HumanCar Imagine: Street Legal Rowboat
Autopia has been given these concept photos of the production model of the "Imagine" from HumanCar, a sort of modern version of the old pump-action railroad cart* designed for use on roads, bolstered by some electric motors in case its riders didn't eat their breakfast. The Imagine uses the same basic chassis as the first "FM-4" model of the HumanCar, which is powered by the rowing of its four passengers and steered by leaning.
The whole system looks a little awkward to me, but there are some videos up on HumanCar's site that show them cooking down twisty mountain roads, so I guess it can't be as unwieldy as it might first appear.
And before you slag them for making something with no headlights, no enclosed cabin, etc., remember that these aren't designed to be a total car replacement, but a green option for people moving, short commutes, and the like.
HumanCar Imagine Comes Ever Closer to Reality [Autopia]
* There's a proper name for those railroad carts, isn't there?
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I fail to understand what this offers you over a bike or two.
The railroad carts you're thinking of are called "handcarts".
Finally, we've achieved the dizzying levels of technology previously only depicted on The Flintstones.
I think the railroad carts are actually "handcars", no T:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handcar
For some reason, prototype cars make me get all agitated. I mean, they look nice and yada yada but you know, not that deep in your heart, they are NEVER going to be built. Car design changes by evolution, not revolution, so the time, effort and money put into these is an annoying waste of everyone's time.