Its hard to imagine from our petroleum based culture that someone could actually speak these words and be serious about it.  We plug toasters in, not cars.  But times they are a' changin.  The question is, are the new times going to be affordable?  David Kwan writes a helpful article exploring the viability of BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) and NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle). 

Tesla has already sold 150 cars, and 1,000 more are on the waiting list.  What's even better, Tesla has a sedan in the making, which according to Jesse Toprak, senior industry analyst at Edmunds.com, will give the vehicle and the genre a wider appeal " if they can bring it in at under $50,000."  Well, they will have to bring it down a smidgeon from there to bring the appeal to my front door, but the direction is promising nonetheless.  No longer is it just a strange spaceship fantasy car...something could really come of this!  See the article here. 

Instead of the grueling drive to go workout at your local gym, all you need do now is walk to your Gym Car.  Its hard to call this lazy, because after all, it is working out.  And so if you are one of whom the following applies: busy schedules, exercise addiction, horrible time management skills, or a fascination with cars that look like they are from Bladerunner, this might be the vehicle for you.  Afterall, this is the car in which designer Da Feng managed to get "a step machine, rowing machine, bench press, pull-up simulator and weights into the car's tiny confines."  You can get it all done in the confines of your own car!  I assume you won't be able to drive while rowing or bench pressing.  If that is the case, then it can only be done either while in traffic or while parked.  Not a totally crazy idea, though for some reason, and I might be wrong here, I can't see this thing making onto the lot of my local Ford dealer.  I can't imagine anybody outside of some underground bizarro matrix culture driving this thing.  See the whole article on the Wired blog here.  See how the exercise part works here.  

It appears there will be options for those of us who don't want to buy gas.  Introducing two very different electric cars, the Aptera 2e (note: not the same thing as the Apple 2e) and the Tesla Roadster from Tesla Motors.  (See another article on this blog comparing the Tesla to the Volt).  Aside from the fact that the 2e looks like a car from one of those futuristic sci fi movies that try too hard to look futuristic, and Tesla being the same name as the 80's rock n' roll outfit (who appear to be making a comeback by the way), there seems to be quite an interest surrounding these cars in light of the current economic crisis.  But are they practical?  I mean, sure they are efficient as far as what it takes to run them, but being a father of 3, I don't need a 2 seater that goes 0-60 in 3.9 seconds that I can pick up and carry on my back, or a reverse three wheeler from the Jetsons (unless it is mounted with gatling guns).  Give me a freakin old school suburban that runs on electricity.  You know the one.  With the sharp angles and room enough to stuff a family of 14 in.  Not necessarily like this one, but not too far from it either.    

For anyone with too much money, a love of Formula 1 racing, a Hot Wheel fetish, no kids, no spouse, and no friends, then Ferrari may have just the car for you one of these days, or something close to it.  Introducing the new Zobin design, "an aerodynamic single seater with compact dimensions."  See article here.