Automotive Blog automotive technology, explored

Design students at MIT are taking the idea of a City Car a little farther and making their two-seat electric vehicle foldable. With lithium-ion batteries supplying the power, the City Car, weighing in between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds, wouldn’t just fold up, it would stack — just like shoping carts fitting together — as many as eight might use a single parking space at one time.

The whole idea came out of a 2003 project sponsored by General Motors with the obvious intent of taking a fresh look at how cars are designed. The City Car was conceived to address not just crowded urban driving, but also parking. Right now the whole thing is still in development, but a prototype has been promised for 2008.

I don’t mind the fact that most prototypes these days look like a cross between a golf cart and the golf ball itself, but what I do mind is that they all look like potential hood ornaments for bigger, badder beasts on the road. We can all gaze ahead to that far future day when we’re motoring around like George Jetson, but in the meantime, I don’t think I’d want to be out on any road in my home city in the City Car.

If you want to get a full run-down on the idea, click here for CNet’s comprehensive review.