I've driven one of those Chinese three wheelers. A quite relaxing way to spend an entire afternoon going as far as you could in thirty minutes in a regular car.
The biggest problem with those is not the size, but the quality. To meet the ultra-low price requirements, they're built as badly as possible, and tend not to last long under abuse.
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I'd actually feel safer in an Elio than a Nano. For one, it's designed for higher speeds... meaning more tracking stability, better brakes and better crash safety (Paul claims it'll ace the offset frontal... the Nano won't pass any crash test on Earth). Also, less likely to spontaneously combust, I'd think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
$5000 cars are not a dream if they exist. They are only a dream in the US because they are against the law.
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Look up "street-legal" UTVs.
It is very possible to legalize a four-wheeled four-seat vehicle that doesn't meet any safety regulations with turn signals and a horn, depending on where you live.
Unfortunately, these are still specialty products, selling in the $6 - $12k range. Which is as low as you can get without mass manufacture... You need to sell in Corolla numbers to get into the $4k range with a 1,000cc motor.
Still, UTVs don't need to meet safety requirements, and they can weigh up to 2,000 lbs! But thanks to popular demand, they've gotten a free pass.
OHV Registration, non resident permits and street legal | Utah State Parks
(Note... the law doesn't prohibit aero-modding. Hmmm...)
If enough of you vote for it, you could create a "highway-legal quadricycle" classification in your State, giving small four-wheelers a free pass on safety as four-wheeled motorcycles. But these cars would have to be capable of reaching 65 mph rather than the 45 mph UTVs do.
(Tricycles will never lose that free pass. To change regulations for three-wheelers would mean looking at motorcycle laws more closely. That would kill the motorcycle market.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan
Are you allowed to sell rotten meat?
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You'd be surprised how many people would actually buy that.
As with minimum wage laws... these things are easily sidestepped by people desperate enough to accept less than the law thinks they should settle for.