Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Cars in San Mateo (4)

日本へ行ってきて、バルセロナに行ってきたのに写真はそのまんま…。
ブログの更新は暫く無いだろうな。…と、自分でも思ってたけど、これは見逃せませんでした。

うそでしょ?
さっき朝粥をたいらげて、お約束のUCCコーヒーを買って帰る途中、公共駐車場で光る物体を発見!

この辺って、テスラがすごくいっぱいいるの。

意識高い系の金持ちが多いから、モデル3なんて誰でも買える車みたいです。
白いモデルYとモデル3が溢れかえっているから、差別化したい気持ちは判る。

判るけど… うそでしょ?
みる角度で、色がクルクル変わるのが楽しいというか、やっぱうそでしょ?

ここの駐車場では、カエルみたいな色のベンツとか、ピンクの BMW とか観てきましたが… これ、最強です。
ビカビカすぎて、いくらなんでも違反にならないの?

  §

今日見た衝撃的な塗装のモデル3を見つけた場所の、2~3日前ですが…
同じ場所には、ものすごいハリボテくさい変な車が停まっていました。

最近よく見かけるので慣れてきてはいますが、駐車場に混じってると、やっぱり変。
で… 近づいてみたら… シャープな造形をだいなしにするアメリカンな組み立て結果を発見。

観よ、このぞんざいな組み立てを。 角がなんか削れてるし…。
小指の先っぽが入りそうに隙間がある。これホントに21世紀のクルマ??
サイバーなトラックは、さすがアメリカ製です。さっさとテキサスに逝ってよし!

ということで、今回は豚鼻の出番はありませんでした♪ チャンチャン

5 comments:

  1. I know that you have been to Japan. After all, I actually met you here in Japan (lol). I’m looking forward to your article about that trip, and also to your article about Barcelona. However, updating your blog is a lot of work, so please just upload the "must-see" content.

    By the way, it seems that your morning routine involves having rice porridge and buying UCC coffee on the way back. Just to confirm, is UCC the UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd.? I knew they had expanded their business to Europe, Asia, and Australia, but I didn't realize they had reached America too. During my university days, their headquarters were just down the hill from my apartment (maybe are still there). Even back then, they had a somewhat modest image, and it seems they still haven’t shaken off that image when compared to Starbucks and the like.

    Also, the public parking lot you mentioned in your morning routine is the one that has appeared in your past articles multiple times, right? There are plenty of parking lots in Okayama, but they all look the same with similar commercial vehicles and lack variety. In contrast, San Mateo has a lot of unique cars including Teslas favored by wealthy, trendy people, which makes it enjoyable for readers like me just to see the pictures.

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  2. Looking at the images in this article, I can understand your reaction, “No way!” It’s fun to see the body color change depending on the angle, but it does make me feel a bit uneasy, like “Is this for real?”
    I believe there currently isn’t a feature that can essentially change the body color. In the case of the car in this article, I assume special techniques such as car wrapping or paint were used to make the color appear to change. Most likely, this Tesla car’s color-changing appearance was made possible through special paint or coating. However, I’m not sure if this technology was developed by Tesla or by another paint/coating company.

    So, in the end, there was no appearance by a BMW car this time. “No way!” (lol).

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    Replies
    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      This vivid and changing color is coming from the thin film effect, which generates structural color by the layers of two thin films which have different refractive indexes. This technology is somewhat related to my research of the spatial imaging – recording three dimensional information by coherent light, a.k.a. holography, where I was attending MIT.
      So, I guess this Model 3 is wrapped with the thin films which reflect two frequencies of lights – that’s why the color turns cyan, magenta or yellow at the majority of the areas.
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      Sorry for my misrecognition – I bought Key Coffee, not UCC. Ueshima Coffee is also available in steel cans but my ‘everyday purchase’ is non-sugar or low-sugar coffee in Long Life waxed-paper packaging by Key Coffee, another Japanese manufacturer. We do have Starbucks or Blue Bottle locally but those Japanese ones are more affordable and taste familiar. (lol)
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      At this public parking lot in San Mateo downtown, I frequently encounter very expensive cars. For example, when I saw Cyber Truck last week, I also saw targa-top Porsche 911 which has LED headlights – supposedly the very new model. I didn’t know Porsche still sells targa-top.

      I’ll report again if I encounter another weird cars including piggy nose ones. ;)

      Delete
  3. I see, this vivid and changing color is due to the thin film effect. I've learned something new today. Indeed, if there were only one layer, there would be only one refractive index. But with two different layers of thin films, there are two different refractive indexes, which allows for the generation of complex colors.

    So, you researched this technology at MIT. When I hear "spatial imaging," I think of shapes, materials, light, and color. However, I can only vaguely imagine it.
    Also, regarding holography, I have a vague understanding that it is a method of recording and reproducing three-dimensional images using the diffraction and interference of light. Thanks to advances in printing technology, holography has become more familiar to me as it is now used on book covers and cards.

    From all this, we can conclude that this Tesla is wrapped with thin films that reflect two different frequencies of light. Like you, my initial reaction was, "No way!" But after hearing your scientific explanation, I understand now, and I feel a bit smarter too (lol).

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  4. In the public parking lot in downtown San Mateo that frequently appears in your articles, there are many very expensive cars parked. My beloved car isn't extraordinarily expensive, but I still understand the behavior of these owners.
    For instance, when I park my M850i at Okayama Airport for a few days, theft is my biggest concern. At Okayama Airport, there are four parking lots, numbered 1 to 4, and only the first one is paid. However, it is the closest to the terminal and has night lighting.
    Also, when I look at the types of cars parked there (speaking from a local perspective in Okayama), there are relatively expensive cars. I tend to want to park next to a car that looks more expensive than my M850i. This is because, if a theft group targets cars, having many desirable cars around makes mine less likely to be targeted.
    Therefore, I believe the tendency for expensive cars to gather in certain parking lots is due to the subconscious of their owners.

    The 911 Targa 4 GTS has also been introduced to Japan, starting at ¥26,150,000. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds, with a system output of 541PS and a top speed of 312 km/h. It's quite a high-end car, but my M850i also has 530PS, so it's not far behind. Though, of course, the vehicle price is in a different league (lol).

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