Driving home in a future winner?
Is this the future of personal transportation?
The Triac electric commuter, seen here at the Detroit auto show, is the brainchild of Mike Ryan, president of California-based Green Vehicles, a two-year-old company with 15 staff so far.
It's a three-wheeler, which classifies it as a motorcycle and so gives it automatic access to almost every High Occupancy Vehicle lane. So it's a speedy commuter.
(I say "almost" because the Ontario Ministry of Transportation refuses to accept its mistake and still prohibits motorcycles with a single rider in the HOV lanes. I believe it's the only jurisdiction in the entire world to be so dumb.)
Being officially a motorcycle also means that there's no crash testing needed, which saves Green Vehicles a pile of start-up cash.
But because the driver is completely enclosed, the West Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington don't require its operators to wear a crash helmet or even have a motorcycle licence. After all, it has a steering wheel and pedals for the power and brakes.
Ryan wasn't sure about laws in the other states, or Canada.
The two-seater, $25,000 Triac can travel at up to 130 km/h for up to 160 km on a five-hour charge.
There are four on the road now and 16 more spoken for. Ryan wants to make 1,000 a year. Don't look for them in Canada anytime soon.
Here are the choices, complete with explanations, of other Wheels contributors who were in Detroit.
CT & T MULTI-AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLE
Jim Kenzie
The Korean-made C T & T Multi-Amphibious Vehicle, a battery-powered six-wheeled four-seater, is surely, like all amphibious vehicles, a lousy car and a lousy boat. But it is both.
And if you have to go south of the river out of Motor/Murder City to The True North Strong and Free in a hurry and the bridge has fallen down and the tunnel is flooded, it might be your only hope.
HONDA CR-Z HYBRID
John LeBlanc
Honda says the new 2011 CR-Z hybrid sports car will make you think of its last fun and frugal two-seater, the 1983 to 1991 CR-X. I owned a 1990 CR-X Si. It was one of the most fun-to-drive cars I have ever bought.
But the 2011 CR-Z created many questions that only some quality time behind the wheel would answer. For one, it boasts a 1.5-litre version of the Insight's 1.3 four, putting out 122 hp. Not that much more than my 1990 CR-X's 1.6-litre 108 hp. Would the new model be any quicker than mine in a straight line?
For the time, my Honda and its five-speed manual gearbox got great mileage – in the 8.5 to 10 L/100 km (33 mpg) range. The new one is a hybrid, but it's only rated 9.1 L/100 km (31 mpg) city and 7.6 L (37 mpg) hwy with a six-speed manual. Hmm ... Would love to get some real-world numbers.
Finally, my 1990 CR-X handled like Brian Orser with sharp skates. Will the new CR-Z be equally entertaining down a twisty back road? Until it goes on sale later this year, I guess I'll have to wait to find out.
FORD MUSTANG GT/CS
Lorraine Sommerfeld
In the land of Green and Electric, the 2011 Ford Mustang GT/CS may feature a politically incorrect 5.0-litre V8 engine, but there are times you'd just like a pretty pony to get you home, fast.
Available in a six-speed automatic or manual. I'll take the stick, thank you. Because if you're driving something as iconic as a Mustang, you want to feel the whole experience.
DODGE RAM 5500
Jil McIntosh
Truck is good. Big truck is even better.
There were plenty of sports cars and luxury models that turned my head, but my inner small-person-commanding-monster-vehicle came out and took command. You can only get the humongous diesel-powered Dodge Ram 5500 in a chassis cab, and this one was outfitted dump-truck style.
C'mon, how often do you get to see a shiny clean brand-new dump truck? And when you do, how can you resist?
LOTUS ELISE
Kathy Renwald
It's small, it's light, it's good on gas. The Lotus Elise is the car I'd like to take home with me. I'd never sat in one, so it's lucky a rather icy Lotus rep showed me how to get in and out it. The Elise rides just a few whiskers above the pavement. "Don't lean on the door," Mr. Personality told me as I eased into the black cloth seats with "anatomical padding."
Weighing around 900 kg, the 189-hp engine has no trouble doing 0-to-100 km/h in about five seconds. Steering is surgical and creature comforts are few, but the ride is bracing. The price at the auto show was $47,250 (U.S.). Terrifying maybe, but full of life for sure.
CITY EV POLICE CAR
Nika Rolczewski
I have a few reasons for wanting to drive the City EV police car home from the auto show. My good side says it's electric, with zero emissions, and that's good for the environment.
My bad side wants to be feared by those folks who park illegally in spots for the disabled – my biggest pet peeve.
I might even scare those left-lane bandits with my lights and sirens a-blaring into the right lane – that is, if I could reach that speed.
BUICK REGAL GS CONCEPT
Brian Early
If, a few years ago, someone had suggested that I'd want to drive a Buick home from the Detroit auto show, I'd have chuckled politely and quickly changed the subject.
Yet here we are, and Buick is quietly undergoing a renaissance. In this case, it's the accidental beneficiary of the Saturn division's demise.
How so? The 2011 Regal is really just a lightly restyled European-market Opel Insignia, and originally the Insignia was fingered to be the next Saturn Aura. Saturn died, so Buick got the Insignia.
Europeans get everything from diesels to turbo V6s in their Insignia. Buick's GS Concept takes the best-performing "OPC" version and swaps in a lightweight 255-hp 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder. That's paired with rear-biased all-wheel drive and a six-speed manual.
A good-looking, high-performance, stick-shift Buick – I can't turn that down.
BMW S1000RR
David Cooper
The $17,300 BMW S1000RR is downright scary (and that's good). Its liquid-cooled 999-cc inline-four that turns out 103 hp has more power than most cars! This is the café racer I dreamed about in my youth but (luckily?) never could afford.
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