How much car do you really need?

[kevingalls]

[caption id="attachment_478" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="KANDI Coco vs Peel P50"][/caption] Thinking "green" is all about thinking efficiency. That's why it irks me when Cadillac released a hybrid Escalade. Really? That's like introducing a 5-foot diameter low-fat cookie. It won't taste good, and you sure as hell won't lose any weight. Getting off the diet comparisons, one obstacle car manufacturers have in releasing very small, efficient electric vehicles is the FMVSS, or Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations. Their list of required safety equipment and standards is one of the reasons cars have gained over 130lbs in safety equipment alone in the last 40 years. Enter: The KANDI CoCo.

Oklahoma residents can now own their very own electric vehicle in time for Christmas for just $865. Too incredible to believe? Well, it sort of is. Firstly the car's MSRP is actually over $10k, but after state and federal rebates the cost to buy this no-thrills go-kart falls to only $865, but only if you live in Oklahoma and buy before the end of the year. The second catch is a pretty big one. This EV is really a LSV, or "Low Speed Vehicle." Just like your grandmother's golf-cart at the old-folks-home, the CoCo has a limited top speed of "gasp" 25 miles per hour. It is restricted to roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less and it's made in China.

This reminds me of a time in 1963 on the Isle of Man where the Peel P50 roamed the streets as the smallest vehicle on the planet. Its 50cc motor had a top speed of 38mph and achieved over 80mpg. The vehicle weighed only 130lbs and wouldn't come close to passing safety tests here in the US. Perhaps deciding on the future of day-t0-day automobiles requires a deeper look into how big a vehicle we truly need. If we could get our daily tasks done without traveling over 25 mph, we could ignore the highway safety standards and we could all finally achieve epic gas mileage. ...Now if only there was only a way to look less of an imbecile doing it.