That solar car is more like what we need. I can't see any technical reason for a land vehicle to outweigh its average payload. One low-budget entry for the X-prize was basically a styrofoam coffin with a scooter motor strapped on, but it really showed the way to proceed without sacrificing safety. Start with a full-body crash helmet, and add sub-structure for the running gear.
The conditions on the roads are a challenge, but a small, nimble vehicle can avoid a lot of trouble by assuming it is not seen. Practice on a bicycle works wonders.
Re: the main thread, I think the Aptera was doubly challenged for acceptance by having separate wheel pods. They did manage to clean up the gaps enough to retain some aero benefit, but the look was bizarre. Agreed that the third wheel can sometimes hit a lot of trash, but it wouldn't be a deal-killer on my snowy roads.
The Reliant was ghastly, but popular with older men who didn't want to upgrade to a car driver's license - Success can hinge on odd factors. I wonder what insurance rates econo-trikes would get stuck with. For the engineer, the question of three or four wheels is almost a wash. For equal stability with three, you need more width, but you can get a better taper at the back.
Anyway, it's a new year, the last one before the last decade to save the climate in, so new starts must be made, in hopes of getting something so slick and handy that it crosses social classes like the original Mini did in crowded London. Unfortunately, people are fussy about vehicles mostly over the same range of concerns that govern their clothing, which is not the province of the engineer. We can only hope that the kids will get even more serious about their future than we did about Vietnam.
I am interested in building a new prototype trike, this time with methods friendlier to home-builders and experimenters. The last time, it took an interested building partner to spark construction. This time, I'm wondering if anyone is interested in some spread-sheet work. I designed the first flexi-frame in an obsolete dialect of BASIC, and I'd like to move the calculator to a modern platform, and tweak it for general utility designing a wide range of vehicles.
https://www.compositesworld.com/colu...mobile-history
To combine light, integrated suspension with a basic crash-pod monocoque might be more of a problem for CAD if someone would rather do it all that way. I think that there is great potential for foam shells molded with continuous single fibers throughout the volume. Even better if cool mold walls can increase the density of the mix there.
One of my few tech-buddies is in a hospice now - time to pass the torch for us old folks.