Society for Sustainable Mobility (SSM)

Inspired by previous open-source car projects, the Open Source Green Vehicle (OSGV™) takes the idea one step further and promise an affordable, environmentally friendly vehicle for everybody.

The idea of an open source car is not new. It has been around since 1999. But it wasn’t until December of 2005 when this forum’s founder conceived his own twist of the open source project.

Nonetheless, the unwillingness of major automobile manufacturers to produce a true “green” vehicle stems from the conflict of interest between profit and environmental responsibility. Designing and producing a new vehicle requires significant amount of investments: time, labor, engineering, prototyping, production line setup, marketing, etc. That’s a huge risk, even for a multi-billion dollar corporation.

GM, Ford and Chrysler have been spending public money on a joint working group called FreedomCAR or USCAR since 1992, and they “work together on shared technological and environmental concerns” (ref. USCAR.ORG) . And yet, they produced so many SUVs and light trucks, causing more environmental damage year after year. What is wrong with this picture? What is their real intention: money or the ecosystem?

Major automakers (both U.S. and foreign) have been in love with their SUV and light truck sales, which have been going through the roof between 1997 to 2005. No wonder there weren’t any incentives for the automakers to make any improvements on these gas-guzzling vehicles.

Bill Ford, the chairman of Ford Motor Company once said, (quoting SUV.ORG) “The best way to get the auto industry to stop dragging its feet is to have us race against each other. We love to do that, and we’re good at it.”

So be it. It seems like to the only way to make them go green is through competition. Open Source Green Vehicle (OSGV™) Project is initiated to create a public-domain vehicle platform that puts consumers’ rights, environmental responsibilities and the fate of our planet back in the hands of the citizens ourselves.

Imagine what you can do when you can redesign a vehicle from scratch – independent of any corporate bureaucracy, or concerning about existing product lines. It’s all about going back to the basics. It’s all about human mobility. And, it’s all about the environment. Think about what you can do with an open vehicle platform that could revolutionize the automotive industry. Think about all the technologies you can experiment and commercialize on this platform.

OSGV, as a public charitable organization, will maintain ownership of the resulting platform and ensure that it is used for the good of mankind. Our open-design license agreement also incentivize capitalization of private investments - bringing together the best of both worlds: non-profits/individuals with an environmental focus and for-profit entities with the latest fuel-saving technologies.

Based on the success of other open-source projects, we believe that (with your help) OSGV will eventually become the benchmark for super fuel-efficient vehicles.

Join us and help OSGV succeed! You can make a difference to the environment right now and your contribution may be tax-deductible.