If you told us a few days ago you were holding out for that hot-rod aesthetic before jumped into the eco-car game, we might've questioned your sanity as well as your taste -- but now we'll just question the latter. Ah, we're just kidding guys! We suppose this new Eco-Fueler American Roadster does have a certain cutesy, almost mutant charm, and that 70 mpg figure is hard to argue with. The new three-wheeler sweetens the deal by running compressed natural gas, which goes for around 62 cents a gallon, and works out to about a penny a mile. Speed tops out at 120mph, and the Roadster has a sound system, heater and a hard-top for all the comforts of home. Production starts next month, and Eco-Fueler hopes to build about 150 of these a month for the $20,000-ish asking price.
[Via
AutoblogGreen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
james @ Sep 8th 2006 11:39AM
I will take one please! Great for the commute!
Martin @ Sep 8th 2006 11:51AM
" . . . the Roadster has a sound system, heater and a hard-top for all the comforts of home." How about a headlight? Not included for the 20 large?
Nick @ Sep 8th 2006 11:58AM
Yeah, I was going to ask about the headlight.....I can't imagine this being DOT approved without one. Even mopeds have to have one now.
teknomusik @ Sep 8th 2006 12:00PM
Grab that from your local auto zone. Seriously, did they even think about making this thing street legal? Windshield wiper, headlight, etc. WTF?
Trent @ Sep 8th 2006 12:07PM
$20,000??? Isn't price too high?
John Stracke @ Sep 8th 2006 12:09PM
OK, but where do I get CNG? Does it come with a compressor I can hook to my gas line at home?
Jonathan Keim @ Sep 8th 2006 12:22PM
@trent
I'ts not to high considering it goes 120 MPH
jiltedcitizen @ Sep 8th 2006 12:22PM
Just get a motorcycle.
Todd @ Sep 8th 2006 12:23PM
Ah damn, who messed-up that Prowler with a Sawz-All?
loikll @ Sep 8th 2006 12:26PM
$20 K for a moped with plastic walls? Egads, that's absurd, no one's going to buy that. This'll be lots of fun until the first (and last) time you get T-Boned by an SUV. Or by a Volkswagen for that matter. At least on a moped you can jump off and dive into a ditch before you get hit.
You can buy a small but real-live automobiile for less than $10,000. But these are not even actual CARS. If someone wants to sell these super-efficient death-trap motorized tricycles you've got to price them far-far lower.
SLiKone @ Sep 8th 2006 12:27PM
According to the site, it comes with a compressor. Even if it did require some work to make street legal, I'd gladly do the work and look like a moron for $.01 per mile!
Mike @ Sep 8th 2006 12:30PM
If you look at the site there are pics with headlights. It also says "Of course one of the most important points about this vehicle is that a natural gas fueling compressor will be included at no additional charge". I would however perfer atleast a 4 seater car even if it was not as fast or the fuel economy was not as good. Its a motor cycle, so a motor cycle license is required to drive this thing.
Tell me when they come out with an actual car.
Thanks.
Ron Rowland @ Dec 20th 2006 2:35AM
YOU DO NOT NEED A MOTOR CYCLE LIC....TO OPERATE THIS (dmv) rated Motorcycle..
Trust me on that one please !!
Ron
I am a Sales Rep out of Oregon ...http://tinyurl.com/9q83w
Thanks !
brem @ Sep 8th 2006 12:31PM
That's butt ugly!
Daniboy @ Sep 8th 2006 12:59PM
I noticed that nowhere the autonomy is mentionned... Was it left out on purpose?
At 120MPH for 10 minutes, it's still a pretty long walk home...
jbulava @ Sep 8th 2006 1:06PM
I seriously thought this was a picture of a car split down the middle when I first saw it. As such, I think it should be half the price! Also, is there a door on each side to get in this thing...cause what's the point.
James @ Sep 8th 2006 1:20PM
You might as well get a motorcycle..
Joe Mamma @ Sep 8th 2006 1:31PM
It's not a motorcycle, it's a trike. Not that it makes it any better, but it is full car width in the rear.
ajaba @ Sep 8th 2006 1:39PM
Check out their management team and "sales training packages." Smells bogus as a barking snake to me.
Bill @ Sep 8th 2006 1:42PM
Well at least it looks better than some of the goofy prototypes I've seen proposed. It's not my taste but keep trying. We're getting closer.
paix247 @ Sep 8th 2006 1:54PM
Wow... I think I'll be sticking with my 50mph TDI.
Yeah Whatever @ Sep 8th 2006 1:56PM
It reminds me of that tiny car in "Brazil".
Ray @ Sep 8th 2006 2:04PM
Three-wheeled vehicles are EXTREMELY unstable in turns. Any tech mentioned for keeping the thing upright when cornering (maybe a Segway-type gyroscope thingy)?
TIMMY!!!! @ Sep 8th 2006 2:46PM
paix, your TDI only goes 50 mph? you should have that looked at.
Aidan @ Sep 8th 2006 2:52PM
Looks like the designer went for the 'House of Mirrors' look.
James @ Sep 8th 2006 3:37PM
Look around the site for a while -- I'm not going to say it's an MLM *scam* per se, because e.g. Mary Kay is sold MLM and does quite well.
BUT. But. They have, as far as I can tell, exactly ONE picture of an actual vehicle, sitting still at a trade show. All other pictures are obviously (somewhat shoddy) CG renders of the "concept". In the FAQ, they say that *scale model* testing indicates that it "shouldn't" roll over. If this were software, it would be in pre-alpha right now. It looks from their About page like the big innovation, if anything, is the Home Compressor thingummy, which they don't even describe in detail. They've driven it from San Francisco to LA (?). There is, in short, almost no real content.
Bottom line: they made it a trike to get around automobile safety testing requirements. It probaby gets great mileage, but they've barely used their one prototype at all, and it's never been crash tested, nor is it likely to ever be. It is sold by MLM and the main contact address is @hotmail.com. I'm not saying it *is* a scam, but I would watch my wallet around this guy.
My Hot or Not @ Sep 8th 2006 3:41PM
lol nice one Martin. I'd be afraid to drive something that small on the highways :p
oven @ Sep 8th 2006 4:48PM
the website says "comes with home fueling appliance, no more trips to the gas station" it looks like no more fueling up anywhere but home, good luck if you're on empty 50 miles from home.
BklynKid @ Sep 8th 2006 6:00PM
70 mpg?? That's to work and school and back for a whole week on one gallon. Add stop-and-go NYC traffic conditions and that gets cut to half, but that would then still be a theoretical week of driving on 2 gallons, or $6. Only sarcrafice would be that everyone will be pointing in awe and laughing behind my back.
Spiritwolf @ Sep 8th 2006 6:35PM
What does mpg stand for ?
Jeremy @ Sep 8th 2006 6:50PM
Didn't they make three wheelers ATVs illegal because they like to flip over? I wouldn't want to try an pass a semi on the highway with that thing for fear of tossed upside down (but I guess if I was using the included hard top everything would be OK)...
Ian Bruce @ Sep 8th 2006 10:49PM
Wow! Park it next to the electric pony ride in front of any Wal-Mart and you'd make a fortune in quarters.
BklynKid @ Sep 8th 2006 10:51PM
Spiritwolf: mpg = miles per gallon
Tai Robinson @ Sep 9th 2006 10:56AM
CNG is available at about 200 stations in California, 29 in Utah and all over the country at a much lower cost than finite, toxic crude oil based fuels. Check out the Alternative Fuels Data Center link with Clean Cities on my web site to use the station locator to find the fuel you are looking for.
You can also fill up at home with a home refueling device. Any vehicle can be modified to utilize CNG for fuel.
--
Thank You!
Tai W. Robinson ::: Clean Fuel Specialist
www.IntergalacticHydrogen.com
www.H2go.info
801-201-7370
Intergalactic Hydrogen provides MADE-IN-USA renewable energy products & cleaner fuel options that work with today's infrastructure and beyond. We build multi-fuel, hydrogen, methane, propane, electric, biodiesel and ethanol automobiles, appliances and infrastructure. We promote the clean fuel revolution through educational workshops and engineering consultation. Reduce your footprint on the planet with American Fuel Vehicles (AFV's) and declare your energy independence.
skljdfngvwker @ Sep 9th 2006 2:44PM
Three-wheeled vehicles are EXTREMELY unstable in turns. Any tech mentioned for keeping the thing upright when cornering (maybe a Segway-type gyroscope thingy)?
Ray, have you ever heard of the T-REX?
Ebay.com -> Item number: 290026589070
dumbass, reconsider what stable means, not like this thing is meant for speeding, it's meant to save people gas moron. pfft, 3 wheeled vehicles arent stable in turns* what a joke.
shackman2019 @ Sep 11th 2006 7:47AM
Its like Sam Lowry's car in the movie Brazil
i kinda want one just for that reason
doublej @ Sep 12th 2006 4:01AM
like i'd go 120 in that.
TObject @ Sep 13th 2006 7:45AM
I love the tricycle concept is general
1) it's an every day-to-day COMMUTE vehicle. Save your big SUV for a weekend trip!
2) for those who said "get a motorcycle". Tricycle is safer because you can not swing-pass the cars with it.
I actually hate then motorcycle appears from nowhere exactly at the moment I want to go to the right lane.
One of my co-workers in his 40s got in 3 accidents in just one year. His insurance won't let him drive bike anymore
3) you probably can drive it alone in a carpoolHOV lane
4) how safe is compressor? is it Plug&Play type and where do you plug it in?
I don't remember having spare gas valve in my house
5) BklynKid "Only sacrifice would be that everyone will be pointing in awe and laughing behind my back"
Put a big sticker "I'm getting 70MPG! What's your excuse, moron?"
6) Put hybrid engine so it shuts down when not needed, stick solar PVC on top, wind turbine gyrators on the side, coffeemaker inside and I'm sold! ;-))
Jon @ Sep 17th 2006 4:58AM
I'm working on a trike myself if designed right they are quite stable. I've also worked with propane and had quite some exposure to natural gas. What bothered me was having 3000psi. bomb in the back of my car. The vw engine is a prety good motor and relativly inexpensive. the design I'm working on is quite similar but I hope a little more atractive to the eye. I think that on a massproduction basis your about 60% higher than the cost should be.
Carl @ Sep 19th 2006 10:55AM
I am working on a high milage trike and they can be quite stable, a Trivette in about 1974 outcornered a Chevy Corvette by 10%, and 65 mpg that I expect to get from gasoline will help with my commute.
Jon @ Sep 19th 2006 7:07PM
I have already add comments but they have not been displayed
VICTOR @ Jan 31st 2007 3:29AM
IT DOES HAVE HEAD LIGHTS
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