Comment by Theodores | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Theodores | Hacker News Reader

Mow that EVs have adopted a 'skateboard' design, it should be possible to have practically any car body you want on the top of it and be able to change that car body top instead of buying a whole new car.

This would be a return to the coachbuilding days of early motoring when you could have any style of 'horse buggy' that you wanted put on your Rolls Royce chassis.

The Tesla drive by wire technology and one big screen means that you can place the driver wherever you want. Admittedly older cars don't have the A pillar strength so you would not be able to exactly replicate something like A DMC, but I want cars to be like die cast toy cars, where there is an upper that clamps on to a chassis.

As it is, EV conversions where the electrics are placed in the boot, transmission tunnel and elsewhere is a fudge I don't like. This is because you have got too much old, crusty ICE car junk going on, whether that is wiring or the mass of ancillaries in the bonnet.

I specifically will never own a car that is pure drive by wire and has no mechanical linkage backup. If anything else goes wrong with a car you usually have some limited control. If your steering goes out you are likely less than a blink away from a serious accident with zero control over how it proceeds.

Without a physical linkage you might not even notice when your steering goes out until you are already crashing, even if its blaring alarms at you how will you know what is actually happening until you read something or fight against a wheel acting oddly. With a physical connection it something jams or breaks, you will be able to tell instantly.

Granted I do have some bias against electronic steering in general, but even if it was drive by pure hydraulic steering through hard line I would not want it without a physical linkage backup.

the entire point of this is to "exactly replicate something like A DMC"

genericizing it would be noticeable on a unique vehicle like this, its not a Power Wheels

True. But if you have a DMC, VW camper van, classic Jaguar E-Type or even a classic Ferrari, it is a death trap. You have not got a NCAP five star rating.

I would want a 'skateboard' that can take forged carbon fibre body shell, a replaceable one, that really does have a Power Wheels aesthetic of fun to it, with women and children able to like the colour and not care for the exact accuracy.

With an immaculately restored DMC you are going to get elderly male anoraks that will 'helpfully' point out that, for your indicator lights, you have 1983 anodised bolts holding them on instead of the period correct painted 1982 variants.

Much like how Power Wheels don't like to pay royalties and do some designs that 'look familiar', I would be happy for this market to go that way, with half a dozen companies making faux DMCs body kits to choose from.

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