If this thing was made out of strong carbon fiber, then I'd definitely drive this around town. I have a small sedan now and 90% of the time I'm the only one in the car. That's a total waste of space.

Well, I can guarantee you it won't be sold as a "Lotus", because that's a very well protected trademark in the same market space.

The reason Apple Computer and Apple Records could coexist is that the two Apples reached a settlement in 1981 (for $80,000 big ones) in which Apple Computer agreed to stay out of the music business.

Needless to say, the lawsuits since then have been many and bitter, fueled by the vast fortunes of The Beatles and The Steves. I don't think Ms. Yuan has the resources to fend off Group Lotus PLC for more than about five minutes.

I want one.

If they can make it as big as an F-150 I'll take two.

Well, IMO it's not quite as gay as the Segway.

When parked a kickstand comes out so the gyros don't have to run. Given the "wheelbase" between main wheel and kickstand it looks like my grandma could tip the thing over. If there was a row of them parallel parked the would go down like dominos.

It's time people stopped asking the "what if an SUV hits it" question every time a new transportation idea is introduced. It's as if everyone has forgotten that there are millions of motorcycles, scooters, and bikes on the road every day.

If you have to compare impact safety for these small vehicles, compare them against motorbikes, not Buicks.

Does it come in black?

Darn I clicked on this because I thought it said "Camper Lotus Personal Computer"... oh well still cool!

I could see this doing very well in China, where the existing automotive Lotus trademark will be regarded as a speed bump.

look like a vacuum cleaner.

better looking car with similar design, but without gyro (me thinks?!)
http://www.peugeot-concours-design.com/en/01_vainqueur/

This is why you don't give first year design students access to the internet and 3d software.

Here, I made it suck a thousand times less, and be significantly more stable:
http://www.bradhubbard.net/gizmodo/lotus_11.jpg

No more gyros, no more tipping over. Looks less weird. Now I'm going to make an equally specious claim as the original designers:

"I envision this in every schoolyard, bank, and shopping mall by 2016. I have no plan for how to have that happen, no business goals of any kind, no real desire to make it happen. I just envision it."

"No more gyros, no more tipping over."

Until you hit the brakes.

Contrary to popular opinion (ours) the US is NOT the toughest market to drive in by far.

Courtesy is 'left at the court' in many European countries: I can personally attest to Italy's less than friendly driving cities - Rome, Naples anyone?

Beyond madness seems to describe driving (if you can call it that) in a good deal of Asian countries - India and Philippines cities come to mind here. In addition to auto, scooter, rickshaw, bike, etc. you have to factor livestock and the occasional Elephant.

NYC would be a cakewalk after that.

Good luck Lotus!!!

No more or less of a problem than it would be in the original. I figured this would be driving at walking speeds, since it seems to be cruising around on sidewalks, not streets, in the "artists renditions"

Or you could put another caster on the front! Or you could have four wheels in a 2x2 design...

Isn't collaborative design fun?

Why collaborate with Camper, the shoe company? Like, if they can make shoes they can certianly make a next-generation vehicle. Smells like product placement branding.

That's how I wanna roll, on my 48s! Can you get spinners?

Has anyone in this blog ever gyro-stabilized a monorail system or automobile? What does this blog think about a gyro-stabilized monorail system designed for single-rail?

Gyro-monorail