"Nem hiszem" but if it's true it would be some leap FWD from this: 1975 Trabant - The 50 Worst Cars of All Time - TIME This is the car that gave Communism a bad name. Powered by a two-stroke pollution generator that maxed out at an ear-splitting 18 hp, the Trabant was a ... www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658030,00.html - 34k - Cached - Similar pages Hungary never made cars (to my knowledge) but they were littered (yes littered) with this Trabant made in E. Germany.
"in the event that the sun is not shining enough to power the vehicle batteries, each passenger's seat comes with pedals that will power the cars generator." hm, i'm not sure were're quite ready for this
Think of pedaling a bicycle. Not think of the power required to move a 600 pound car. If you are pedaling to turn a generator that will recharge a battery that will power a motor, it will be less efficient than if you were to directly pedal the wheels. Just think of how much pedaling you are going to have to do. Maybe the pedal-system weighs more weight than it benefits the car. Responding to the above comment about accidents, if everyone was driving one of these, the mass would be equal in a collision. If the company has this much technology, I'm sure they have some good safety features built into the vehicle. If a version ever comes to the U.S., it will first have to meet govt. safety standards. I give them A LOT of credit for making this car compared to what GM and Ford are doing. Aside from that, this car will be awesome for the environment!
Actually the Trabant has one of the quietest interiors of all cars. That's what happens when your knees are pressed against your ears as you squeeze in. It's also one of the longest cars - 3 meters long, followed by 20 meters of smoke. It must be fast too, it doesn't get passed on the highway, or maybe that's because of the smoke... My parents rode in a Trabi to my wedding, but that's a long story.
If they do the carbon fiber right, and if they have some sort of interior restraints that keep occupants in their seats while the vehicle is in motion, I would rather be in one of these in a crash than in anything else. Carbon fiber done right can be far stronger than steel. Not much approaches the stiffness of some carbon fibers.
