(Well, they are kind of funny looking.)
Now, this isn’t just going to be some bash-fest on how Asian people are small and need tiny cars. I understand that many parts of Asia are very crowded and having smaller cars is ideal. And since the Japanese gov’t doesn’t keep gas prices low like the US gov’t does, fuel economy is handy too.
But you can take it too far:
No, that’s not a toy. It really is a car. But it is made by a toy company, Takara. It’s the Q-Car, and it’s very, very small. Only on person can fit in it. (It’s electric too! Just like a toy!)
But what if you need to move two people around? Well, Suzuki’s got you covered with the appropriately named Twin:
Very small and easy to park, but I still think two people in one of these would be a bit cramped.
I don’t know what this one is, but – like the first two – it looks like it should have a remote control instead of a driver:
But it does have four doors, so maybe you could get more than a couple people in here. (Provided they were very tiny, of course.)
(Getting off track for a minute here. Speaking of remote controls, how long before we have cars fitted with RC units? It could come in handy in certain situations. Say you need to park in a really tight spot. Just park close, get out and use the remote to back (or pull) the car in. Much easier to gauge the distance to the next car from outside.)
But say you’ve got to move a whole bunch of people around. Sure, you could get a bus, but that’s still not compact. So why not get a little bus!
And make it a cute one while you’re at it!
I saw this one in (duh) Shibuya. Fortunately, it was stuck in traffic and I was able to get a photo. I especially like the rendering of Hachiko. I can’t decide whether to ride the bus or pet it!
^.^
I only hope that someday Americans will get over their misguided love affair with SUVs and other road-going monstrosities. There’s no way cars like these could catch on in the US as long as those behemoths are on the road. Getting hit by an SUV in any of these (except maybe the bus) would be fatal, even at 5 miles per hour.
And that’s too bad. I think the roads would look much cooler if they were populated by funky vehicles like these.