Build an Open-Source Electric Car In About One Hour 188
First time accepted submitter joe5 writes "Like what Elon Musk has done and want to go all Etsy and build your own electric car? That's apparently now possible now thanks to the OSVehicle Tabby — dubbed the first "Open source vehicle" (memo: it may be cool, but it ain't the first). The OSV guys are taking pre-orders for the Tabby starter kit, with both the two-seater or four-seater configurations going for €500. Then you click to add options. (Note: seats is an "option" so that's the level of luxury you are dealing with here.) When the transaction's complete, OSV sends the parts to your home and you can download the plans and start building. Since the Tabby is open source, OSVehicle will also look to a community of owners and tinkerers for suggestions and recommendations."
I think (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I think (Score:5, Insightful)
Classic Slashdot or no slashdot
Re:I think (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's start a sig campaign, prefix your's with [FUCK BETA]. This way you can stay on-topic and still protest.
Re:I think (Score:5, Insightful)
Gee, that apostrophe was terrible, sorry. s/your's/yours
Btw, fuck beta.
Re:I think (Score:5, Insightful)
Screw staying on topic.
The fact that every comment thread is being overrun with complaints about the beta site is going to drive a lot of people away. That costs /. money as the ad revenue disappears. And that's apparently all that those running the show understand.
If there's anything that I've learned in the last 15 years about Slashdot, it's that they essentially ignore all complaints. Giving them "feedback" about the new site isn't going to do anything. Depriving them of their money -- that might get their attention.
Re:I think (Score:5, Interesting)
Do you think a week long boycott would help them reconsider? Anyone serious about leaving should boycott the site from 10th to 17th of Feb. That should give Dice a good indication of what will happen if they force this shit on us.
I seem... (Score:3)
...to have stolen your 1 week boycott idea about an hour ago, without knowing at the time that you'd suggested it first.
Actually, with the 14th in the middle of that time span, we can call it the Slashdot Valentine's Day Massacre if enough of us participate to kill beta off.
(I notice that sigs don't show up in beta)
(and that you have to put in manual paragraph breaks to get proper spacing--apparently the plan is to become more like HuffPo )
No. A week long boycott would NOT help. (Score:4, Insightful)
What would help is for some php coders to get together and come up with a website that has the look and feel of classic,and is scalable. Register a domain name, and have it waiting in the wings.
Or better yet, approach the guy who runs xkcd with it, and take it from there. He's shown that he can do well enough with what he had.
Re: (Score:2)
I've been wondering for a long time why no one has forked Slashdot. All you need is someone with some massive geek clout to front it.
Re: (Score:3)
Nah. What we need is a Social Fixer-like addon for Slashdot.... Call it News Fixer....
Re: (Score:2)
Anyone serious about leaving should boycott the site from 10th to 17th of Feb. That should give Dice a good indication of what will happen if they force this shit on us.
OK, done! Starting next Monday.
Post this in all stories until then.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I think (Score:5, Funny)
Not even with your dick, sir! We have standards around here. Shockingly low standards, but standards nonetheless. And beta does not meet with those standards.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, judging by the new design, Dice doesn't seem to think that the comments matter anyway. So why stay on topic?
Re: (Score:2)
Screw staying on topic.
The fact that every comment thread is being overrun with complaints about the beta site is going to drive a lot of people away. That costs /. money as the ad revenue disappears. And that's apparently all that those running the show understand.
If there's anything that I've learned in the last 15 years about Slashdot, it's that they essentially ignore all complaints. Giving them "feedback" about the new site isn't going to do anything. Depriving them of their money -- that might get their attention.
Yup. A few days of hurt will hopefully change their attitude. I don't want to leave. I want Slashdot to return to its former glory. I really do. Anything else is too much work. Even those bastards in management have got to realize how angry we are. Okian's idea about an alternative Slashdot won't materialize if they drop the beta stupidity... but I'm betting it will if they ignore us and our warnings for the next two weeks.
-- Common Joe
Slashdot Valentines Day Massacre: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck
Re:I think (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I think (Score:5, Insightful)
Nice work. But if you pardon my analogy, that's like giving a condom to the guy who's trying to rape you.
--
[FUCK BETA] Now for Anonymous Cowards too.
Re: (Score:2)
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
I will still thank you for your effort, because it shows you care.
Does it fix the comment threshold? (Score:2)
Does it make the site remember your saved comment threshold preference and only send you the comments above the threshold you have in your profile?
Does it avoid having to use the slider on every page to specify the slider?
Does it avoid the need to have Javascript enabled for the domain?
Does it use your computer resources to hide thresholds you are not interested in?
This is my main beef with beta, the rest I can work around or live with.
Re: (Score:2)
Does it make the site remember your saved comment threshold preference and only send you the comments above the threshold you have in your profile?
No, because it's just CSS. However, I'm thinking this could be solved with a little greasemonkey tweaking.
Does it avoid having to use the slider on every page to specify the slider?
Again, no. It's just CSS.
Does it avoid the need to have Javascript enabled for the domain?
I believe it will work without Javascript enabled. Of course, you won't HAVE any comments then, as they're loaded with Javascript. But these days, a vast majority of the web requires Javascript to function.
Does it use your computer resources to hide thresholds you are not interested in?
Again, no. But I'm spotting a theme here...
This is my main beef with beta, the rest I can work around or live with.
So, your problem seems to be that the new site isn't using your saved preference for what comments to display. This is something tha
Re: (Score:2)
That is what I thought, it is only CSS.
Many hate beta because of whitespace and look and feel, but my main beef is that it requires javascript enabled so it can run jquery for the comment slider.
This ruins the site for me, and there is no fix.
Thanks for the userstyle and the reply though.
Re: (Score:2)
Does it make the site remember your saved comment threshold preference and only send you the comments above the threshold you have in your profile?
Does it avoid having to use the slider on every page to specify the slider?
This is my main beef with beta, the rest I can work around or live with.
Doing some supplemental testing, I'm not sure what your beef is. On my machine (Running current FireFox Nightly), When you set your preferred threshold (using the dropdown above the comments), the value you specify gets set in a cookie, which then gets re-loaded on each subsequent page view. So I'm not sure where these issues are coming from. The code is there (and working) to do it.
Re: (Score:2)
I am running Firefox 26.
The issue is that to use the slider you have to have javascript enabled in the first place. Fine, I can enable it once so the cookie will be set and I always read comments at +5.
But then, I often find a discussion interesting and I want to check comments at a lower level, sometimes +4, sometimes +2 as the case may be, how many total comments, ...etc.
To do this, I need to enable javascript again to use the slider.
Or am I missing something?
Re: (Score:3)
I have a better idea. Let no one comment or let all moderator points go to those who protest the beta site.
Re: (Score:3)
You can't force people to not comment, or to moderate as you suggested. But you can easily set [FUCK BETA] as your own sig.
The "let no one [do whatever he/she wants to do]" is the authoritarian approach, the one adopted by religious people (do not masturbate / have pre-marital sex / have gay sex / abort / have thoughts of your own).
So I can't agree that your idea is better.
TL;DR: 1 - you can't enforce it, 2 - if you could, it'd still be a dick thing to do (just like forcing this FUCKING BETA on us)
[FUCK BETA] Re:I think (Score:3)
As a first step, I suggest suffixing your normal link to Slashdot with "/?nobeta=1". At least until Slashdot decides to fully pull the plug and tell us all to go fuck ourselves, that will keep you from having to ever see the abomination they call the new beta site. And as a bonus, whether or not they care, they'll get the message loud and clear when 90% of their inbound traffic explicitly reject
Re: (Score:2)
That said, thanks for the idea - Though to hell with sigs, make it the start of your SUBJECT for every post.
Well, you can do both! ;)
The good thing with sigs is that you don't have to write them every time.
I will use it until they listen or make it a moot point - Though from past experience, I fully expect the latter, because they just don't care in the least about what we think.
Yep, unfortunately that seems to be the trend...
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
In Dice's defense, they've simply realized that what the users here REALLY value is the incredibility elegant prose of the summaries and the wonderful ads. The comments are a mere afterthought. So they've adjusted the new UI accordingly.
Re: (Score:3)
Classic Slashdot or no slashdot
Someone else had a better idea. The Slashdot programmers should have APIs available for multiple front ends. (I mean, hey, this is nerdville filled with programmers, after all.) If they are really that gung ho about wasting space, there is no reason why classic and waste-space front ends can't co-exist.
With that said, you and I know that won't happen hence my signature.
-- Common Joe
Slashdot Valentines Day Massacre: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17
And Support Okian Warrior's Alterna [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:2)
That's the best you kids can come up with these days? "Fuck Beta?" and the like? How about some constructive criticisms? I wonder how each of you would react if your own customers/clients/bosses criticized your work with some think along the lines of "Fuck that!" Or, "You're fired!" as opposed to something constructive that benefist both of you?
Re: (Score:3)
Sure, here you go:
Use the classic design, slap a little paint on it to make it look better, and slowly add some features that could actually benefit users (that we've been calling for for some time). And ASK the users what those new features could be, and have them discuss them. Give the users a VOICE in changes instead of just forcing them on us.
One of the features I would propose would be the ability to edit posts after your post them (for a short time, anyway). I can't tell you the number of times I've r
Re:I think (Score:4, Funny)
I can't tell you the number of times I've ruined a great post with an embarrassing typo or grammar fuck-up, only to have my entire argument ignored as a million grammar Nazi's jump in to inform me of the difference between your and you're (as if I DON'T FUCKING KNOW THAT ALREADY).
So there you go. Your welcome.
Nazis. ;-)
Your welcome
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
I'd prefer to have it changed to "Fuck Beta".
Down with Beta (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, it is terrible.
Slashdot Beta --- Now optimized for Windows 8.1 (Score:5, Informative)
It still looks like ass though. It blends well with Metro UI at least............
Re:Slashdot Beta --- Now optimized for Windows 8.1 (Score:4, Insightful)
It blends well with Metro UI at least
I don't think that's a benefit.
Fork Slashdot? (Score:5, Interesting)
yoinker? (Score:3)
How did you go from "with blackjack & hookers" to the guy that makes coffee and buys pizza? I already hate your version unless you at least spring for the hookers.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
How did you go from "with blackjack & hookers" to the guy that makes coffee and buys pizza? I already hate your version unless you at least spring for the hookers.
To be fair coffee and pizza is pretty much the nerd version of blackjack and hookers.
Hookers? (Score:4, Funny)
If we had hookers, why would we need blackjack or Slashdot?
Re: (Score:2)
If you're going to use that blackjack, you don't need money for the hookers anyways. But.. that will get you more prison time, if the pimp doesn't kill you first.
Re: (Score:2)
That's the difference between being an owner and being an employee.
Re: (Score:3)
What IP is there in the site that we couldn't take with us?
Unfortunately something like 15 years worth of usernames and comments, because although the comments are still owned by each respective user I doubt the database is.
Oh, and CowboyNeal.
Re:Fork Slashdot? (Score:4, Interesting)
Unfortunately something like 15 years worth of usernames and comments, because although the comments are still owned by each respective user I doubt the database is.
User comments could probably be taken care of on a limited per-user basis by scraping the user's personal page:
http://slashdot.org/~glavenoid [slashdot.org]
If a user opens an account on slashdotan and then _logs_into_slashdot_ via slashdotan (i.e. gives slashdotan his /. username and password) then I believe that the content could be legally scraped.
I'll go register the domain and see what I can code. Anybody who is interested can email me, my Gmail username is the same as my /. username.
Re: (Score:3)
When things change, how are decisions to be made? That is the crucial question.
Re: (Score:3)
That sounds good. I don't want it to be _my_ project, even if I'm coding it. I come to /. for the discussion, and I'll go wherever that discussion goes, even if I have to code it.
Can we get a list of things we want and don't want from the current and past slashdot incarnations? I'll draw up a plan and as people get interested I'll start assigning responsibilities and give access to the code. Everyone here knows how to work with Git, right?
Preliminary Wants:
1) Threaded commenting.
2) Limited modding
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Just spider the current site, like archive.org does. Keep the archive for anyone who wants to browse it, and start fresh with the new site. Start a new user registration system, use the low-ID gold rush to encourage people to move.
Re:Fork Slashdot? (Score:5, Insightful)
In fact, there may be more parallel efforts out there. On the one hand, competition may be good (let the best replica win!); on the other hand, migrating a community the size of Slashdot is no small task, so we may only get one shot at this.
Also, for legal/trademark reasons, you may want to consider a name that doesn't include "Slashdot" so overtly. E.g. tpaudio [slashdot.org] has suggested [slashdot.org] "Plusdot". Another idea (mine) is to call it "divergence" or "divergence operator [wikipedia.org]"... the logo would be the mathematical form of divergence, i.e. nabla [wikipedia.org] symbol followed by a dot (which looks like an augmented "slash dot").
Re:Fork Slashdot? (Score:5, Funny)
Is there even a need for any coding? I thought Slashcode was open source already.
slashcode (Score:2)
Ya, people forget that http://slashcode.com/ [slashcode.com] exists. Or you can just roll your own and probably do better. :)
No need for /code (Score:2)
Could be done very easily with Wordpress and moderated submissions. Comment ratings plugins exist ...
The problem is getting users to submit content. Trust me, the crowd that is so willing to go "Fuck Beta", is not the people submitting / moderating. Atleast thats what I think... .
NO WORDPRESS! (Score:4, Insightful)
Trust me on this.
It's the resemblance to WP sites and HuffPo that makes beta so objectionable in the first place.
I get 15 mod points at a time on a regular basis, by the way, even though it's been a while since I submitted anything.
Re: (Score:2)
Slashcode, at least the last time I took a look at it, was ass-old and a complete pain to get installed on any modern Linux. It may well make for a good start point though.
Other Slashdots? (Score:2)
There are plenty of other sites out there. So why don't you make your own Slashdot? You can get the code for the old (pre-beta) site from http://www.slashcode.com/ [slashcode.com] , which eventually leads to http://sourceforge.net/project... [sourceforge.net]
I don't know how well the code runs now, but a long time ago, it was real heavy on the server side. There are plenty of other options, you just have to get users in. I had one up for a while, but with only 4 users it didn't do so well.
Re: (Score:2)
That just might happen. Let's find out if those idiots at Dice get the message in the next couple of weeks. If they don't, get that pizza and coffee ready.
-- Common Joe
Slashdot Valentines Day Massacre: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17
And Support Okian Warrior's Alternate Slashdot [slashdot.org] Idea!
Save Slashdot Classic (Score:5, Insightful)
The meat of Slashdot, the substance that draws viewers here instead of the alternatives, is the comments. Lose those comments and you will lose the eyeballs. Lose the eyeballs and you will lose the ad revenue.
Alternatively, you can accept that you made a mistake, keep Slashdot classic, and keep the steady flow of cash. Make the right business decision, here, Dice. Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Re: (Score:2)
NO! (Score:2, Insightful)
If you move me to the beta slashdot abortion i'll add this place to the block list and never visit again.
Too many other news sites regurgitate the exact same storys i see here. And all of them don't look as shitty as the beta slashdot.
Stop being stupid.
Fork Slashdot (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Yes please.
http://slashcode.com/ [slashcode.com]
Re: (Score:2)
No! Please!
A new site: that I can get behind. But to take that code? Are you MAD?
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps we should just fork slashdot and name it **Plusdot**.
Yes! As a convenience we could require users to login via google+ !
Re: (Score:2)
There are ideas about creating a new community. I'm sure any (or lack of) responses from the Dice overlords about the protests over the next couple of weeks will tell us what the future of the Slashdot community will be.
-- Common Joe
Slashdot Valentines Day Massacre: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17
And Support Okian Warrior's Alternate Slashdot [slashdot.org] Idea!
Time for a slashdotting. (Score:5, Informative)
Spread the word by mentioning this in every article's comments.
Here is Dice's "Contact Us" page. [diceholdingsinc.com] Everybody be sure to call them tomorrow using whatever numbers from that page you can get to ring. Tell every darn receptionist in every darn one of Dice's holdings, along with anyone you can get them to connect you to, that the Slashdot beta is terrible and you won't shut up until it goes away. Fax them a well-illustrated complaint or two or three. Send them a choice letter via snail mail, along with whatever memorabilia you wish.
They keep soliciting our feedback, they can get our feedback, right where it counts.
The most obvious contact points are:
Dice Holdings Inc.
1040 Avenue of the Americas, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10018
T: 212-725-6550
F: 212-725-6559
Slashdot
594 Howard St Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: +1-877-433-5638
www.slashdot.com
Re: (Score:3)
i'm all out of mod points...
but this!! YES!
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Spread the word by mentioning this in every article's comments.
Here is Dice's "Contact Us" page. [diceholdingsinc.com] Everybody be sure to call them tomorrow using whatever numbers from that page you can get to ring. Tell every darn receptionist in every darn one of Dice's holdings, along with anyone you can get them to connect you to, that the Slashdot beta is terrible and you won't shut up until it goes away. Fax them a well-illustrated complaint or two or three. Send them a choice letter via snail mail, along with whatever memorabilia you wish.
They keep soliciting our feedback, they can get our feedback, right where it counts.
The most obvious contact points are:
Dice Holdings Inc. 1040 Avenue of the Americas, 8th Floor New York, NY 10018 T: 212-725-6550 F: 212-725-6559
Slashdot 594 Howard St Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94105 Tel: +1-877-433-5638 www.slashdot.com
Wow, they don't even have an online contact form. High tech to the core, they are ...
Fuck Slashdot Beta (Score:5, Insightful)
I will quit reading Slashdot if that stupid Beta shit is implemented. It's horrible. It fixes nothing. It is not an improvement in any way.
Re:Fuck Slashdot Beta (Score:4, Insightful)
Not road-safe (Score:2, Interesting)
That vehicle would never get approval where I live, because it does not have suitable protection for driver and passenger. It would get bootstomped the moment an inattentive soccer mom in a big assed hummer H3 started yelling at her "adorable" group of kids, while trying to enter the roadway from the drive-through lane at the fast food gorge-and-puke she stopped at to get "food" for all her "little superstars."
Just like Dice, while performing fellatio on its advertising partners is simply too distracted to
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That vehicle would never get approval where I live, because it does not have suitable protection for driver and passenger. It would get bootstomped the moment an inattentive soccer mom in a big assed hummer H3 started yelling at her "adorable" group of kids, while trying to enter the roadway from the drive-through lane at the fast food gorge-and-puke she stopped at to get "food" for all her "little superstars."
In most locations 'kit-cars' assembled by the consumer are exempt from most safety requirements, only needing the very basics such as lights. Selling said vehicle might be difficult though, and if you're selling them you probably want to be able to show that you're not making a business of it. IE you pay $15k for the parts, spend dozens to hundreds of hours putting it together, drive it for 5 years, sell for $5k.
Depending on the strength of the body kit, it might not be that bad in a collision, though it'
Finally, A Possibly Useful Poll Suggestion (Score:5, Interesting)
Will you will actually leave if Beta is implemented?
A) Yes.
B) I'm already working on a Slashdot alternative/competitor.
C) I'm not even here now. I left when it was clear user feedback would be ignored.
D) Rage has limited my response to a constant and inarticulate, "Fuck Beta." Ask me nothing more.
E) I'll say I will but force of habit will prevent it.
F) No.
G) Ever notice how there are no longer any Cowboy Neal options? Guess what made Cowboy Neal leave.
[fuckbeta] (Score:2)
Missing option: I'm jumping ship to the first replacement that comes up. Slashcode will likely do a good job.
Re: (Score:2)
I love this. A, B, C, D, and G would be very popular options.
-- Common Joe
Slashdot Valentines Day Massacre: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17
And Support Okian Warrior's Alternate Slashdot [slashdot.org] Idea!
Looks like a death trap. (Score:2)
What do you expect from a beta? (Score:4, Funny)
Buying Slashdot (Score:5, Informative)
So on an earlier thread I mentioned starting a kickstarter to buy Slashdot off of Dice. Many of us love the community here and would hate to see it killed off due the the incompetence of some Dice MBAs. I have no idea what a good number to start such a kickstarter at would be so I started by looking at the latest Dice quarterly report. I still haven't found numbers that are particularly helpful but I did come across a few interesting things that might help explain their seemingly inexplicable actions.
From the Operating Segment Results section:
"Corporate & Other segment revenues decreased 9% year-over-year to $4.3 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 from the comparable 2012 period, due primarily to the financial results at Slashdot Media."
From the recent Recent Developments section:
"Slashdot Media was acquired to provide content and services that are important to technology professionals in their everyday work lives and to leverage that reach into the global technology community benefiting user engagement on the Dice.com site. The expected benefits have started to be realized at Dice.com. However, advertising revenue has declined over the past year and there is no improvement expected in the future financial performance of Slashdot Media's underlying advertising business. Therefore, $7.2 million of intangible assets and $6.3 million of goodwill related to Slashdot Media were reduced to zero."
It seems they valued the goodwill of us Slashdot users at $13.5 million USD! Unfortunately it looks like they've already written that off?
Also, for Slashdotters who like to Slashdot things:
Investor & Media Contact:
Jennifer Bewley
Vice-President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Dice Holdings, Inc.
212-448-4181
IR@dice.com
Oh, and a couple of their bigwigs will be at a conference in San Francisco in a couple of days:
On Monday, February 10, 2014, Mr. Durney and Mr. Roberts will participate at the Stifel Technology, Internet & Media Conference 2014 to be held in San Francisco. The fireside chat will be held at 2:45 PM Pacific time/5:45 PM Eastern time and will be webcast live from the Company's website.
Maybe a few of us would like to participate in that fireside chat, eh?
Cheers,
Greg
Re: (Score:3)
Of course, the danger is that some other company would swoop in in the mean time...
Re: (Score:3)
I was going to suggest something similar. I'd definitely chip in to make Slashdot a community site. Without the need to turn a profit some minimal ads would pay for hosting. Volunteers could run it... It's not like the editors actually do anything, like say spell-check stories.
How long have I been here? (Score:2)
Is there a way to see in your acct info how long you've been registered here? I looked for a bit and didn't see anything obvious that would tell me. The only info I have locally is the dates and times I've changed my password. The earliest date I have is early 2008 but I'm sure I was here for at least a few years before that.
(reply to self) Almost forgot... (Score:5, Funny)
Tried posting, "Fuck Beta"
Received error: "This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original..."
Okey Dokey then..... Fuck Beta Sideways
confirmed: beta is garbage (Score:5, Informative)
Yup. It sucks.
Re: (Score:2)
The top comments on alterslash [alterslash.org] are all about the beta, so I had to check it out too...
To be honest, I'm glad I jumped the ship 10-11 years ago.
Quick alterslash fix in the morning while drinking my coffee and I'm done.
Slashdot beta (Score:2)
Beta discussion (Score:2)
http://beta.slashdot.org/submi... [slashdot.org]
slashdot beta sucks donkey balls. (Score:4, Insightful)
I feel bad for the person who thought Slashdot Beta was a good idea. That person is like the kid on South Park who shit his pants in the middle of class.
However, unlike the kid on South Park who shit his pants in the middle of class, it's not too late for the Slashdot Beta designer. Sure, we have all seen Slashdot Beta, we have covered our eyes, held our noses, and screamed "WHAT IS THAT!?" But unlike a turd splattered into one's pants, Slashdot Beta can be undone. It can be returned to the place from which it came. And then it can be crafted into something that isn't a turd.
Don't destroy a good pair of pants for nothing. You can stop this.
great (Score:2)
if you have you own compound to drive the car around, but in most countries it's illegal to drive a self build car without licenseplates (and that requires the car being tested, if that's even possible for a self-build car in some countries)..
Why reinvent the sand rail? (Score:5, Informative)
This looks like a reinvented sand rail, except not as safe, and not road legal.
I've seen sand rails on the road in some states. Check with your DMV to see about registering "experimental", "homemade" or "homebuilt" vehicles.
You can get a rolling sand rail chassis pretty cheap, and put in your choice of engine, transmission, seat(s), lights, etc. Just like the vehicle in the article, you could assemble one in a few hours.
In my state, besides the obvious (engine/motor, steering wheel, etc), they require: headlights (2), turn signals (4), brakes (2), bumpers (2), fenders (all wheels), horn (1), seat, seat belt (if not a motorcycle), tires (2 or 3 for motorcycle, 4+ for cars). All lighting must be DOT approved, which is easy enough to get from auto parts stores. Lighting and bumpers have to be within a certain height from the ground. I think that was all the requirements. That's from memory.
Pretty much, you just build it. You then go to the DMV and fill out a "Statement of Builder".
http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/form... [flhsmv.gov]
You can then drive it (or trailer it) to the DMV for a safety inspection.
They get a lot of homebuilt motorcycles, since you can buy every part without a donor vehicle.
Homebuilt cars are usually custom cars built on existing chassis. If you're building on a sandrail chassis (like this almost appears), you just can't provide the source chassis VIN. If you're proficient with welding, you can build your own chassis, but that takes some skill.
I've put a few homebuilt trailers on the road legally. Pretty much those just required me to go in with a weight and length, and sign off on some papers. It was up to me to affirm that I complied with the safety (lighting, hitch, etc) requirements.
Re: (Score:3)
Ya, insurance can get a little funny, but there are plenty of places that will cover you.
I happen to own an retired city bus (transit bus with diesel pusher, not a school bus), that I'm making into a RV. It's in that registration and insurance weird spot. It's not a commercial vehicle any more. It's not a bus. It's not a professionally built RV.
Some people who have done these kind of conversions strip the donor vehicle down to a rolling chassis with drivetrain. I'm keeping the outer body, because ..
Not really open souce (Score:2)
Tabby may be open source, but I'm pretty sure that all of the components going into it are propietary and patent encumbered.
Re: (Score:3)
Wow, somebody that wants to discuss the car, instead of the beta.
You raise an interesting point. The question is, when does that start to matter? Is it a problem if the electric motor is patent encumbered, but there are 7 other drop-in replacements you could use, and 27 adaptable replacements? After all, at some point we all post our Slashdot rants using computers built around a patent encumbered CPU built in a US$3Billion fab, not one built in our basements. (I've built CPU's from buckets of parts...
Build an Open-Source Electric... (Score:2)
That would have been an interesting thread.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
SIMMARY
FUCK BETA
Re: (Score:2)
At least it's not trying to mislead anybody, then.
P.S. Beta sucks almost as much as Bennet Haselton
Re: (Score:2)
But I agree that, at least in the US, safety codes will as obstacle to getting them road certified, which could essentially limit them to the 'commuter golf cart' realm. An off road version would be cool.
Re: (Score:2)
Not that they'll directly ban this, but they'll probably never certify this for road use.
If you check out the link, there's a version that's street legal in the UK, and presumably various other countries too. It's called the Urban Tabby.
Personally I wouldn't all the version they build in an hour a car, as it isn't road legal. It's more like an electric go-cart.