Oh, Look, It's an Inflatable Ferrari Knock-Off Electric Car

[Tuckerfan]

Unfortunately, I can’t find a better image of it than the red one on this page.

XP Vehicles™ (http://www.xpcarteam.com) today announced that it’s Whisper™ electric car is being developed for online direct ship distribution at sub $5000.00 price-points.

A baffled pressure tube system (think Zodiac™ rubber boat) provides the actual supporting and protective structure of the vehicle. How safe is it? Recall that NASA recently threw tens of millions of dollars of ultra-sensitive electronics onto the surface of Mars from nearly a mile up and then bounced that same delicate gear for over a mile over boulders and everything worked flawlessly.

This was due to the instruments being shrouded in an already expanded inflatable housing that has served as the model for the Whisper™ body structure. Anyone looking at the warnings on their visor can be concerned about the dangers during airbag inflation so XP simply built a vehicle entirely out of next-generation, always inflated, safety airbags. The engineers for the Whisper are confident you can drive it off a 25-foot cliff without serious injury to its passengers. They claim this is the safest car ever designed for drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

Okay, so because NASA dropped a couple of probes on a planet with one quarter of the gravity of Earth and their machines turned out okay, I’m supposed to believe that I’ll be nice and safe when a five thousand pound SUV, driven by a soccer mom, yammering away on her cellphone about how much last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives resembled her life, comes careening at me and all that stands between me and 500 lbs of chromed bumper is a freakin’ balloon? :dubious:

At worst, the car will pop like a soap bubble, and I’ll wind up splattered all over the front of her SUV. At “best,” I’ll bounce off her front end, be sent careening all over the highway, ricocheting off everything that’s metal, and wind up (even if I’m belted in) with whiplash in every part of my body. Yeah, this sounds like a great idea for a car. :rolleyes:

[Sage_Rat]

I’ll wait until it’s more than a 3D mockup before deciding between or :dubious:.

At the moment, I’ll have to lean towards :dubious:.

[aruvqan]

@Tuckerfan

:dubious:

At “best,” I’ll bounce off her front end, be sent careening all over the highway, ricocheting off everything that’s metal, and wind up (even if I’m belted in) with whiplash in every part of my body. Yeah, this sounds like a great idea for a car. :rolleyes:

or the basis for a hell of an amusemnt park ride…extreme bumper cars…

[El_Kabong]

The FAQ is hilarious:

@XP Vehicles

Q. Can the cars be driven on the road?
A. It depends on your country and your local laws. Your local dealer is responsible for assembling and certifying the vehicle for your region. If you order a flat-pack vehicle that you assemble, then you are responsible for local certifications.

Right, so apparently the manufacturer is making no effort whatever to ensure that the vehicle is road-legal.

Q. What options will be available?
A. ipod mounts & connects, 20 colors, trim, decals, roof, no roof, car covers, solar mounts, stereos, integrated pumps, home connections, GPS, battery clubs, alarms… all the good stuff you get with a “regular” car.

Oh, well, as long as I can plug in my iPod…and what the flippin’ 'eck are ‘solar mounts’ and ‘battery clubs’?

Q. What if somebody stabs my inflatable car?
A. The material is pretty hard to pierce and anybody can stab your tires or top in a “regular car” now anyway. In our cars you can repair them yourself in a short timeframe and they have multiple chambers so somebody would really have to go at it.

Nevertheless, I’m predicting a lot of these things running around covered in duct-tape patches…

[detop]

@El_Kabong

<snip> Nevertheless, I’m predicting a lot of these things running around covered in duct-tape patches…

Hmmmm, duct tape silver, the new Ferrari colour.

[detop]

@El_Kabong

<snip> Nevertheless, I’m predicting a lot of these things running around covered in duct-tape patches…

Hmmmm, duct-tape silver, the new Ferrari colour.

[Boyo_Jim]

@detop

Hmmmm, duct-tape silver, the new Ferrari colour.

Modern duct tape is available in many enjoyable colors, including both a matte and glossy black, and a very sporty red just perfect for inflatable sports cars.

[OtakuLoki]

I can’t claim to have huge experience with them, but while I was in the Navy we had use of a Zodiac-type small boat (A RHIB, actually - Rigid Hull, Inflatable Body) which was used in all sorts of conditions. That sucker was pretty tough. When we went through that huge Atlantic storm in '93, ISTR we had one on board, and it was fine. (This was the same storm that knocked the main gun off it’s mounting for one of the ships in the task group.) I’m not saying that I’d be thrilled to ride the car, without seeing some crash test data. What I will say is that I will wait until I can see that data before I make up my mind.

[Boyo_Jim]

I would buy an inflatable car if the performance numbers are good enough – so it could keep up in highway traffic. Though I’d be worried that it might blow off the road in moderate to high winds, so I’d want to see some test results about that too. I can’t afford two cars, one for distance and one for local commuting, so if it couldn’t handle both tasks it wouldn’t do for me.

[detop]

@Boyo Jim

Modern duct tape is available in many enjoyable colors, including both a matte and glossy black, and a very sporty red just perfect for inflatable sports cars.

Yes, but how many of the people who will buy these knock-offs will go to the trouble of finding these “designers” duct-tapes ?

[Mangetout]

Might as well just go ahead and make it amphibious, don’t you think? I’d buy an inflatable amphibious car.

Especially if it can fly too. Can I have an inflatable amphibious flying car?

[sturmhauke]

@Boyo Jim

Though I’d be worried that it might blow off the road in moderate to high winds

Oh, you mean like on several of the bridges in the Bay Area, which is where these inflatable jokes are being developed? Just recently a big rig got blown over on the San Rafael Bridge, what chance does a balloon car have?