SMALLEST CAR IN THE WORLD... would you buy it?

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Hmmm....
http://www.modernmicrocars.co.uk/prices.html
Just thinking I'd find it easier to register a KR200 as a custom motorcycle maybe, tempting to think about getting a shell and putting a diesel motor in it...

[gto78]

I think cars like that would gain popularity if they had a "safe" zone laid out for them. For example I'm thinking of sections of cities that have restricted speeds, vehicle sizes, and maybe even special lanes on the highway. It wouldn't be economically possible to do this now, but in the future anything's possible. Big cities that have major parking problems and congestion where biking is faster- those kind of places. I personally would never buy one due to safety, but if I was only using it in an area where all the other vehicles were the same size I'd have no problem at all.

[101mpg]

Yeah, I keep wishing that California would make a special HOV lane for small vehicles on Interstate 5 between Redding and Los Angeles (also through Sacramento). Imagine a 2-lane road to the side of the freeway restricted to vehicles 1500 pounds and under. Lightweight a CRX and regear the tranny - only have to shed 250ish pounds on a 1st gen HF, and have 4th & 5th regeared to get you in excess of 75 MPG.

I wish cities would start doing something like that.

I also wish that SUVs would get taxed to death, and that you'd get an "occupancy ticket" if you drove an SUV with less than 2-4 people in it. Never will happen, but hey.

Too bad the auto manufacturers don't realize that if they started making carbon fiber vehicles with aluminum chassis on them that they would have a high-profit, high-mileage vehicle.

[DarbyWalters]

They don't need to tax them to death...they just need to make the car companies build them to get better than 15 city/20 highway! Now I do think that taxing all vehicles by a "(weight factor/mpg combined) - combined mpg" would be interesting. You could even have them pay it up front...limit the tax to 5 years. After that you are off the books.

(4500# Hummer H2/15 Combined) - Combined 15=$285 a year ($1422)

(4300# Jeep CRD/21 Combined) - Combined 21=$179 a year ($895)

(3158# Ford Fusion/24 Combined) - Combined 24=$107 a year ($535)

(2875# Civic Hybid/42 Combined) - Combined 42=$26 a year ($130)

(190# Scooter/95 Combined) - Combined 95=$0 a year ($0)

[white90crxhf]

Originally Posted by 101mpg

I also wish that SUVs would get taxed to death, and that you'd get an "occupancy ticket" if you drove an SUV with less than 2-4 people in it. Never will happen, but hey.

they do get taxed to death. 13mpg = paying alot of gas taxes. not to mention the price of those tires!

what if you're going to pick up your kids up at grandmas do you still get a ticket? it seems unenforceable.

good Lord why do people want to tax everything? do you not like your own money?

[baddog671]

It reminds me of those plastic cars by Fischer Price for toddlers...

No, I wouldnt no matter how much mpg it got. That wouldnt be able to go up the mountains around here, it wouldnt be able to drive in snow, i bet it hydroplanes like insane, and god forbid you even get lightly touched by another vehicle.

And the streets are so bad here, it would probably come off the ground at all the bump..

[8307c4]

No, I wouldn't, first lets skip looks and just pretend I like it, fine but now it becomes a matter of principle... How can anyone sell a vehicle touting fuel economy when just from the look of things it can't hardly defeat broken wind?

I don't doubt it gets great mileage, but WHY make it square?
That to me just defeats the whole purpose, it's like skiing uphill.
After all if it gets 200mpg square wouldn't it be even better with some aerodynamically beneficial contours?

Doesn't have to be solar power wind resistance efficient, but somewhere in between, make it look like it at least wants to get good mpg.

I'm not getting into safety factors, but it is a death trap, I could even forego this to a point... I think the Euro A-class Mercedes Smart Car is as likely to remain the smallest.

Originally Posted by 93dagsr

i think that judgement is everywhere, people just don't really care about what you think in other countries. here in the u.s. we are so hell bent on personal appearance and what other people think that we forget to have fun and be different every once in a while.

Oh the USA isn't the only stuck up country with a caste system in this world, far from it.

[8307c4]

Originally Posted by 101mpg

Yeah, I keep wishing that California would make a special HOV lane for small vehicles on Interstate 5 between Redding and Los Angeles (also through Sacramento). Imagine a 2-lane road to the side of the freeway restricted to vehicles 1500 pounds and under. Lightweight a CRX and regear the tranny - only have to shed 250ish pounds on a 1st gen HF, and have 4th & 5th regeared to get you in excess of 75 MPG.

ahhh no that won't work if we allow folks to modify their vehicles how is the 1500 pound limit to be enforced, weight scales? But I do like the idea, however we're just now coming around to having a FEW bicycle lanes, and finally I'm starting to see the appearances of round-about intersections.

We're making progress, just 5-10 years later than Europe.

[101mpg]

High taxes often equal aversions to things - that's why people often suggest them.

The problem is that SUVs are encouraged to breed rather than small vehicles being encouraged.

How about a tax credit if you own (yes, weight scales are good) a vehicle 1500 pounds or less? Easy loophole: buy a scooter, drive a Hummer. See why it wouldn't work?

We need aversion therapy for the SUV hogs out there. Hitting people in their wallets often seems to be the most effective. Look at Japan and kei cars.

[101mpg]

Make it ten times those prices, you would suddenly see Detroit (and others) coming out with carbon fiber vehicles that cost the same as an SUV but without the additional taxes on them. $3000 per year extra to own a Hummer vs. $100 per year to own a CRX or Insight would make them a LOT less attractive to own. Just build it into the licensing fees. That way, no "tax" as people hate taxes being raised. Weight / MPG * 10 dollars equals:
Hummer - 4500/15*10=3000
CRD - 4300/21*10 = $2048
Fusion - 3158/21*10=$1503
CRX HF - 1718/54*10=$318
Honda N600 - 1126/50*10=$225
Honda Accord CVCC - 2000/54*10=$370

Anything 2000 pounds and under - no extra fee? Maybe THAT would help. Note all the Hondas would then pay zero fees vs. in excess of $1500 per year. THAT would stop people from needlessly buying & driving monster vehicles with one occupant. Note - you start putting four or six people in an SUV, van, minivan on a daily basis and its benefits far outweigh the added cost.

Think about it - when was the last time you saw a Hummer in the carpool lane? SERIOUSLY, when was the last time you saw that? Last time I was in Southern California, I went to the supermarket and counted 34 SUVs in a row next to each other before I hit another vehicle. Chevy 3500 truck. 24 more SUVs before I hit a Civic. I had time to kill so I waited. Only ONE of the SUVs that left in the next half an hour from the row (two sides) had more than one person in it!

As slow as traffic moves in Southern California, it's no wonder why the Prius is popular there, but it is dwarfed by the SUV.

Originally Posted by DarbyWalters

(4500# Hummer H2/15 Combined) - Combined 15=$285 a year ($1422)

(4300# Jeep CRD/21 Combined) - Combined 21=$179 a year ($895)

(3158# Ford Fusion/24 Combined) - Combined 24=$107 a year ($535)

(2875# Civic Hybid/42 Combined) - Combined 42=$26 a year ($130)

(190# Scooter/95 Combined) - Combined 95=$0 a year ($0)