Zest. Not just for bathing any more.
November 27, 2007 5:14 PM   Subscribe

"The Toyota Prius is much too powerful and luxurious a road car," thought Walter Mitty. "What I desire is a Zest Roadster. Pocketa-pocketa-pocketa."
posted by mr_crash_davis (33 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
mr crash davis, I love you for the Walter Mitty reference alone.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 5:33 PM on November 27, 2007


UK distributor's website

Dammit, this is exactly the glorified golfcart with a big trunk I've been dreaming of for the past year. It makes me NUTS that we'll probably never see any of these fun, tiny cars on the road in the US.
posted by maryh at 5:37 PM on November 27, 2007


Uh ! Competition for Smart?

I still like carsharing or sharedbike+metro better. I starting to dream of the day I don't have to own a car to feel comfy and speedy in my movements.
posted by elpapacito at 5:37 PM on November 27, 2007


Me likey. I really think there needs to be some kind of loophole that would let things like this and other ultra-lightweights exist in the United States without having to worry about 1000 lbs of safety gear. I'm all for the mandatory safety gear and I don't want to return to the days of being impaled on the steering column but it seems like some rational solution could be arrived at for commercial experimentation with ultra-lightweight vehicles.
posted by well_balanced at 5:39 PM on November 27, 2007 [3 favorites]


I also want an old style pilot helmet, a very warm scarf and a driver's license. Then I'd be just charming.
posted by Free word order! at 5:45 PM on November 27, 2007


DO WANT
posted by brain_drain at 5:46 PM on November 27, 2007


Pocketa-pocketa-pocketa.

Chitty-chitty-bang-bang?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:47 PM on November 27, 2007


Looks fun. But I think I'd rather have a T-rex.

Or even better, an Ariel Atom.
posted by quin at 5:48 PM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]


A permanently open roof is exactly the car the people of Great Britain are looking for.
posted by DU at 6:09 PM on November 27, 2007


Who needs to survive a car accident when you're getting great gas mileage?
posted by falconred at 6:10 PM on November 27, 2007


Who needs to survive a car accident when you're getting great gas mileage?

Let them be registered as motorcycles. It's not like soccer moms are going to be buying these anyways.
posted by well_balanced at 6:39 PM on November 27, 2007


Somehow, I wouldn't be That embarrassed to be seen in this, but I'd be mortified if I had to get in a Smart car.
posted by stavrogin at 6:39 PM on November 27, 2007


I would love that car, but I could only drive it for half the year.
posted by drezdn at 6:39 PM on November 27, 2007


Would someone walk me through what happens when I bring one of these to the US and a cop stops me? What happens when I say, "Officer, it's like a trike, see... but it's got an extra wheel!"
posted by anotherpanacea at 6:48 PM on November 27, 2007


Navelgazer wants.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:02 PM on November 27, 2007


That is a great little roadster indeed, mcd ... but I had my heart set on something other than plastic, myself.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:05 PM on November 27, 2007


I'll bet that "plastic" is something of an oversimplification. It's probably FRP, or fiber reinforced plastic, and so is more like a tennis racket than a Tupperware bowl.
posted by Tube at 7:12 PM on November 27, 2007


I want one. Totally. Even if it is just a mini moke for the 21st century.

Nah, actually, especially if it is just a mini moke for the 21st century.
posted by pompomtom at 7:14 PM on November 27, 2007


You'd think a car as ugly as the Smart would either be cheaper than $12k or get better than 40 mpg.
posted by DU at 7:18 PM on November 27, 2007


So how come they get to have this cool car in Europe but not in the U.S.? Over here we always hear about the excessive regulation in the E.U., but they get to drive this wonderful little death trap all they want. Not fair.
posted by LarryC at 7:28 PM on November 27, 2007


I want one, but my fat American ass fell asleep when I looked at those awful seats.
posted by fleacircus at 7:30 PM on November 27, 2007


You know, even with one of these, it would still feel totally self-indulgent to drive to work.
posted by blacklite at 8:22 PM on November 27, 2007


Plus ça change.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:41 PM on November 27, 2007


I'd still rather have an Isetta, but I'd totally drive this anytime my bike won't do.
posted by padraigin at 9:19 PM on November 27, 2007


The tough part will be pulling it back far enough to get you to work.
posted by ALongDecember at 9:43 PM on November 27, 2007


I love microcars, I really do. I have a Fiat 600, which is the most practical (this is a relative thing) of the many 50's and 60's tiny cars, but this is not a primary vehicle on modern roads. Too small, too slow. This little thing is cute as a button, but even as a proponent of tiny cars I fear an accident victim would get creamed.
posted by 1adam12 at 10:49 PM on November 27, 2007


madamjujujive - Howard Hughes tried a wooden vehicle, an airplane nicknamed the Spruce Goose. He flew it once; it is now in a museum in McMinnville, OR. Weight was one of the problems, although one would not expect much lift in an automobile.
Ta-pocketa-queep.
posted by Cranberry at 11:33 PM on November 27, 2007


I really think there needs to be some kind of loophole that would let things like this and other ultra-lightweights exist in the United States without having to worry about 1000 lbs of safety gear.... it seems like some rational solution could be arrived at for commercial experimentation with ultra-lightweight vehicles.

Meet the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle.
posted by dhartung at 12:35 AM on November 28, 2007


Meingottenhimmel!(sp?)

At the current exchange rate (per Google) this car costs 16,500 USD new!

The way to push lightweight cars into a market is to actually make them affordable. 16.5 grand will make swiss cheese out of my wallet (and bank account and blood donation fund)!
posted by I-baLL at 1:06 AM on November 28, 2007


This car also embodies the spirit of Magnetic Field's Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side (link to odd fanvid with Knight Rider)
posted by Free word order! at 1:25 AM on November 28, 2007


So, a lot of the danger of a motorcycle, but slightly more space to carry things. 20 hp, belt driven motor sounds like a motorcycle engine as well.
posted by garlic at 7:37 AM on November 28, 2007


Oh, this isn't a motorbike -- it's a moped....

Cute as all hell, but I took one look at the open top and thought "decapitation".
posted by jrochest at 1:45 PM on November 28, 2007


I love you for the Walter Mitty reference alone.

Puppy biscuit.
posted by neuron at 9:50 PM on November 28, 2007


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