Normally, this is precisely the kind of car I would rip on. It's hideous, and I'd rather shave my legs with a cheese grater than be seen driving around in it. I think my love of a cool car is well documented.
HOWEVER. This thing only costs $2,500. No air conditioning. No radio. And you're likely to be killed if you hit a pothole while driving faster than 15 mph. But it's only $2,500, and it gets 50 mpg, and you're probably lucky if you can get the thing above 15 mph anyway, so I figure the pothole danger is low.
It's being marketed in India - a cesspool of overpopulated urban humanity. So, the 50 mpg thing isn't winning over the environmentalists and transportation planners there. They think that more cars on the road there will be a nightmare. They're probably right.
But I still think this thing could be a real boon to people with low incomes. After experiencing the molasses-like pace of mass transit in Las Vegas, I have to admit that if I were living on a shoe-string budget and had to rely on the freakin' bus to get everywhere, I'd leap at the chance to drive that little death box. Imagine getting 5 miles down the road in less than an hour...
