those visiting the AutoRAI show in Amsterdam this week see a free car on display. Well, it's "free" in the sense that the vehicle's specifications, technical drawings and the like are available to anyone who wants them. It's called the c,mm,n (common), and is the first fruit of the OScar project. OScar was the brainchild of the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment and the universities at Eindhoven, Enschede, and Delft. We first told you about this project a year ago and now have the first working model to show you. This true Open Source car was designed by an online community over the past eight years. The goal was to produce a simple, sturdy, easily-maintained, multi-functional, modular vehicle that was truly international.
The c,mm,n is intended to be a green family vehicle that can and should be adapted to individual market needs. If you use the basic platform, the group requests that you share your modifications, too. As with many products designed by committee, the results are... well, not as clean as cars designed by a single pen. The name is almost as clumsy as the exterior, but not quite. But feel free to change the looks as much as you please, just share the upgrades with the world. On the plus side, it uses a hydrogen fuel cell for propulsion and features high-tech goodies like a 2-way interactive GPS with live traffic and parking info.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
akintz @ Mar 30th 2007 4:36PM
From the appearance of it, it'll have to be Free as in "we have to give these away."
Deezee @ Mar 30th 2007 4:40PM
Who ever oppened that source needs to close it fast. Ugliest vehicle ever. What is that supposed to look like a shoe?
waLLy @ Mar 30th 2007 4:41PM
What's with all the wasted real-estate up front?
Claud Pipkin @ Mar 30th 2007 4:55PM
Looks like a lump of clay a person worked without their glasses.
gus @ Mar 30th 2007 5:12PM
The first program I would "WRITE" for this car is the exterior styling.
stan @ Mar 30th 2007 5:18PM
Well, it's not any worse than Linux was before kernel 2.0.
Where do the lights go? windscreen wipers? What is the side-impact survival rate? I'm assuming the fuel cell is a big empty spot in both the blueprints and the car as barring a quantum leap in the technology it remains too expensive to implement at prices below Rolls Royce levels. What on earth are these pods where the doors are/would be? Is this designed for mass production? a kit? pure speculation?
I'd look up some answers, but the project's site doesn't have pages in any language other than Dutch.
"Common" isn't that much more awkward than "Civic". Their version of the word may have been chosen because it defies translation into any language. Is this a "city car" or suitable for long-range driving? Is all that transparent stuff glass? Glass fibre? Steel? Neo-duroplast?
I might make snarky comments too, but I have too many questions.
Casey @ Mar 30th 2007 5:25PM
Oh dear god. Shoot it now.
Lee Roy Brandon III @ Mar 30th 2007 5:40PM
Well, the English translation site is coming soon, according to the site, but I fail to see how this advances the industry in any way. How do I develop the infrastructure to build one of these? Or is it marketed to governments and businesses? This articles raises so many questions...
XiozTzu @ Mar 30th 2007 5:58PM
Looks like the "the Homer".
http://www.hobbyworks.com/images/media/pll4000.jpg
Owain Ozymandias Buck @ Mar 30th 2007 6:04PM
This is what you get when a bunch of people who are in love with a vague concept try to put it into use without any applied experience. Just judging by the results, these people know nothing about cars, machines, or anything that has parts.
If they were serious, it wouldn't look like a melted running shoe, and the powertrain would be an available component, like oh, I don't know--a donor engine and tranny from a freaking Honda! Or an Opel. Or any damn thrifty little car.
What the hell is up with that wind screen. An eight year old Nextel Cup fan from Alabama knows more about aerodynamics than this bunch. Any Locost design has better "open source" elements than this P.O.S.
Pinkerton @ Mar 30th 2007 6:16PM
Maybe it will look better after drinking a case of Free Beer.
http://www.freebeer.org
RWD fan @ Mar 30th 2007 6:44PM
I thought Autoblog was done posting pics of the new Subaru...
Mike Homeniuk @ Mar 30th 2007 8:54PM
I was going to say...."almost makes the new Impreza look good", but on second thought.....
tim d @ Mar 31st 2007 12:17AM
This should answer the question "What would the car like if it was designed by Linux developers?"
naggs @ Mar 31st 2007 4:40AM
homer called, he wants his car back
James @ Mar 31st 2007 11:05AM
Although on the plus side, my experience of open-source (computer) products is that they very rarely crash........
Just a shame this one looks like it already has...
your ad here @ Mar 31st 2007 11:22AM
Well, it is open source. Go change the design elements you don't like. That is the point.
Mal Fuller @ Apr 1st 2007 5:00PM
Are you sure it isn't the open sores car?
Bryan314 @ Apr 29th 2007 5:23PM
Oh come now, this isn't as bad as...ok, that's it, I can't say it with a straight face...only thing I can think of is that the exterior is so bad that it's effectively a plea for someone's preschooler (who has at least seen a car) to re-design it for them.
I'm almost afraid to get a look inside...though that might not be a problem since it doesn't look like those doors would open on a bet.