Interesting, but it comes down to the question of crashworthiness, especially on highways. Moreover, while we are in the 21st century, the cars we drive are the 19th! Would be nice if the neighbor next door or the next was named George Jetson, but alas, no.

Seems they can't be lithium batteries if the all-electric is cheaper than the hybrid. Unless they found a supplier who went under 50 cents per watt-hour, which is great news.

As is the claimed 120 miles from only 10kwh. This is the performance breakthrough we've needed: less than 100 wh/mile average from a highway-capable vehicle. This is the sweet spot where electrics get a bigger and bigger advantage over gas engines. Now if we could only do it with 4 wheels and pass a crash test. I figure the aerodynamics are slightly compromised by having to provide intakes and exhaust for the hybrid version, so we can squeeze a little better cD, and cut the frontal area by moving the front wheels into the body. I've been thinking of a retractable front spoiler/barrier that extends further and further from the car the faster it goes, then locks in place during a panic stop, effectively adding several feet to the crush space. But based on the Fiat 500's impressive crash testing, it looks like multiple-airbags will be the fastest solution.

Doh, got my answer by reading more closely.
It's series.

Which is why it costs more, since it's the exact same car PLUS a small generator.

Woody Allen called, he wants the prop cars from "Sleeper" back.

Seriously, who's going to put their infant into this until it undergoes front and side impact crash tests?

Hey, I want MY car back! :)

Would be cooler if they went with the diesel like the first prototype. I guess the new emissions regs won't allow it.

I would have put down $500, but only for CA residents?? What the hey, OR resident's money is no good? My house is less than 10 miles from the border.

too bad it's ugly as hell. i think they would find that people generally want a car that looks like everyone else's car. maybe slightly different, but a standard car body.

There will always be a market for plebeian aesthetics, hence the Pontiac brand. What do you drive, sir?

I think it looks really nice. Crash testing is a big issue but they claim it will be robust because of its construction and shape. I think it would be wonderful if normal people had the option of choosing a 300mpg car, I really hope this project comes to fruition

Brad,

I disagree that people generally want a car that looks like next doors car, some people might but most people want a car that practical, fuel efficient, lots of space which combined with safety regualtions tends to dictate a lot of the exterior appearance.

I think If people had the option of selecting a car on looks alone, they wouldn nearly always choose something beautiful like an aston martin over something boring looking like a golf/jetta. Sadly they don't have this option, cost and practicality dictate choice for the average working person. Hence the legions of slightly boring look cars we see everywhere.

I'm kind of curious about the turning circle and how wide the car is with those two front wheels. You would probably have to re-train your intuitive feel for the physical dimensions of the car.

And there are 3.3 million infants born in the US each year.

A whopping 1% of the population.

I wouldn't even consider putting anyone under 10 years old in one of those things. Cool, but not practical.

Your opinion.

Sorry for not extrapolating; 3.3M births is equal to at minimum 3.3M households. Over ten years, thats 30M households. Minus mutiple birth households plus divorced or separated households. Shall we say a large portion of the suburban breeders. Exactly who we need to get out of thier SUV's. By the way, the wife said 16 years old and where does the booster seat go.

If only the doors flapped and it could fly

DOUBLE THE SIZE of this and you still end up with about 1/4 the MPG = 75 MPG and a familly size vehicle. This points to future design.

Cheer up - this is a cool vehicle - calling it a car is perhaps pushing it, but it is good. Maybe a bit wide for city use, but certainly a great fun vehicle that is very very economical, and not too expensive.
It would be great if it started a new class of cars, which could come down in price as the volume ramped.
So lets get some on the road and get some user and journalist reviews.