Tuk Tuk USA gets DOT and EPA approval
Upon returning from a recent trip to Thailand, some friends of mine related experiences of what it's like to travel on somewhat primitive roads in somewhat primitive vehicles. Disconcerting at first, apparently, but totally acceptable after a few trips prove that it's (relatively) safe. The vehicles of choice in Thailand, along with a bunch of other far-away locales, are Tuk Tuks, three-wheeled machines that marry the front end of a scooter to the rear end of a passenger car. Soon, you'll be able to get one in America.
We just got an email message from Tuk Tuk North America informing us that the company has officially been granted both DOT and EPA approval for its line of Mitsubishi-powered three-wheelers. This means that the Tuk Tuk will be completely road legal here in the United States. We're not so sure you'd want to drive one cross-crountry (though we understand it's fully capable of such trips), but as an around-town errand-runner, the little scoots might work out just fine, returning an estimated 55 miles per gallon.
The Tuk Tuk will come in many different styles, ranging from a 3-passenger model up to the 12-passenger hauler. In addition to the passenger vehicles, there's a pickup truck, dump truck, garbage truck (!), flatbed, van and even a bare chassis for DIY projects. Sounds like they've got all the appropriate bases covered, no?
[Source: Tuk Tuk USA]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ronEbear 5:40PM (4/15/2009)
They`re too damn expensive to be considered practi-cheap! The cheapest one is just shy of $10,000.
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texmln 12:29AM (4/16/2009)
These will be popular... right up until the first time one gets hit by a Suburban. When 12 people get wiped out by what ordinarily would have been a fender bender, not so popular anymore.
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Carney 11:11AM (4/16/2009)
This is what poor people in the Third World use as an interim point on their way up from carlessness to owning a real car. Very few are interested in going the other direction.
Nor should they be, even for green reasons. The fact that it uses less gasoline to move a given distance than a real car does is not nearly as impressive, relevant, effective, and beneficial as most greens imagine.
Overall, seeking to reduce fuel use by pursuing greater fuel efficiency does not work, because:
1) people take advantage of that efficiency to drive more and farther and thus use as much or more fuel than before;
2) more people come into being over time due to population growth and become drivers, with this growth causing increased fuel use that overtakes and exceeds any efficiency effect; and
3) the economy grows and wealth increases, which by itself increases the number of people who can afford to become drivers, with the same effect as above.
Any of those three would be enough to make the current extreme emphasis on fuel efficiency excessive. But combined as they are makes austerity pointless.
In fact, ironically, fuel efficiency is WASTEFUL. At least, the pursuit of further gains in it is.
The time, money, effort, and public, governmental, and corporate attention and awareness lavished on this futile goal comes at the direct expense of other possibilities since we live in a finite world.
Instead of helplessly accepting the artificial constraining assumption that we are stuck with oil and only oil as our transportation fuel source and that the best we can do is try to use less, we should realize that with LESS effort, expense, and sacrifice we can break free of oil.
Transitioning to clean-burning, renewable alcohol fuel is relatively easy - all we have to do is mandate that all new cars sold in America be fully flex-fueled, able to run equally easily on any alcohol fuel as on gasoline. This would cost automakers only about $130 per car. The technology has existed for years and is refined, reliable, and ready after having been extensively used in the real world (in fact 3% of cars are already flex-fueled).
Unlike other alternative fuels, alcohol is "backward compatible" with gasoline - if a flex-fuel vehicle is low on alcohol and can't find an alcohol station it can just fill up on gasoline. This enables the transition to be phased-in and affordable.
We don't have to be stuck with oil, or drive flimsy humiliating Poverty-Mobiles, if we mandate full flex-fuel capability in all new cars. Imagine vrooming along in a big SUV, pickup, or performance sedan - guilt-free!
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MC 4:20AM (4/18/2009)
"Third World" is old school. Update your vocab, this isn't the Cold War.