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Novel car building idea/concept....
Alan B - 23/12/10 at 03:16 AM

Needs maybe half an hour or so to understand the gist of it all...

linky

What are your thoughts on this?

Could be good if it works.

interestedparty - 23/12/10 at 06:25 AM

Rather than me spend half an hour on that rather tricky website (with a number of menu options that lead to the same places) could you give a quick overall explanation if what it is all about?

Paradoxia0 - 23/12/10 at 08:18 AM

The concept seems good, but I don't know if I would want to do it...

If you click the "How it Works" link on the from page there is a 3 min video that explains it much better than I could summarise it but basically:

You join a community to build a car.
This community has a mix of designers, enthusiast etc. to create, pick and develop the car
Once at a point the design is complete "Local Motors" setup a factory in the local area.
You spend 2 weekends with the local builders team and build your car and drive it home.

Only 2000 of any design are made and the "community" that create the car have full access to all design data etc, for that car.

Again, the video explains considerably better than I can!

ceebmoj - 23/12/10 at 08:26 AM

An interesting idea. Its a bit like project split wheel i.e. you join the community and input in to the design then produce the car, project split wheel seams to be dead. its a lot like a number of other open source like car designe projects however this seams to have produced results .

[Edited on 23/12/10 by ceebmoj]

balidey - 23/12/10 at 08:30 AM

Well, I've not fully read the website, but sounds like a case of 'too many cooks'.
If you want a unique car, then scratch build one. You then have full control over design, time scale, costs.
In a 'community' you will have to go with the majority and may not end up with what you want at the end.
Imagine the arguments.

I think this concept sounded good in a meeting room somewhere, but can't seeing it being succesful.

RazMan - 23/12/10 at 10:49 AM

Interesting concept but the "build your car in two weekends" made me chuckle

Alan B - 23/12/10 at 12:15 PM

quote:
Originally posted by balidey
Well, I've not fully read the website, but sounds like a case of 'too many cooks'.
If you want a unique car, then scratch build one. You then have full control over design, time scale, costs.
In a 'community' you will have to go with the majority and may not end up with what you want at the end.
Imagine the arguments.

I think this concept sounded good in a meeting room somewhere, but can't seeing it being succesful.


Bingo

If you want a ton of "experts" giving their input into your car you may as well just go and buy whichever is the closest to your dream......(perhaps that's the idea?.....)

Or you can have a single minded vision and concept and just use the combined knowledge base of LCB to help with the execution?....I think that's why this site is so succesful, and the end of the day it's your dream, your project, your decisions but with a ton help available if needed.

Not sure about Local Motors TBH but I hope it works and I'll follow their progress with interest...I did register, so lets see what happens.

Alan

adithorp - 23/12/10 at 01:21 PM

BL designed cars by commitee in the eighties. Not a good advert for the idea.

plentywahalla - 23/12/10 at 05:18 PM

quote:

BL designed cars by commitee in the eighties. Not a good advert for the idea.


+1

Particularly as there are some seriously unhinged contributors, such as the guy who wants to put windmills on his car to recover the energy lost by pushing the car through the air!

designer - 23/12/10 at 07:41 PM

They even try to dom 'open source' aircraft


ttp://www.ligetistratos.com/