The folks at Loremo had the brilliant (if obvious) insight that drastic improvements in fuel economy can only come from sharply reduced weight. Their concept ought to be especially attractive for families with (very) young children in emerging economies where fuel is very expensive relative to disposable income.

However, the lack of regular doors resulting from its chassis concept

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/02/157_mpg_lightwe.html

makes getting into and out of the vehicle rather awkward. This is especially true in the rain.

What would 4 XL American passengers (800 lbs) do to the mpg economy?

Tony -

the 20hp engine is projected to deliver 0-60mph in 20 seconds which is indeed very poor performance. The larger 3-cylinder engine will get you there in a perfectly acceptable 9 seconds and still deliver 88 MPG.

You only need a lot of power to accelerate if you enjoy whiplash or, if your car weighs a lot. The Loremo comes in at aroud 1000 lbs, about 1/2-1/3 of comparable small cars.

____One phrase: Crash safety. Use of carbon fiber, metal/non metal composites, airbags (of all types), and perhaps some NASCAR derived safety features (seats, harness, NASCAR cage, etc) may make this vehicle top rated in safety ratings. However, it may become fairly expensive ($60,-80,0000).
____One note; this car seems to have some of the specs of a certain vehicle that the Clinton administration tried to get Detroit to build in the 90's. It was dubbed the ... "FreedomCar":
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http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/feb2006/bw20060221_455868.htm?chan=autos_hybrids+index+page_technology
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http://www.wirednews.com/wired/archive/10.08/fuelcellcars_pr.html
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Maybe they will try to revive it.

FreedomCar is a label that the present administration put on the PNGV program from the previous administration.

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=3481

The Ford Prodigy got 70 mpg in 1999, but was shelved and relabeled FreedomCar.
FreedomCar is suppose to run on hydrogen some day real soon now.

FreedomCar -- Oxymoron #1693

Any car, no matter how fueled, maintains the transportation monopoly cars currently hold upon travel in the United States. Maintain the monopoly with liberal use of oxymoron #1693 - "FreedomCar". When people believe they're free, they won't realize their abstract imprisonment.

Allen -

the Loremo actually features very strong tall beams on either side of the passenger compartment, running along the entire length of the chassis. These preclude the use of doors (a very big minus IMHO) but they do provide good safety in frontal, side impact and rear collisions. These beams are connected by several lateral beams, primarily the large trapezoidal one between the front and rear-facing rear seats (Janus configuration). Afaik, the material is aluminium. See this page (in German) for a picture and a link to an animation:

http://www.loremo.com/struktur.php

The small engine is mounted in the cavity of this central crossbeam. I'm not sure where the fuel tank is. The whole design is radically different from anything that came out of the FreedomCar project.

At 157 mpg I would love to be able to buy one. I really do not car if it is slow getting from 0 to 60. All the city streets around here are posted at 35 mph anyhow, so who cares.

Kyle Dansie

I don't think I've ever seen 4 XL americans in any one vehicle at the same time.

This vehicle could be quite a hot performer. Low weight, low polar moment of inertia (centrally located engine), 3 cylinder turbo motor could easily have its boost increased over stock for more performance. If it were to perform well in a crash test I'd love to pick one up for auto-X.

Hey, here's an idea. Instead of waiting for the government/automakers/small industrial innovators to devise cars which get 60-100+ mpg, are safe, don't cost a fortune, and accelerate within tolerable parameters, why not just buy a motorcycle? Especially those who are not concerned with acceleration and rarely carry passengers and live in the sunny south and west, or even in the north for the more hardcore.

Even the big, low efficiency Harleys can manage around 35-40 mpg when ridden sensibly. I have an '83 Virago 500, my first bike, which gets around 50 mpg and it could probably get better if I tinkered with it or spent time learning its efficiency curve. Royal Enfields combine classic style with 70+ mpg and sub-$5000 prices. Perhaps an almost perfect bike is the Suzuki DL650 V-Strom. It makes 70 odd horsepower, so it'll accelerate faster than any car you might be able to afford on a budget, has a good fairing and an adventure touring stance for changing weather and road conditions, and if I'm not mistaken, it gets somewhere in the 45-50 mpg range. The V-twin in the DL650 is highly regarded among motorcycling press for its power, reliability, and versatility. All this for well under $7000. When I buy another bike, there is a good chance it will be a DL650. Singles offered by BMW, Buell and the Japanese brands easily get over 50 mpg. A Kawasaki Ninja 250 gets around 70 mpg. As long as you don't ride all crazy like, most any bike can offer rewarding mileage. For those with more money to spend in the name of economy(a bit of an oxymoron there), there are some new diesel and turbodiesel bikes being offered from small manufacturers which claim economy of 100+ mpg.

The side benefit of riding a motorcycle is that you actually get to experience a bit of the nature that you might be presuming to save.

My 2001 BMW F650 FI gets 75 mpg @ 45 mph. 60 mpg at steady 65 mph.

Boz

Motorcycles are high emissions, and are far from "safe".

But they are a cheap way to get better MPG, at the cost of higher insurance, less weather durability, less long-distance ride comfort, and far far inferior safety.

Even still, ver few exceed the MPG of a Honda Insight ;)