My first thought after watching the video and reading comments about forward visibility from the cockpit of a tail dragging aircraft while on the ground was; In this age of small and cheap electronics, why the heck wouldn’t you have a camera under the chin of the aircraft and a small screen on the IP?

Actually, it’s not that they’re compromised, it’s that they are very specialized for something other than off-roading. ; )

Euro version: Metric Bolt.

The question is, which crash standards do they meet?

Like these?

Donks are ridiculous, Bro-dozers are ridiculous, Ariel Atoms are awsome.

Bob Lutz was not a designer, He did do a great job of pushing projects he believe in through corporate bureaucracy though.

Beat me to it, a star for you.

As someone the tows a light weight but aerodynamically terrible trailer, I’ve thought about doing something this my self.

Full disclosure, I work at GM design. Every thing about designing and building a car is about balancing a set of 100's of compromises. Engineering does try to scrape every gram out of a car if it can be done safely, with out raising cost or compromising reliability, not an easy task. While it’s true there are lighter…

Safety regs are the #1 reason modern cars are bigger and heavier than their predecessors. You can see it in any car that’s been around awhile.

I agree, even unlimited and F1 Hydroplanes run enclosed cockpits, were if you can’t get out after a crash quick enough you just, you know, drown.

“I think their entire chance of success depends on them hitting that price point and staying close to that mpg goal”

I was working at GM’s Advanced Concept Center in Thousand Oaks Cali in early 91. One of the managers got one as a company car and let everyone on the design team take it home for a night. A little bit of electrical tape to cover the decals and it made for one hell of a sleeper. : )

I think you are right. The rear wheel isn’t anywhere close to the center of the wheel opening and the bed doesn’t cover the tires enough to be legal.

LOL, Thanks for the smile I get every time I’m reminded of the women who that had her visor down putting on lipstick, in the fast lane, tail gating me, @ 75-80, in rush hour traffic, until a light tap of my brakes left her with a red stripe across her cheek. :)

Exactly. :)

As long as you’re not planning a trip farther than 250 miles, or need to tow anything, or take 3 kids for a weekend worth of stuff, or putting anything on a roof rack, or...

One of my favorite quotes from an old engineer I worked with...

I think any time your pushing a machine near the edge of safety it’s a blast, doesn’t mater what it is. It’s just a lot easier to get away with it in some than others. That said as a non pilot, I’d love to experience some canyon carving. : )