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Eliminated
Failure to meet minimum fuel economy requirement; exceeded maximum threshold of 200g/mile CO2; unable to complete required laps for Range
Tango T600 (49)
Team Leader: Rick Woodbury
Team Website: www.commutercars.com
Powertrain: Battery Electric
Fuel Type: N/A
Design: New
Class: Alternative (Tandem)
The data are approximations for informational purposes only and may not reflect actual metrics used to score entrants.

Team Bio

Inspiration for the Tango

In about 1982, I was stuck in traffic in Los Angeles and noticed only one person in each car around me. I contemplated how many millions are stuck in my situation every day and just seem numb to it--a frustration without a solution. I thought about what would be the solution. It was obvious that length of a vehicle was much less important than width for increasing freeway lane capacity in cars per hour. Making a car half as wide, or able to fit in a half lane with adequate clearance would allow a doubling of lane capacity. Shortening a car would make a much smaller difference because most of the real estate used by a car is the space in front for braking reaction time and braking distance. Since roughly 90% of all cars have one person in them, why would people choose a wide car for most of their trips, given the choice?

It occurred to me of course that a narrow car would tip over in cornering. Being a casual Porsche race driver at the time, I was quite aware of the relation of lateral G forces and center of mass. I've been an advocate of hydrogen fuel for cars since 1975 when I first read about them in a Brazilian magazine. I knew that although an internal-combustion-engined car would be hard to ballast enough for stability, a hydrogen car using iron-titanium hydride or a similar carrier for the hydrogen would make great ballast for stabilizing a narrow car.

I stewed on this for nearly 20 years wondering when a car company would figure this out. I remember speaking with Peter Schutz and Helmut Bott, Porsche's president and chief engineer at the time about hydrogen. They said that it was a 20 year project, and that they could only afford to work on 5-year projects at Porsche.

Almost exactly 20 year later I learned of the progress being made at Daimler-Benz, and their planned purchase of Ballard stock, a hydrogen fuel cell company. Many things came together at that time that catalyzed my son and I building a prototype narrow car that ran on batteries just to prove our theory. We originally thought that batteries wouldn't have enough range and that our work was to prepare for hydrogen power. We learned quickly though that batteries were much more than sufficient for the average commute. In fact, because the Tango was not trying to be everything to everybody, only appealing to 90% of all trips, that inexpensive lead-acid batteries would be sufficient. As we built and developed our proof-of-concept vehicle, we found it to be more and more valid. Little by little we raised capital to advance the design to the point where it is today.

For more information on Tango (Commuter Cars), check out the team's coverage on ConsumerReports.org

Rick Woodbury

Hometown: Hermosa Beach, California
Role on team: Team Leader
How did you become involved in the team?
I founded Commuter Cars with my son Bryan in 1998 in order to solve traffic congestion world wide. We have a long way to go, but have made a significant start.

Auckland New Zealand may be the first city to implement the most cost-effective solution to commuter transportation problems and the fiscal problems associated with them.

May 6, 2013

Auckland New Zealand may be the first city to realize that it can be 10 times less expensive and 10 times faster to purchase and lease Tangos to commuters rather than spend tens of $billions of taxpayer funds on more freeways and other transportation infrastructure. Please read the discussion document written by Toa Greening, Auckland City Council member. http://www.projectmicrocar.co.nz/ or Click Here to Download 15-page PDF http://www.commutercars.com/downloads/Project_Microcar_v1.0.pdf It's kind of like this Tibetan story of two guys walk... more »

Lanesplitting

February 13, 2013

I heard yesterday that lanesplitting was in the news in California. I tried to find it online, but only found that the CHP was defining what is considered safe lanesplitting.  Click here for: California Highway Patrol Web Page on LanesplittingI, of course, feel that it's only safe if done in a Tango, which is narrower than many motorcycles, and can react more quickly, as proved in the Consumer Reports emergency lane change test during the Automotive X-prize competition.Imagine the reduction in traffic and parking congestion if sing... more »

2013-01-16 KXLY TV Tango News Story

January 18, 2013

KXLY TV aired a new story on the Tango yesterday. It's probably one of the best at conveying the true purpose of the Tango. Click here to see video. ... more »

Tango in Opening Scene of Robot & Frank Trailer

July 20, 2012

What a pleasant surprise to see the Tango in the opening scene of this trailer for the upcoming movie Robot & Frank. It looks like a great movie. I can't wait to see it. Actors Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Liv Tyler, and James Marsden star in the film. Click Here to see trailer. Robot and Frank debuts in August. In September Looper is due to come out, starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Emily Blunt. It has 4 Tangos in it. ... more »

Tango Chinese News Story: Now with Translation

July 13, 2012

Click here for video No need to sit in this frustrating mess: If you have a Tango you can enjoy the freedom of driving past all of these cars. That's infinitely more fun than sitting in traffic. Commuter Cars’ “Tango”—The Urban Driving Electric Supercar Filmed and edited by Enming Liu for Voice of America’s “Cultural Odyssey” For a YouTube version that skips the host's introduction, please click this link: YouTube Tango News Story MP4 Version for iPhone / iPad can be downloaded from our web site using this ... more »

May 5, 2012

First Tango to be Sold Outside of the U.S. I was recently invited to speak at the TransTrans Summit Conference in New York. Unfortunately, I was too busy here getting a Tango ready to ship to Exeter in the UK, that I didn't have time to make it. I'm thus taking this opportunity to tell the story that I would have told in the speech. I once read a Tibetan story about two fellows walking along before the time shoes were invented. The sharp rocks were hurting their feet. One said to the other: "Would't it be nice if we could cover the ... more »