On 6 Apr 2024 at 4:34, EV List Lackey via EV wrote: > robotaxis
A possibly interesting bit of EV trivia: The "modern" robotaxi archetype is arguably the Johnny-cab from the 1990 film Total Recall. Jim Tervort - who I think is still with us on this old earth - was part of the original Sebring Citicar and CVI Comuta-Car / Comuta-Van crews. In the late 1980s and 1990s, he sold parts for those EVs, and worked on a 3-wheeler EV design, from the Sebring FL airport hangar. Jim said that Total Recall's Johnny-cab was an extensively reworked Comuta- Van. Check out the clips on Youtube and see if you can see the resemblance. Another FWIW: an EV I once owned was the sound effect source for the Johnny- cab and other Total Recall EVs. It was a converted 1974 Honda Civic, typical for the time - 96 volts of golf car batteries, a Prestolite MTC4001 DC series motor, and a Curtis PMC-25 PWM controller. The previous owner lived in the LA area. The film's foley crew got in touch with him through the EAA. They drove a sound truck out to his house and spent a few hours recording him driving the car. They actually recorded several other conversion EVs, but they chose the Honda because they liked its transaxle's gear noise. There are places in Total Recall where you can clearly hear the 2kHz Curtis chopping whine as the EVs accelerate. David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Most Russian citizens are good patriots. But there are scoundrels running from the conscription, and, unfortunately, there are twice as many of them. -- Russian Duma deputy Viktor Sobolev = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/