Could you live with a tiny car?
If the thought of riding around town on a scooter scares you, or if you just could not imagine not having a roof over your head, perhaps you could use a microcar like one of these. Cars like these used to be rather common sights on the roads in Europe. In fact, we showed you a gallery some time ago which highlighted some of the very small cars that can be seen in Italy.
We would not really suggest driving across the country in a microcar, but for city driving and just running day-to-day errands, is there really a reason a vehicle like this would not work? Even if you are thinking no, remember that people have been using this kind of transportation for years, especially in Europe. The fact is that we are just used to driving two-tons of steel everywhere that we go, but it really is not necessary for a good portion of our needs. Commuting back and forth to work would likely be quite economical in a microcar with an engine less than 1 liter. How would it work for you?
[Source: Treehugger]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
D. See 8:24AM (9/03/2007)
I would love one to commute to and fro work. I just worry about some knucklehead rolling over me in their gigantic, gas-sucking SUV's. I alwyas laugh when I see ONE PERSON driving a big truck to the grocery store, when a Smart car would easily suffice.....
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Kardax 8:31AM (9/03/2007)
The reason these will never become popular is because they're way too expensive.
You can buy several years worth of gasoline for a larger vehicle for the price of a microcar. Consider that construction of the microcar (especially gathering of its materials) is far from pollution free, so it's really a lose-lose situation.
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MikeB 9:01AM (9/03/2007)
If I could get something like the Venture Vehicles VentureOne, a 1,200lbs 2-seater, I'd use it for just about everything: commuting, errands, weekend getaways, cross country jaunts.
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jim 9:06AM (9/03/2007)
Unless the ultra mini met the same safety/crash standards (as the Smart does) these would be death traps. Outside of handful of northeastern cities, the average, non freeway, vehicular speed traveled in urban/suburban areas would make being the occupant in most of these a harrowing experience.
These vehicles work in Europe as the traffic speed is lower than US(these are limited to approx. 30 mph) in urban areas and the fact that teenagers can get an operating permit at a younger age that for a 'normal' car
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Dave 9:33AM (9/03/2007)
Microcars work only if they are the norm, not the exception.
I don't think these would even be reasonable in NYC. Most of the cars on the road are Crown Vics that race from stoplight to stoplight.
Motorcycle accidents / deaths are on the rise due to more riders and more miles. These would be no different, unfortunately.
Heres a cool virtual tour of a micro car museum:
http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tourindex.html
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rgseidl 11:35AM (9/03/2007)
Modern micro-cars are technically called quadricycles in Europe and, their top speed is severely limited. Even though they look to the untrained eye like very small cars, they in fact do not need to meet automotive crash tests. Cp. Top Gear's disastrous crash test video for the G-Wiz electric quadricycle that has become popular in London. Drivers are aware of the increased risk and other motorists tend to give them as wide a berth as they do motorcycles. Nevertheless, quadricycle crash safety remains in-between that of motorcycles and cars. Much the same applies to trikes such as the Carver and Venture One.
Ultracompacts, such as the smart fortwo, are true cars. They must pass automotive crash regs (cp. 5 star Euro-NCAP rating for the Fiat 500) and require a full license to drive. Ultracompacts are most useful in places where parking is scarce. US cities are simply too spread out to make them worthwhile - for the same price, you can get a regular subcompact that offers more utility. Plus, even after the price increases of recent years, gas is still fairly cheap in the US.
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Fleet 3:21PM (9/03/2007)
I'd love a mini-car; but in order to use it I would have to traverse about 5 miles of 45mph highway (with lots of trucks) to get to the shopping areas. A mini-car that can hit 50mph, at least for a brief period, and one that I could actually afford would be great. Oh yeah, range should be in the area of 50 miles
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yoinkers 2:19PM (9/03/2007)
what we need is a system similar to HOV lanes except for micro vehicles. The nice thing is that a full sized lane could be converted into two lanes for these things. If that were to happen and people could start beating traffic by moving to a micro car I think we could see a shift over to the idea. Also, segregation on the highway would make them much safer and increase the density of vehicles a road could support.
I for one would love to be able to own a micro car (VentureOne I'm looking at you!) and an SUV at the same time. There are times for SUV's but single person commuting isn't what they should be used for.
For the record I drive a Toyota Corolla.
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Don 3:39PM (9/03/2007)
Not THAT tiny...!
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Matt 6:49PM (9/03/2007)
You dont need a "micro" car, just a small car!
In Europe at least there is a large choice of what are basically just slightly longer Smart ForTwos - they squeeze in an extra 70-90cm length for a rear row of seats as well as a boot - think of the Citroen/Peugeot/Toyota C1/107/Aygo if you are having trouble visualising.
These cars are big enough to be seen, can transport 2 adults + luggage for long (several hours) journeys or 4 adults over shorter ones in relative comfort, can carry enough fuel for 300-400 miles, can do about 100mph (+/- 5mph), and still get anything up to 70mpg!
It doesn't have to be a really silly compromise like the cars shown in the picture.
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dean 7:14PM (9/03/2007)
I had a 1992 Geo Metro, 3-cyl hatch, and I hated it. Felt like an unsafe tin can. Still, I enjoyed 40 mpg.
Honestly, we don't need to go that tiny. A fit-sized vehicle getting over 30 mpg city is great. A fit-sized vehicle with a 1.6 liter diesel making 40 mpg city is even better. I'm 5'11", and I fit in a Fit just fine. And people wouldn't have to worry about getting hit by big SUV's if they stopped buying them just for that reason.
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- 2:52AM (9/04/2007)
I would like something like that if I had more close places to go. The cafe and stores are 10 minutes away by walking, so it would be very wasteful to buy a machine so I would stop walking. My twice-weekly outings to the ocean on the other hand requires a car that can go 80 miles round trip, across bridges in dense, fast-moving traffic. As much gas my 13 year old 4Runner guzzles, it still makes more green-sense to keep it and drive if sparingly than to replace it.
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David 6:53AM (9/04/2007)
I'm strongly considering going from my Saturn VUE (one of the very first produced... I've had it for nearly 6 years now) to a Smart Fortwo. I live in the DC area, I am 24, single, and rarely carry more than myself in the vehicle. I have to admit, a lot of it is because I really like the Fortwo, and always have... my VUE gets mid 20s in the city to 30 MPG on the highway (4 cyl 5 speed), so I have never had the guilt of driving an inefficient SUV.
That being said, any car I drive has to be able to get to at least 80, if not higher - from a safety perspective. The 90 MPH limit of the Smart will suffice - but anyone who drives I-95 between Baltimore and DC with some regularity can attest to the fact that it's not uncommon for general traffic to be pushing close to 100 MPH. At 80, you become a rolling speedbump.
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Peter 7:55AM (9/04/2007)
Do Americans drive or play bumper cars? Every story I read about small cars gets a full load of "that is too small, I will get killed". Do Americans have accidents on a monthly basis?
Do you ever see people driving motorcycles? They must be truly insane.
Personally I would love a small car like a Carver/Venture that is actually fun to driver and economical. Bring it on.
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tio 9:35AM (9/04/2007)
The whole mind set that small cars are unsafe is a way to justify huge suv's It is 90% ego and 10% dumb. You can show these people crash tests and ratings until you are blue in the face. I have had people I know say they do not believe them. They think even today that a small car hit at 20mph by an suv will fold up like a 1972 corolla hit by a semi.
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Mike 9:20AM (9/04/2007)
I like the chances of the human race surviving the "dangerous" onslaught of microcars.
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bill 10:33AM (9/04/2007)
Tiny cars are a great idea. More people will be killed and maimed; on the other hand it will be one and two at a time due to the size of tiny cars.
How about we drill for oil in ANWR instead of running around acting like the world is coming to an end if we don't DO SOMETHING even if it is stupid.
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ug 2:36PM (9/04/2007)
Micro cars don't work for families because there isn't enough space for kids in them and even if there were, nobody would feel safe putting them in. I'd love to get a VentureOne but I wouldn't feel comfortable picking up my daughter on the way home from work in it. Plus for people like me who live in apartments with only one assigned space, you can really only get away with one vehicle. This requires a one-vehicle-fits-all solution. I think it makes more sense to scale down to bikes for NEV purposes, something easier to store.
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richieswenson 3:32AM (9/08/2007)
When did American become the land of the chicken shiits? Peter 9/04 perceived us correctly, the only way our "battering ram" mentality makes any sense is if we are all involved in near-fatal collisions on a regular basis (I do agree that as a whole we are a pizz-poor bunch of lousy drivers). The truth is we (not I; the average SUV driving american chicken shnitz) are not being candid about the REAL reasons for desiring huge vehicles, and it has to do more with genetalia deficiencies than road safety. The same people that "need" to surround themselves with 3 tons of steel and plastic when on 4 wheels somehow are able to careen around helmetless on Hardley-Ablesons- go figure.
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richieswenson 3:31AM (9/08/2007)
"bill" you are entirely correct that drilling ANWR is stupid... so why are you proposing it? Geez Louise, people, ya gotsta start making some sense sooner or later... right?
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