Living in New York City and being a car owner myself, I'm oh so very aware of two major problems that any car owner faces when driving around a big city: parking and gas usage. Of course, if you live outside a city but commute there every day, you have a third problem on your hands: fighting through traffic. Most people, of course, don't bother with driving when possible: they opt for public transportation. That didn't stop gadget maker Hammacher Schlemmer, though: they built a car that addresses all of the above problems with some interesting solutions:

• Electrically powered: Two electric motors, smaller versions of the ones that power diesel-electric locomotives, generate over 1,000 foot-pounds force of torque and can drive the car from 0 - 60 MPH in 4 seconds, with a top speed of 120 MPH - all in the same gear. No gas guzzling with an electric motor, although you do need a power station capable of generating 50 amps of electricity, which seems to be a bit more than you'll get out of your standard outlet.


• Same width as a motorcycle: You know how motorcyclists will ride their bikes through traffic because they'll fit in a lane with another car? You know how aggravating that is? You can do that with this car. Hammacher Schlemmer says something about doing it only where "where lane splitting is permitted," but we all know that's just up there as protection from lawsuits. By the way, much like a motorcycle, if you've got a passenger, he or she is going in the back.


• Eliminates having to parallel park: That's right, this car is so short that you can park perpendicular to a curb, making it much easier to find a parking spot. Again, you can make the motorcycle comparison, but remember this car has a shell that goes around you - a shell safe enough to meet the standards of the Sports Car Club of America.

All very cool stuff - except that this car will be out of reach for all but the richest commuters: it retails at $108,000. I guess Hammacher Schlemmer isn't really interested in reaching a mass audience any time soon.

Via I4U