The Best Inventions Of The Year

Cars & Buses

Car, Compacted

Franco Vairani / MIT
Article Tools

Aiming for the sweet spot between the comfort of a private vehicle and the efficiency of public transportation, the City Car from MIT's Media Lab is a stackable electric car that can be checked out like a luggage cart at the airport, then returned to any station around the city. Electric motors in each wheel eliminate the need for a mechanical drivetrain, and these 5-ft.-long (1.5 m) two-seaters zip along at 55 m.p.h. (about 90 km/h).
Available: 2011
cities.media.mit.edu

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