Maine gadgeteer Jory Squibb has posted plans on his site for Moonbeam, a "microcar" design based on heavy modification of a couple of motorcyces that Squibb has created and implemented. The result looks something like a cross between a golf cart and a toy G.I. Joe vehicle.
Its September and I am up to 1500 miles of use. Gas economy varies between 85 and 105 MPG depending on conditions. 105 is when driving a steady 40 MPH. 85 is for total stop-and-go town driving, both with one passenger. A reasonable claim might be 100 MPG. The cars heater, which is actually the scooters radiator mounted in the front of the passenger space, is beginning to be much appreciated. In summer, I had to leave the overhead door open to keep cool.
Squibb's plans are not copyrighted, and he encourages his site readers to attempt to build their own microcar.
While this solution is obviously not for everyone (Squibb estimates the project cost him $2500 and took 1000 hours of labor), but it's exciting to see people working with low-tech and relatively low-cost solutions to energy and traffic problems.
