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Amphibious Car Beats Urban Congestion 560

Posted by simoniker from the hitchhikers-wear-life-vests dept.
woodhouse writes "According to BBC News, a company in the UK have just tested a fully amphibious car on the Thames river. It can travel at up to 100 miles an hour on land, and its wheels fold up to allow it to speed across water at 30mph, propelled by a jet. The company responsible, Aquada, suggest it's a good way to avoid congestion."
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Amphibious Car Beats Urban Congestion More

Amphibious Car Beats Urban Congestion

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  • It's a convertible? (Score:5, Funny)

    by mmoncur ( 229199 ) * on Thursday September 04, 2003 @05:56AM (#6867207) Homepage
    Why a convertible? Riding it is going to be like one of those amusement park rides that gets everyone wet.

    > "The Thames is a perfect location to make use
    > of this vehicle as it has no speed limit and
    > is greatly under-utilised."

    Those silly Brits. We have speed limits posted for all bodies of water here in the US.
    • I'm not sure it is. None of the pictures indicate that it actually ahs a roof...

    • Re:It's a convertible? (Score:5, Informative)

      by RussGarrett ( 90459 ) * <russ@garretTOKYOt.co.uk minus city> on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:03AM (#6867240) Homepage
      I dunno why they say that - the Thames speed limit is 8 knots above Wandsworth, and even below there they can stop you if they think you're affecting other craft.

      • Re:It's a convertible? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by CptLogic ( 207776 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @07:30AM (#6867618) Homepage
        I used to own a speedboat and I checked the speed limits on the Thames with the PLA (Port of London Authority) and Environment Agency.

        Now it works like this:

        Upstream of Teddington Lock, the river is considered non-tidal and is the responsibility of the Environment Agency and has an 8 knot speed limit.

        Below Teddington Lock it's the PLA who are the responsible Navigation Authority and they say: No speed limit.

        Yes, I was surprised.

        So, yes, I could drive this car to my nearest public slipway (In Woolwich), drive it into the river and bash the waves at 30mph, drive out at Richmond and drive the rest of the way to work.

        Fantastic!
        • Below Teddington Lock it's the PLA who are the responsible Navigation Authority and they say: No speed limit.

          Damn, that was stupid putting the PLA in charge. What, do they blow you up for speeding? Maybe have Arafat look at you all twitchy if you turn without signalling out there? Small wonder Britain has no amphibious cars.

      • It is still faster then some of British motorways in peak hours. And no speed cameras. Yet.

        Actually, someone (I think MG) 30 years ago did something similar and people even used it to cross the Channel. You can see it in some of the early Grzhimek movies about Serengetty. It got banned on safety ground at the end.
        • Would this be practical in London? I live in New York, and honestly I can't think of any situation in which taking to the river would be faster than driving. The main problem in NY is that there are no access points to the rivers. It is basically a 5-10 foot drop off a wall anywhere within 15 miles of downtown.

          So to get to the airport I'd be looking at driving 15 miles out of my way in traffic to get to someplace to put in, then another 15 miles on the water, then another search for a place to get out.

          The

    • Re:It's a convertible? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Shimbo ( 100005 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:05AM (#6867247)
      > "The Thames is a perfect location to make use
      > of this vehicle as it has no speed limit and
      > is greatly under-utilised."

      Those silly Brits. We have speed limits posted for all bodies of water here in the US.

      The BBC is just reporting what the guy selling the car said; it doesn't mean that it is true; it certainly isn't in general. He is a car salesman, after all. Of course, there are speed limits on the Thames. [cnn.com]

    • Speed limits (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      We have speed limits posted for all bodies of water here in the US.

      Really?

      What's the speed limit for your average Alaskan lake?

      Is it high enough for all reasonable floatplanes to be able to take off?

      If so, is there really anything that might want to go faster than that?

    • Re:It's a convertible? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Daz3d ( 669004 )
      I saw this on TV yesterday a few times, on the car there is a plastic shield on both sides, just behind the mirrors (to stop splashes I guess) and the guy looked pretty dry to me. Shame it looks like a Mazda MX-5 though.
    • There was an amphibious car called Amphicar back in the 60's and they were convertibles (every one i ever saw anyway). They still show up at the car shows once in a while.

    • Re:It's a convertible? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by jacquesm ( 154384 ) <j@@@ww...com> on Thursday September 04, 2003 @07:27AM (#6867606) Homepage
      Just when the Thames is getting back to a more or less clean state. Yes! let's all jump into boats to avoid the congestion, congest the waterways and pollute them to the point where the only thing that wants to live there are 6 legged frogs...


      Suggesting this could relieve congestion is just stupid.

  • Cool Car (Score:5, Funny)

    by Bruha ( 412869 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @05:59AM (#6867218) Homepage Journal
    Can someone Loan me the $295,000 dollars to buy it?

    Also I cant wait for one to be stolen in Los Angeles and the resulting police chase. I'd love to see the looks on the cops faces when it drives into one of the aquaducts and gets away from the cars at least. I'm sure the helicopter pioliot will be laughing at least.
    • It would be even cooler if this thing was submergable, imagine what an LAPD helo would look like patrolling the city with sonar bouys and acoustic torpedos in place.

  • Hmm (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rmohr02 ( 208447 ) <mohr@42.osu@edu> on Thursday September 04, 2003 @05:59AM (#6867223)
    The concept for this car is pretty cool, but there's just something I like about riding in a converted WWII amphibious assault vehicle [metroparks.org]. They're for different markets, but I'd prefer the "Ducks" to this car.

  • pollution ? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mirko ( 198274 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:00AM (#6867224) Journal
    The company responsible, Aquada, suggest it's a good way to avoid congestion.

    Well, it is, if you can prove it won't pollute the waters.
    BTW, I don't know how it is elsewhere, but in France, boats over a given cylinder volume require their pilot to hold a license.

    • Re:pollution ? (Score:4, Funny)

      by azaroth42 ( 458293 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:24AM (#6867332) Homepage

      More importantly, do you avoid the 5 pound congestion road tax in London when you're driving on the Thames?

      --Azaroth
    • Won't pollute the waters? Have you seen the Thames? I doubt it could get much more polluted....

      • Re:pollution ? (Score:5, Informative)

        by KDan ( 90353 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:46AM (#6867424) Homepage
        It could. Back before they built the sewers in the 1850s or so, the sewage from two and a half million people went into the thames - which is a tidal river at that point. So you have 2.5mil ppl's crap going up and down the thames with the tide. They got outbreaks of cholera from that because the water companies just pumped that water and distributed that to people - drinking beer exclusively was a good plan in those days.

        They finally decided to fund the sewers (a gigantic project, and very well done since the original sewers are still in use today) when the thames stank so bad that the MP's couldn't even get into the river-facing rooms of the house of parliament without choking from the awful stench (apparently comparable to the smell of a rotting body).

        I'd say that was worse than now.

        Daniel

      • Re:pollution ? (Score:2, Interesting)

        by mirko ( 198274 )
        I have not seen the Thames, except in "A Fish Called Wanda" (and the few views were taken quite far from it), but I remember their "Smog" : while landing in London on a lovely summer day, the plane flew through something dark, opaque, a few meters thick, then landed in Heathrow.

        The sky had become beige/gray and the temperature had risen.

        That's why I am somehow concerned by the pollution level in London, I have to say it is much worse than in Paris and only a decent education could help fixing it : teach t

        • Re:pollution ? (Score:2, Informative)

          by Alan Partridge ( 516639 )
          London's 'smog' is nothing compared to that of many major cities. What you experienced was probably just the English Permacast(R) weather that we 'enjoy' over here. Apparently, London is overcast fully 50% of the time!

      • Re:pollution ? (Score:2, Informative)

        by StressedEd ( 308123 )
        It's not really true anymore. I've (unfortunatly) had a few early baths in the Thames, its just very silty. There are a *lot* of fish in there and plenty of wildlife.. Of course it could be better, but its far cleaner than it looks (shopping trollies considered)....

      • Re:pollution ? (Score:4, Informative)

        by blane.bramble ( 133160 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @07:08AM (#6867514)
        Have you seen it, or are you spouting a knee-jerk reaction because "everyone knows it's polluted"? It's considered one of the cleanest: Comparison of the Thames and the Severn [bbc.co.uk]

      • Re:pollution ? (Score:5, Informative)

        by AlecC ( 512609 ) <aleccawley@gmail.com> on Thursday September 04, 2003 @08:07AM (#6867869)
        The Thames has been massively cleaned up over the last 50 years. Yes, it is generally brown in colour; this is suspended sediment and not pollution. Fifty years ago it was essentially dead; recently the counted (I think) over fifty species in it, including salmon and seal. Not that it couldn't do with a bit more cleaning up, but it is enormously improved.

        Which means that it could do without a load of speedboat/cars on it.

      • Re:pollution ? (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Shimbo ( 100005 )
        Won't pollute the waters? Have you seen the Thames? I doubt it could get much more polluted....

        On the contrary, ever stronger environmental controls, not to mention the fact that there is hardly any heavy industry left, mean that the Thames gets purer every year.

        some notes on the Thames [the-river-thames.co.uk]

  • Of Course (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:00AM (#6867225)
    This is until the Thames gets over-crowded.

    If you get into a fender-bender on the water, does it sink?

    At 150,000 pounds, it doesn't seem that unreasonable.

    • Re:Of Course (Score:2, Interesting)

      by hachete ( 473378 )
      you wait til one of these things get in the wash from a tanker or a ferry. It'll certainly be a sink-or-swim situation then.

      h.

    • Re:Of Course (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Zakabog ( 603757 )
      At 150,000 pounds most people won't have this car, that's a lot of money and it doesn't seem like it's worth it. So the Thames probably won't get over-crowded. And remember, it costs 150,000 pounds, I'm pretty sure the company making it will make a bunch of saftey features in case of an accident on the water.
    • As everybody knows, the UK drives on the left. Well, on the roads it does; on the rivers it drives on the right. So if this thing is going down a flooded road (a good reason to buy it), which side should it drive on? Every time the wheels float off or touch ground, it should change sides. And if, on boar mode, it meets (say) an agricultural tractor going the other way, you have a free fender bender right there.

  • yeah (Score:2, Interesting)

    by fuckfuck101 ( 699067 )
    they say you could take it on daytrips to france as it has a range of 50 miles (the english channel is 22miles long) so you can drive there, drive 6 miles, and drive back, just as long as none of the waves are bigger than foot you won't get wet (why they chose a convertible i`ll never know).

    • Re:yeah (Score:2, Funny)

      by hplasm ( 576983 )
      (the english channel is 22miles long)

      Yeh, but just look at the width of it...wow!

    • Doh!

      You may be suprised to know that they do have petrol stations in France, thus giving you unlimited range - provided there is one within 28 miles of the coast.
  • On the road, I guess...

    I can hear the traffic report now "And the Thames
    is all backed up with those damned amphibious vehicles"

    it would still be pretty cool to have
    an amphibious car anyway. :)

  • Fast? Not on the Thames. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by carndearg ( 696084 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:05AM (#6867248) Homepage Journal
    I cant deny that it's a really cool piece of kit and I hope the 150k price isnt so eye-watering that the company goes titsup before they've shifted a unit, but the idea of using it for high speed commuting on the Thames is a non starter.

    I have run a boat on the Thames for some years now and like all other boats on that river it has to obey the speed limit, a stately 4.8 MPH.

    One for the marina in Monaco methinks.

    • "I have run a boat on the Thames for some years now and like all other boats on that river it has to obey the speed limit, a stately 4.8 MPH."

      Maybe in the upper controlled parts of the river but in the tidal sections the limits are much higher if there are any at all. How do I know?
      I work 300 metres from the Thames in central London nd see speedboast go up and down every day and believe me , they're doing more than 4.8mph!

  • This is all well and good... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mrgoatCEO ( 517794 ) <mrgoat@[ ]drain.com ['net' in gap]> on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:06AM (#6867250) Homepage
    But when will the missle and torpedo options be available?

  • Where will I enter/exit the water? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by t0qer ( 230538 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:06AM (#6867252) Homepage Journal
    Boat ramps are the first thing that come to mind, but then there are launch fee's ect that would make me not want to use one.

    Which leaves only a choice.

    Enter/Leave water by shore.
    This car doesn't look like it has 4wd. So it looks like i'd have to gun it really fast to get over the muddy shoreline. Doesn't solve the problem of getting out of the water either. Another problem is most waterways are fenced in these days.

    Dukes of Hazzard Jump.
    I guess you could try jumping the thing off a bridge, but it seems a little dangerous, again, how are you going to get the thing back onto dry land?

    It looks more like a toy for someone that can afford it, instead of a pratical solution for cutting down or avoiding traffic. Reminds me of when my .com CEO was going to get us all some wing in ground effect vehicles to travel from Alviso to Alameda.

  • Obligatory. (Score:2, Funny)

    by Ritontor ( 244585 )
    I for one welcome our new beowulf cluster of... oh, never mind...

  • Finally! (Score:2, Funny)

    by beacher ( 82033 )
    I can post the only kinda Linux car joke [ebaumsworld.com] that I know!!!
    -B

  • Would driving this car require a boating license at the same time. What happens if you're pulled over by the harbor cops or something, would you have to produce some other form of licensing to drive this on water... Now just think of touring France or Holland and seeing this car in action. Sure it sounds nice but does it really serve a purpose? My guess is, it won't be long until government claims only drug runners will be buying this.
  • ... To all the pollution in the Thames? Ok, so we don't dump raw sewage into it like in the Victorian times but I'd hardly bathe in it.

  • Empty rivers... (Score:5, Informative)

    by madprof ( 4723 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:10AM (#6867279)
    Many rivers in the UK have speed limits far lower than the 30mph top speed of this vehicle to stop bank erosion, and why do they insist in the article that the Thames is underused?
    There are lots of boats on the Thames already - often rowers in lightweight crew boats that swamp easily. They can do without tidal waves being generated.

    • Re:Empty rivers... (Score:5, Informative)

      by dcollis ( 704217 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:41AM (#6867408)
      I currently row on the river for my university in an 8 (one of the more stable rowing boats) and we already have problems being washed down by other boats. And thats at 6 in morning. During the day the problems increase. I'd say there was already plenty of traffic on the thames. If there is going to be more usage of the thames, then water bus/taxis should be the answer. In sydney this system works extremely well.
    • Indeed - I get a water bus to work every day. The Thames (in central london anyway) is actually one of the busiest waterways in europe. It's mainly tourist/sightseeing boats, but there are a number of commuter services, and even fairly frequent visits by cruise ships, yachts, etc. You even get traffic jams at busy times, particularly around popular piers.

      Oh and to answer some questions in a different thread, there are quite a few slips and ramps along the thames (particularly to the east), and I've never s
  • Just what we need:

    Jets chewing up fish beds
    Pollution in whole new areas, right in the water table.
    Yahoos leaving the road at strange places to enter water.
    Soil erosion and commuter traffic on the river.

    yipee

  • style (Score:3, Interesting)

    by meta-monkey ( 321000 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:15AM (#6867300) Journal
    I just watched the video on their website...I expected it to be boxy and ugly, as I would imagine a lot of compromise would have to be made to design a vehicle like this. I was pleasantly surprised to see it actually looks pretty stylish. Makes sense...the price tag is pretty hefty, so you'd have to have some serious scratch to buy one, and nobody wants to spend a few hundred grand to look like you're driving a box.

  • I wouldn't bother buying one of these if I lived in London! The Thames (at least as far in as London) is a controlled river - all traffic is directed by the habour master (bit like 2D air traffic control), so you can't just zoom up and down the river as you wish. They also limit the amount of traffic, so you might end up having to wait for a slot. There'd be parking to pay for too. All in all, I think the London Underground is a better bet. Chances are you'd have to use it anyway to get from the river

  • Unfortunate location for the press conference (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:20AM (#6867315)
    I saw this on the BBC news last night.
    The funny thing was (which the presenter pointed out), was that the location they had used for showing off their new toy was in front of the Millenium Dome in London - a symbol of overspending development on something no one wants to use!
    Saying that, it does act like quite a good speed boat on water. The wheels fold up and the bottom of the car is shaped like a hull, so it does look quite like an average speed boat (although a rather cheap looking one) and lift up out the water at speed.
  • With a 100mph top speed I think they're being a bit generous calling it a sports car. Even your
    average family box can go faster than that!
  • We've got one of these amphibious cars that tootles up and down our river every so often already...

    www.amphicar.com [amphicar.com]

    This "new" one is just one in a long line of press releases from marketing people who haven't looked into the history of the concept... mind you this new one does look cool...

  • Sinkage? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dolo666 ( 195584 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @06:52AM (#6867445) Journal
    Amphibian cars have sunk before on several occasions. What's stopping this one? And what happens when the car rusts out? I'm guessing they have compensated for water usage, but I'm of the school that believes that boats are designed to be boats and cars are designed to be cars. Combining the two isn't going to make for a top-quality full-use vehicle. And plus...

    How many of you own boats? After even one season, they smell like mildew. You can use spray-nine to clean it, but it's still a boat smell, which is wonderful for a weekend or a couple weeks here and there, but in all honesty, do you want your car smelling like that? I can see some guy on a date...

    Stud: "Do you like my James Bond super-car? It goes 100mph on land and 30 in the water!"

    Date (pinching nose): "It smells like a zoo. Can I go home now?"
  • I can't begin to think about the problems about putting large numbers of cars on water. Imagine having to wear life-jackets in order to go to work. Traffic accidents could lead to drownings. What about the up-keep associated with water vehicles? Also, who wants wet tires when you drive?
  • Why not just buy an Untralight? Sure, then you need a a stretch of open space like a runway, but in many parts of the world that's much easier to find than a river that just happens to follow your commute.

    Put powered wheels on it and you've got a "flying car" (who needs a floating car?) if you're in this for the bragging rights.

    -Pete

  • Observations: (Score:2, Insightful)

    by wowbagger ( 69688 )
    First - they make a big deal about how this car can "go over 100MPH on land". SO WHAT! Sitting in my garage I have a car that can go over 130MPH - more if I pull the civilian chip from the engine and put a cop chip in.

    Second - is the Thames as polluted as some of the other major rivers near population centers (sorry, centres)? If so, then I damn sure wouldn't want to go hotrodding around on it in an open boat - talk about your shitty experiences!

    Third - for the cost of this vehicle, I can stop working for
  • Isn't Aquada the group Bin Laden runs? Maybe this is really for fast getaways over land or sea? Maybe this is an improvement on the exposives under a rubber raft concept.

    Hmmm...

    -Pete
  • Just commenting on all those jovial "crazy brits" postings. Mr Alan Gibbs is from New Zealand, although he was in partnership with a Brit, Neil Jenkins, and got Lotus (UK) to do some feasibility studies. The concept work was done by Eurotech and MSX in Detroit, USA. The vehicle is being built in the UK because we have a good engineering record and a lot of expertise in low volume car manufacture and "racing" (especially F1) cars.

  • Another video (Score:3, Informative)

    by logic-gate ( 682098 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @07:15AM (#6867538)
    Longer video available here [nzoom.com] [nzoom.com]
  • The aquada website says it is powerful enough to pull a water skiier. The question is, does it have the fittings for a tow rope? Now THAT would be a blast. No more towing boats with your SUV.
  • The company responsible, Aquada, suggest it's a good way to avoid congestion.

    Well, certainly. After getting that much saline seaspray in your nose every weekday morning, you'll never have to complain about congestion again. Taxicabs could even market it as a remedy during the flu season.

  • Made for Washington, DC (Score:4, Interesting)

    by TheSync ( 5291 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @08:23AM (#6868002) Journal
    DC traffic is horrible, and the slow rebuilding of the Wilson Bridge across the Potomac is making is even worse.

    On the other hand, DC has many public marinas on the Potomac with boat ramps. There is one in Georgetown, one near National Airport, two in Alexandria, and a few in southern PG county.

  • Only for the first ones... (Score:3, Funny)

    by hoggoth ( 414195 ) on Thursday September 04, 2003 @09:22AM (#6868563) Journal
    > The company responsible, Aquada, suggest it's a good way to avoid congestion."

    Only for the first ones...
    And only for a short time...

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