The Smart Car is already on the road, at least here in Berkeley.
A Smart car on the street in Berkeley
That is the car of the future for town use. Below is the 1950s French Citroen 2CV— which I liked until I drove one! It needed serious help with the smoothness of any of its operations—the brakes, steering, ride were all choppy. It was as sloppy to drive as a Ford Model A. Yes, I’m so old I used to drive a Model A. But those rough handling problems can be worked out in a modern car.
We should all be driving 250 MPG/per passenger MPGPP gas powered cars or better yet electric ones and put an end to the oneupsmanship era of flashy, gooshy riding, muscle cars. There are better ways to show your humanness than wasting the planet with gas fumes.
Update 2009/03/14 — MIT’s Technology Review has an article today claiming that electric cars will not become common before 2050 because petroleum products have a higher energy density and are cheaper than batteries. I respectfully disagree. Go to my current blog for How to make an all electric car economy work to see just how easy and inevitable it will be.
(update 2007 04 17) Here is a powered wheel chair from Segway – GM Puma that moves two people cheaply.
Filed under: inventions, policy | Tagged: Aptera 2, Chevy Volt, Citroeen 2CV, Electric Cars, Ford Model A, Geo Prizm, New supercars, Smart Car, Super gas mileage
