Automotive Innovation at the San Diego International Auto Show

[hunter]

1. I'd love to see a redesign of cities to favor small vehicles.

35 mph or less is plenty fine for urban travel, and as I recall my commuting days in Los Angeles, even the freeways were slower than that. (I remember twenty mile commutes sometimes taking more than an hour... and in the 'eighties the air wasn't as clean.)

On the other hand, three wheel vehicles like this are an artifact of laws ceding "ownership" of the road to one ton plus high power four wheeled vehicles.

Everyone who doesn't own a conventional automobile is punished to place themselves in great danger; pedestrians, bicyclists, mopeds, motorcycles, and little three wheelers like this.

Four wheel vehicles, similar in size to the vehicle you highlight, are discouraged by regulations favoring larger vehicles, not by any design considerations.

If I was emperor (hah, hah) I'd limit all urban personal vehicles to ten kilowatt motors or less, and top speeds to less than 50 kph.

Park your big car, if you have one, outside the city.