent production at the main plant in Wolfsburg.” Yes, those were VW’s own words. I appreciate the fact that Trinity wants autonomous driving in the volume segment possible starting at Level 2+ but technically ready for Level 4. They claim to want a system based on neural networks, but this would require digital competence that is probably unavailable. In other words, it is just hype. Magically, Trinity gives people time and saves them stress. I am uncertain if they can deliver!
As I have been reading in Wolfgang Münchau’s Kaput: The end of the German miracle (2024), Germany lacks a meaningful digital culture. Thus, I doubt whether they have the internal competence to produce artificial intelligence (AI) real-time (RT) products.
Volkswagen Group has been struggling in three major markets. Despite largish sales, it is a follower in Europe, where Volvo, Renault and now Tesla have been leading the way with respect to EVs. VW has been losing ground in China, where any sensible Chinese purchaser will opt for BYD, Nio or some other domestic manufacturer. It has failed to grow in North America, but thinks it may find salvation with a cute Buzz, and a revamped Scout brand.
It now thinks that delaying the transition to EVs will be to its benefit. I disagree. This will only give other OEMs more time to develop better products. I am thinking especially of BYD, but even companies based outside of China, will have an opportunity to make improvements. Yes, I am thinking especially of the Vietnamese Vinfast.
I have previously attempted to explain why hydrogen based vehicles will not be suitable: the cost of producing green hydrogen, will be too expensive. The electricity needed to split H2O into H2 and O2, could be used to power EVs, without an intermediary. Of course, I suspect that hydrogen manufacturers will want to use black hydrogen, based on methane. It is cheaper, but still a fossil fuel.
The investment from VW will allow Rivian to not only improve its automotive production, but will transform Rivian into an automotive software powerhouse, the go-to company for software components.
Rivian is providing an electrical architecture and computer platform that reduces the number of electronic control units (ECUs) used to control a vehicle from 17 to 7. A zonal architecture cuts 2.5 km of wiring from each vehicle, a 20 kg savings. The key to understanding these reductions, is not to regard the reduction in material costs, but in labour costs, because vehicles can be built faster. Rivian’s key innovation is its electrical architecture. This is what allows a company to update software over the air (OtA). Vehicles cannot just import software from Apple, or Microsoft. They need real-time operating systems (RTOS) that manage thermal dynamics, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and safety systems, as well as another layer related to an infotainment system.
Note: Note: Younger people without a meaningful career path, reading this post may want to investigate real-time computing. Often any programming requires adherence to safety standards, such as DO-178B, Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification is a guideline dealing with the safety of safety-critical software used in certain airborne systems. With those skills in place people should be able to find that there are many work opportunities, and little competition. Robotics is another area where real-time computing is used. Training in this field is usually outside the context of normal computer science subjects. With an RTOS, the processing time is measured in tenths of seconds. This system is time-bound and has a fixed deadline. The processing in this type of system must occur within the specified constraints. Otherwise, This will lead to system failure. Examples: airline traffic control and reservation systems, heart pacemakers, multimedia systems (audio and video), robotics.
Solutions do not involve hiring massive number of programmers, because most programmers will not know what they are doing. Most automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) including GM, Ford, Stellantis and VW Group have repeatedly tried to master software, but ultimately failed to do so. Geely (with Lotus, Polestar and Volvo) has been more successful, as have many of the domestic Chinese brands. Toyota is at the other end of the scale, despite its early adoption of hybrids.
My belief is that the leadership of these OEMs have failed to understand that computer systems differ. Someone who is an expert in databases (sorry, Patrick) probably does not have the background needed to understand real-time systems. Very few people with computer backgrounds have worked with these, let alone managed real-time development environments.
Part of the challenge here is that the OEMs look at Tesla, and see a company that has managed to make large numbers of EVs. What remains hidden is the Tesla Roadster. It was in development from 2003 to 2008, with the first prototypes being officially revealed on 2006-07-19, in Santa Monica, California.
Various Think vehicles were built from 1991 to 2011, under various names. Kewet, later Buddy, produced EVs were produced from 1991 to 2013. Other early EVs were vans. The Citroën Berlingo Electrique, was built from 1998.
The Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance was established in 1999, originally between Renault of France and Nissan of Japan, but with Mitsubishi Motors of Japan joining in 2017. It has its headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Renault Kangoo EV van was introduced as a prototype in 2008, the Nissan Leaf has been in production since 2010, the Mitsubishi MiEV since 2011. These were the first EVs for ordinary people.
Other manufacturers, looking at the early adapters, including Tesla, believed that the auto industry could easily pivot to batteries, motors and software. Unfortunately, transitioning is hard work. Part of the problem is that press releases don’t align with engineering realities. The age of the auto industry can be debated, but some estimate it is approaching 140 years old. Building EVs not only involves using new technology. There is also a lot of tradition that needs to be eradicated. Sometimes getting rid of something is more difficult than adding something.
Closing remarks: I wondered what sort of EV I would be driving for more than a decade. In 2012, I borrowed/ test drove a Nissan N-200 van, and considered buying an Evalia. It did not appeal to my partner. Neither did the new Citroën Berlingo EV. I also wondered if our first EV would be a Renault Kangoo van. It wasn’t. When the next moment came to consider an EV in 2022, the contenders included a vast number of brands, including a Renault Zöe, Migane and Kangoo. I am happy with Buzz, but see the weaknesses in it.
The Solent Flyer, a Griffon Hoverwork 12000TD hovercraft, produced in 2016. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
Some people may regard a hovercraft as a boat/ ship/ vessel. Those associated with providing hovercraft services do not. For them, it is an aircraft, belonging to its own special category. There are numerous varieties of aircraft: gliders = planes without engines. relying on natural air currents for lift; airplanes = engine-driven, fixed-wing, heavier-than-air craft; rotorcraft (including helicopters and gyroplanes); lighter than air craft (including baloons, zeppelins, dirigibles and blimps); and hovercraft. There are other categories involving parachutes, and weight-shift controls, not to mention rockets.
Hovercraft are distinct, differing from ground effect vehicles and hydrofoils that require forward motion to create lift. Hovercraft can lift themselves without directional movement.
There have been many people involved in the design of hovercraft, and it is incorrect to assign the design to any one person.
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772) first mentioned surface-effect vehicles, and used the term hovering in 1716.
John Isaac Thornycroft (1843 – 1928) explored the concept of an air-cushion vehicle in the 1870s, as a way of reducing the drag experienced by vessels.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857 – 1935), an aerospace pioneer, visionary and author of works on interplanetary space travel, space station construction and airship design, lay the theoretical groundwork for powered movement over a cushion of air.
Dagobert Müller von Thomamühl (1880–1956) built the world’s first air cushion boat (Luftkissengleitboot) in 1915.
The chronological order of people will be disrupted to insert Toivo J. Kaario (1912 – 1970). In 1932, he had decided to build a ground-effect vehicle. This materialized as Pintaliitäjäprototyypin = Surface Soarer Prototype built in 1934, and tested in 1935-01. Patosiipi No. 2 was tested in 1935-1936. The ground-effect wing of Kaario’s early designs had an almost non-existent ability to block the loss of air being blown down by the propeller. The Patosiipi No. 2 was able to lift, but the ground-effect lift was weak. Another full-sized prototype was built with a skirt underneath, which added to the lift by trapping the high pressure air that had been forced. This device was first tested on land and then on the water and was found to be slower but with more lift over an uneven surface.
An illustration with two conflicting claims: 1) A sketch made by Toivo J. Kaario, showing an advanced hovercraft design for the Finnish military ; 2) A L-5 hovercraft, for the Red Navy, by the V. I. Levkov Design Bureau.
Aerodynamicist Vladimir Levkov (1895 – 1954) experimented with sidewall hovercraft. He built models in 1927 and 1932. He built a prototype (L-1) in 1934. This could reach a speed of over 60 km/h, but proved to be unreliable. Another prototype (L-5) weighed 8.6 tonnes, was powered by two 664 kW engines. He was aware of the research of Kaario, and used this in his own work. On its cushion of air, it could achieve speeds of 140km/hr = 73 knots.
Levkov was dissatisfied with his results, especially the aviation engines designed to operate at colder temperatures . The Red Navy wanted to press hovercraft into service as soon as possible, and in 1938 some upgraded L-5s saw operational service. A L-5 hovercraft was used to transport the four-man crew of North Pole 1, a Soviet arctic drift station, to an icebreaker after their research was completed.
Cockerell’s hovercraft model from 1955 in the Science Museum, London. Photo: The Wub, 2024-04-22.
Christopher Cockerell (1910 – 1999) bought Ripplecraft Ltd., a small Norfolk boat and caravan hire company. This was not a very profitable venture, but left him time to work on ideas for a hovercraft. He tested his theories using a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans, and found them to have merit. By 1955, he had built a working model from balsa wood and had filed his first hovercraft patent: GB 854211. In the autumn of 1958, the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) placed an order with Saunders-Roe for the first full-scale hovercraft, designated SR.N1 (Saunders-Roe – Nautical One), based on the prior work of Cockerell. This craft was completed, and first crossed the English Channel From Dover to Calais on 1959-07-25.
Originally, a skirt was not part of a hovercraft design. It was an independent invention made by a Royal Navy officer, C.H. Latimer-Needham (1900 – 1975), who sold his idea to Westland (by then the parent of Saunders-Roe’s helicopter and hovercraft interests), and who worked with Cockerell to develop the idea further.
It should be noted that obtaining patents for ideas related to hovercraft was not always easy. Much of the work was regarded as military secrets.
Approximately, 20 years after the first crossing of the English Channel = la Manche, on 1979-08-03 Trish and I took a trip by Hovercraft from Ramsgate to Calais on a Hoverlloyd craft. Its name remains unknown, and we have no photograph of it. Our letter home, at the time read:
“We left the Roe’s [presumably the people renting us a room] early on Friday morning, stopping near the Ealing Broadway Tube Station for breakfast at the local Wimpy bar (2 eggs and chips, milk). We then took a bus to Acton Town, transferred to a second bus and enjoyed a leisurely ride through the suburbs of London. At Marble Arch we alighted from the bus, walked through Hyde Park ending up at Victoria Station.
“We purchased a ticket for the Hoverlloyd that flies from Ramgate to Calais (at about 2’ above the surface), then took the tube from Victoria to Euston Stations and the Britannia Air Coach Station. After a lunch at a local Italian café, we boarded a coach and enjoyed a tour of the English countryside.
“The Hovercraft crossing took about 40 minutes. The stewardesses aboard were quick to offer duty-free drinks, etc. aboard. Then offer cigarettes, bottles of liquor, a second time. Immigration and customs are easier than at the US/Canadian border. The officer looks to see if you have a passport (he doesn’t even open it) , you are then cleared.
“We then boarded a second coach which toured the French countryside and enjoyed what we could of the trip. At the French/Belgian border, there was no passport control and customs was only interested in the registration of the bus.
“We arrived in Brussels at about 10:00 pm, just late enough for the youth hostel to be closed. Se we spent the first part of the night in a garage. After the wind picked up and made sleeping impossible we moved our shelter to the train station.”
End of quotation from letter.
Our 1979 journey was onboard a SR.N4 Mark II. The fuselage had a length of 39.68 m, a width of 23.77 m, a height of 11.48 m and a mass of 200 tonnes. This provided the craft with a capacity of 278 passengers and 36 cars. The four Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbine engines produced 2 500 kW of power.
A SR.N4 hovercraft inbound in Peggwell Bay, where Hoverlloyd had its British Ramsgate hoverport. Photo: Nick Smith, 1980-08-?.
There is a Hovercraft museum, at Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire with the SR.N4 GH-2006 Princess Margaret on display. Another opportunity to see ancient hovercraft in action is in the following films: The Princess Margaret appeared in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) SR.N4 GH-2005 Sure appeared in La Gifle (1974) and in The Black Windmill(1974). An unspecified SR.N4 appeared in Hopscotch (1980).
My next trip on a hovercraft was with Alasdair on 2024-07-18, almost 65 years to the day, after SR.N1’s first trip, and 45 years after my first trip. It was forward and back on the route from Southsea to Ryde, Isle of Wight. This service is provided by Hover Travel, which uses a pair of Griffon Hoverwork 12000TD craft, purchased in 2016. Griffon states that passengers will find this a high quality experience, with cabin noise below 75dB, fast entry and exit, at a top speed exceeding 45 Knots = 83 km/h. The 12000 in the name refers to the payload in kilograms.
Interior of the Solent Flyer. It will seat 80 passengers. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
Hoverwork’s goals with the Griffon 12000 TD hovercraft, were to create a robust yet light-weight craft, while updating technology and ensuring production quality improvements. They claim these hovercraft offer low running and maintenance costs. Vital measurements: Length = 23.7 m; beam = 12.8m; passengers = 80. Payload 12 000 kg.
From 2024, Oita Hovercraft is operating a 33-kilometre hovercraft route between the city centre of Oita city and Oita airport. Hovercraft were used from 1970 to 2009, but became financially unviable. A hovercraft takes 25 minutes, each way, in contrast to a bus that uses over an hour. Thus, a political decision was made by the Governor of Oita in 2020 to use hovercraft once again. Oita Hovercraft has acquired 3 x 12000TD hovercraft from Griffon Hoverwork, the same type that is used in the Solent.
While this weblog post is mainly about the civilian use of hovercraft, there are also civil defense (including ambulance and fire services) uses. Some uses, by location.
The Canadian Coast Guard uses hovercraft to break light ice. Numerous fire departments around the US/ Canadian Great Lakes operate hovercraft for water and ice rescues. The US Postal Service began using a Hoverwork AP1-88 in 1998 to haul mail, freight, and passengers from Bethel, Alaska, to and from eight small villages along the Kuskokwim River. Hovercraft service is suspended for several weeks each year while the river is beginning to freeze to minimize damage to the river ice surface. Similarly, since 2006, a cargo/ passenger version of the Hoverwork BHT130, has been used as a high-speed ferry for up to 47 passengers and 21 500 kg of freight serving the remote Alaskan villages of King Cove and Cold Bay.
In Scotland, a Griffon rescue hovercraft has been in use with the Airport Fire Service at Dundee Airport. It is used in the event of an aircraft ditching in the Tay estuary. Since 2008, the Red Cross has offered a flood-rescue service hovercraft based in Inverness, Scotland.
In Finland, small hovercraft are widely used for maritime rescue and during the rasputitsa = mud season.
On Madagascar, HoverAid, an international NGO, has used a hovercraft to reach the most remote places on the island since 2006.
Military Uses
In 1996, Lieutenant commander K. L. Schmitz, United States Navy, concluded a report: “The LCAC [Landing Craft Air Cushion] lift capacity, speed, and maneuverability provides greater flexibility to the Marine-Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) punch. It will keep the MAGTF at the center of the military’s power projection mission well into the next century. Both the LCAC and LCU [Landing Craft Utility] have served the naval forces well and each has plenty to contribute to future operations. The investment in LCAC has been made; they have proven their value to the naval expeditionary forces. Despite heavy maintenance and operating costs, now is not the time to consider LCAC retirement.”
In the report itself it was noted that LCACs can access 80% of beaches, while LCUs can only access 20%. From this and other reports one can conclude that military LCACs are expensive and temperamental, while LCUs are cheap.
Prologue
Yes, convention states that a prolog(ue) should be placed at the beginning of a work. As people may have noticed previously, I sometimes defy convention. This is one of those situations.
My son, Alasdair, had spent the beginning of July on a road trip through southern Norway, visiting places he had not seen before. He finished his journey at our house, spending a couple of days resting to begin the next part of his holiday, and taking me along as his accomplice.
My wife, Trish, accompanied us to TRD, Trondheim Airport, to drive Buzz home. We entered the terminal building, passed through security, then immigration to exit Schengen territory. We ate a poor, but overpriced breakfast, before we boarded the Norwegian plane, bound for Gatwick. Alasdair was asleep even before the plane alighted from the runway.
On arrival at Gatwick, we used an app to pass through immigration, then walked through customs on our way to the train station. We used a Welsh app to buy train tickets, but not everything worked as quickly as intended. Why a Welsh app? Because one can buy train tickets from numerous providers. For external providers of a journey, a surcharge is added. Except the Welsh are unique. They do not add that surcharge. We arrived at the correct train platform with two minutes to spare. We were on our way to Portsmouth Harbour.
Exiting the train, we bought some provisions at the local Co-op store, then walked south to Hover Travel, and from there soon onto the Solent Flyer.
Interlude on the Isle of Wight
After we arrived at Ryde, we decided to eat dinner. The main problem was that there was a discrepancy between map and terrain. The eateries that Alasdair had found online, did not exist in reality. We decided to eat some Sri Lanken food. It proved to be a foolhardy choice, possibly the worst meal of our trip.
The other task on Wight, was to take the local railway from Ryde to Lake. Lake is one stop past Sandown. One of Trish’s aunts, by marriage, was born at Sandown, but lived some streets away (W 32nd Avenue) in Vancouver, when Trish was growing up. This aunt’s brother, who was also born at Sandown, lived at the end of the block where Trish lived (W 37th Avenue).
The trip back to Ryde was more problematic, because the train was cancelled. It then was necessary to delay our departure time on the hovercraft by one hour.
Epilogue
Once the Solent Flyer arrived back at Southsea, it was time to take a train back to Gatwick, then the shuttle from the south terminal to the north terminal. We had booked accomodation at the local Travelodge. Despite knowing where both ends of the route lay, between the north terminal and the hotel, it was difficult to find the most appropriate pathway. We used about half an hour to cover the distance, walking (and to some degree backtracking).
Paxster’s website begins with a boast: The best-selling Norwegian vehicle of all time! Production figures show this to be about 3 000 vehicles produced.
Paxster is a last mile delivery vehicle, from a transportation hub to a final household destination. In Norway, last mile implies that the vehicle can withstand rough road and weather conditions. Think ice and snow, respectively.
Paxster began as a side-project within Loyds, a supplier of vehicle equipment (but not vehicles) for Norway Post = Posten Norge = the Norwegian post office. It had its facilities in Sarpsborg, a municipality in south-east Norway that has grown into Fredrikstad. When the post office announced some ambitious environmental goals, Loyds started to map how post office vehicles worked. Together they found several challenges about the solutions offered. Some were inefficient, some unprofitable, some both and some neither. They ultimately (in 2013) got approval to work on defining the best ergonomic solutions, together with post-office drivers.
After a few months, the first prototype was ready to test, and adapt, to become a future delivery vehicle for mail, parcels and newspapers.
Bård Eker (1961 – ) through his wholly owned company, Eker Design, designed the vehicle and led to it winning awards for good design. In the autumn of 2013 Paxster was put into production for the Norwegian market.
On July 1st 2015 Paxster was transferred to a separate Aktieselskap (AS) = limited liability company. Since then, Paxsters have been sold in several countries around the world. Paxster claims to be constantly working to develop vehicles to be the best in class when it comes to efficiency, ergonomics and safety.
New Zealand
In 2016, Paxster expanded to New Zealand. New Zealand Post begun rolling out 54 Paxster electric-delivery vehicles in the North Shore district of Auckland as well as the southern town of Oamaru. New Zealand Post has been given permission to use the vehicles on the sidewalks/ footpaths (preferred term in New Zealand) in residential neighborhoods. It was noted that New Zealand Post drivers received safety training, and they are required to give way to all other footpath users.
The initial fleet of New Zealand Paxsters, in 2016.
The fleet grew to 423 in 2018. Initially there were complaints to NZ Post about Paxsters, peaking at 31 in 2018-07. Paxsters were: damaging the grass berm = a narrow ledge or shelf of grass along the top or bottom of a slope, reversing into other vehicles, driving at alleged excessive speed on the footpath.
There were 249 crashes in total with the majority involving a Paxster hitting or being hit by a vehicle or object in 2018, up from 82 in 2017. The number of injuries to posties more than doubled from 36 in 2017 to 80 in 2018. Two of these injuries in 2018 were serious and required professional medical treatment, but the severity of the injuries was less than those in bicycles. A spokesperson stated there were declining costs associated with injuries since the introduction of Paxsters. Compared to bicycles, there were less severe injuries, attributed to the stability of a four wheel vehicle, more efficient braking, greater visibility and more robust protection.
The New Zealand postal union also commented that when the post office introduced the new vehicles they immediately introduced a new roster. Posties on bikes used to work about six hours a day. New rotating shifts for the Paxsters demanded nine-hour days. This increased driver fatigue. New modes of driving on the footpath, and a need to make very quick decisions, contributed to an increase in injuries. Many posties enjoy driving Paxsters but dozens quit when the e-vehicles were introduced. Most of these were long-serving, who preferred to ride a bicycle and felt safer on one. While posties were concerned about the number of injuries, but were more worried about the damage they could do if children sprung out of driveways unexpectedly.
Meanwhile in other parts of Europe…
Later, test vehicles were supplied to the Royal Mail in the United Kingdom, as well as Swedish and German last mile delivery companies. Use of test vehicles have shown that injuries are less severe than when using a bicycle.
… and now the difficult part, translating the description into English. From left to right starting at the top. 1) A large storage box that will take 12 post cassettes (Optional). The rear hatch has gas dampers. 2) Software package/ part of option card II with display, battery indicator, switches and signal lamps. 3) Low windscreen in plexiglass. 4) Large mirror. Seat that is rounded at the front, allows better on and off movements. Integrated space for a front carrier. 1 front light in the middle. Lockable side storage compartment. The space at the bask is for an extra battery (get home package) at an additional price. Large wheels 135(70 R 13 = 52 cm diameter, on steel or aluminum wheels. Sotware package/ Option card 1 with anti-spin and an electronic differential lock. Anvanced and improved cable system from the regulator to the display/ option card 2.No, not all Paxster vehicles are red. Many companies choose white. Here is a vehicle for DHL in yellow, admittedly with a red logo. A mural of a freight cycle is painted on the wall behind.
History of Automobile Production in Norway
In terms of ICE vehicles: Norsk produced 10 vehicles between 1908 and 1911: a lighter car with a single-cylinder 8 hp engine and a heavier touring car with 4-cylinder engine. Bjering in Gjøvik produced six ICE vehicles between 1920 and 1925. Geijer was even more productive brand and produced about 25 vehicles between 1923 and 1930. Troll made five 2+2 sports cars with a fibreglass body from 1956 to 1958.
In terms of Electric vehicles: About 2 500 Th¡nk cars were produced from 1991 to 2011. There were about 1 500 Kewet (later renamed Buddy) vehicles produced in Økern, Norway, Hadsund, Denmark and Nordhausen, Germany between 2005 and 2013. It is difficult to find out how many were produced where. Of those, 1 087 were registered in Norway.
Some one-off prototypes have also been produced. The one with the most publicity was made by Aetek, a Norwegian company, with the backing of Statoil, now Equinor, the Norwegian government oil company. The FYK, was a Norwegian sports car prototype launched in 2006. It runs on a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas. It was designed as a technology demonstrator, without any plans to put it into series production.
Note: Work began on this post 2021/08/21 at 12:00.
Rendering speculating on the appearance of a European version of the Hyundai Casper, to be available at the end of 2024, at a price under €20 000.
Sometimes, interesting statistics just pass through my reading conduit, mentally noted, but not recorded. For example, at some point it was claimed that the median age of the owners of new Suzuki vehicles was the highest in Norway. I believe it was somewhere in the early 60s. Because this was at the brand level I was not surprised. I realized that all of the Suzuki owners I knew were mature. However, if the result was based on a specific Suzuki model, I would have been more surprised.
Reading does not give me all the answers. There are situations where I learn things on the streets. A new example, all those observations where one guesses the apparent demographic makeup of vehicle drivers. Many vehicle models are driven by a mix of genders and ages. There are exceptions. Drivers of a BMW i3 are predominantly female. The owners I know are all women teachers, except for one outlier in California. In terms of age, drivers of Hyundai Atos have always looked old! So do drivers of its replacement, the Hyundai i10. These are the two models I expected to have the oldest owners. These are not cars that the youngest drivers eagerly await to inherit from generous grandparents.
As Norway heads deeper into its final year allowing sale of new internal combustion engine ( ICE) vehicles, I have been wondering what older people without the cash to buy a Tesla Y will be acquiring. It is a relevant question, to be asked everywhere. Electric vehicles (EVs) are still less affordable than ICE vehicles.
I had expected Hyundai to update its i10 to an EV. This appears to be an incorrect assessment. European media speculates that Hyundai’s smallest EV will be the Casper. If you think this vehicle is named after a friendly ghost, you are only partially correct. According to Hyundai, it was named after a skateboarding technique, that was named after this ghost.
The Hyundai Casper is an A-segment (Europe)/ city car (North America) vehicle. Hyundai claims it is the world’s smallest crossover SUV. The precise size of the EV version is unknown (to me, anyway) at this point but it will probably not be more than: 3.60 (length) x 1.60 (width) x 1.60 (height) meters. The model is currently under development in Japan. Interesting, because Hyundai is a South Korean brand, and the primary market is Europe.
It is to be equipped with an American Borg-Warner iDM 146 = integrated (electric) drive module, that operates with 400 V, and provides a peak output of 70 to 100 kW. Torque is stated to be from 1500 – 2000 Nm. Press releases about the motor state: “its modular design allows power and torque output to be scaled specifically to customer requirements.” Several automotive journalists claim a 0 – 100 km/h acceleration at 6.5 s. It is not quite as fast as that of a B-segment Volvo EX30, but fast enough for most people. It will also be equipped with a 39 kWh battery, giving an estimated range of about 300 km, but this is disputed. Fast charging from 10 – 80% takes about 40 minutes.
Note: I find much of the content about the Casper specifications from automotive journalists (and others) difficult to accept. Some have specified a power of 135 kW, which is outside the Borg-Warner range for this model of motor. If this were 135 horse power, then this is at the top end of the range, 100 kW. Then there are questions about torque. Torque values of 1500 Nm have been offered by journalists. Values from there to 2000 Nm are given in written material from Borg-Warner. Thus, I wonder if Americans, used to measuring torque in foot-pounds, and not understanding acceptable values in Nm, have made a decimal placement error, so that the torque is between 150 and 200 Nm. A VW electric motor common on ID series vehicles, with 150 kW, typically produces 310 Nm of torque. A standard 2024Tesla Y with 220 kW of power, has 420 Nm of torque. An A-segment Fiat 500e has 86 kW of power and 220 Nm of torque.
European models will be made at the Nošovice, Czech Republic, factory. As long as a few other conditions are met, this allows the model to be treated as a European vehicle, in terms of government subsidies.
According to a video on The Auto Vision – The Korean Car News (YouTube) Channel, there is some possibility that the Casper could also be offered for sale in North America. Hyundai is planning to open an EV plant near Savannah, Georgia. With the right mixture of ingredients this could also allow North American subsidies.
Part of the appeal of the Casper, and similar vehicles, by older drivers, is the height of the vehicle, which gives a better view of the road, which can (to some extent) compensate for reduced reaction speeds. In other European countries, narrow vehicles are appreciated, because they suit narrow medieval streets. In Norway it is narrow rural roads. Everywhere, this type of vehicle is only filled with one or two people, if it is used for commuting. It is not suitable everywhere, but is useful in areas without adequate public transport, but with adequate parking. Frequently, this type of vehicle will appeal to older drivers, especially when provided with advanced driver-assistance systems. Many retired people do not need or want a large car.
Kia Ray
There is also speculation that Hyundai could make a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) version of the Casper. Yes, it would be sensible for Hyundai to produce something that looks like a Kia Ray. The Ray is 10 cm taller than the Casper. Otherwise most specifications are almost the same.
Hobbies can influence vehicle purchases. I am not convinced that a couple of sets of golf clubs will fit into a Casper, but they probably will fit into a Ray. So people who need to transport large items, such as teenagers, may prefer an MPV.
Since Hyundai tries to keep both brands alive in Europe, it is possible that such a van could be made at Kia’s manufacturing plant in Europe is located in in Žilina, Slovakia.
Driver assistance system features include: Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist and Safe Exit Warning. Convenience features include: a ventilated driver’s seat and air-purification mode. Perhaps the most unique feature is its rear passenger doors. These are sliding on the curb side of the vehicle, but swing-out on the opposite side. Regard the swing-out door as an emergency exit.
Speculation
Since the beginning of 2023, Hyundai has only sold EVs in Norway. Currently these are: the Kona, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 5 N. The Kona is front-wheel drive (FWD), the others have all-wheel drive (AWD) as an option, although I have never experienced anyone buying one without that option. Norwegians also prefer cars with trailer hitches and roof racks. The Norwegian Hyundai website, has a page dedicated to trailer hitches, and the carrying capacity of each model, which is for trailers with brakes, 750 kg for some Konas and 300 kg for others, 1 500 kg for the Ioniq 6, and 1 600 kg for the Ioniq 5. While there are pickups in Norway, they are not a popular choice. Almost everyone has access to a utility trailer!
Currently, the suggestion is that Casper will come with FWD, not AWD. I suspect that its purchasers will be a wider demographic than that of the Atos or i10: Older drivers may want to buy one as their only car; middle aged drivers may choose one as a second car, used for commuting; younger drivers may relish the opportunity to buy an affordable vehicle. In a few years time, even the very youngest drivers may eagerly await the inheritance of a Casper from generous grandparents.
