Honda's "Micro Commuter" Features Swappable Bodies 96
Zothecula writes "Further evidence of the coming fragmentation of personal transportation came today when Honda released details of the next iteration of its electric 'Micro Commuter' prototype which we first saw at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. The new version is close to production-ready, and concentrates the battery and functionality of the micro EV below the floor, enabling the vehicle's body to be easily changed to accommodate different functionality."
Re:3 Bodies that no one wants. (Score:4, Insightful)
Pure car-show fodder.
Not quite, in a lot of places people want a small personal commuter that is easy to park and wont use much fuel. Not everywhere is like the US where everyone drives massive mum-tanks (SUV's) across multiple lanes whilst on the phone and stuffing their face.
However this is a concept car by the looks of it.
I can see this becoming big in Asia, in Japan Kei Cars [wikipedia.org] are already popular because they are cheap and small. This concept is perfect for a single commuter to go to and from work in, a good alternative to riding a motorbike and getting changed at work (no matter how much you prepare, it still sucks getting rained on). With a rising middle class in China and India and already congested streets, a smaller one man commuter would be very much in demand. Honda see's this (not to mention other companies like Tata)
But the swappable bodies would be more of a manufacturing boon. Build one wheel base, then 3 bodies. you benefit from having increased economies of scale with the wheel base production and fewer factories required to produce 3 different cars.