Getting it back to the cars.
Neil posted this in another thread.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post297495
English
The “Jetcar” and the VW 1L (looks similar) are getting on toward what I see as the answer to the long distance (relatively) high speed commuter.
The Jetcar is eye-wateringly expensive because it is a low-volume hand built custom car. It can be made to be less expensive. Pre-bailout Chrysler was working on composite body Dakotas made in Brazil where the body was no more than five fiberglass (for lack of a more common description) sections on a simple steel frame and two rather Spartan doors. Couldn’t be made in the US due to 40 CFR 63. But the idea was showing considerable promise in the very cost-sensitive Latin American market, but the downturn made Chrysler a division of Fiat and the whole idea was dumped.
At any rate, the Jetcar/1L configuration has the undeniable advantages of low frontal area and light weight. These parameters speak loudly to the road load equation.
But they are still single-purpose vehicles and the cost has to be kept low to justify keeping a special purpose vehicle around.