Meet the P-NUT from Honda, the latest entrant in the strangely effervescent arena of pint-size pod cars. To the comely blonde models, slowly spinning turntables, and acres of cheap carpet, we can add tiny bubble-car concepts as an auto-show fixture. At the recent Los Angeles show, Honda presented the P-NUT. The too-cute name is an acronym for Personal-Neo Urban Transport. More than two feet shorter than a Fit, the P-NUT seats three and has its (hypothetical) powertrain located at the rear; Honda says it could use a gasoline engine, battery power, or a hybrid of the two.
What's perhaps most interesting about the P-NUT is that it was designed in the United States (by the company's Advanced Design Studio, in Pasadena) and it debuted at a U.S. auto show. Typically, these tiny transportation units are the province of foreign auto shows.
Dave Marek, head of Honda's U.S. design studio, argues that America is a legitimate venue for cars like this. "We need urban cars as much as anywhere else, given the economic climate today," he says.
Unfortunately, the one city car that is sold here, the Smart ForTwo, saw its sales drop dramatically in 2009, its second year in our market. Despite Smart's difficulties, however, Toyota has indicated that it wants to bring the podlike iQ here, possibly as a Scion. The car is already on sale in Europe and Japan.
In addition to being an unproven business prospect, these vehicles also lack a consensus with regard to their ideal layout. Most have their engines in the rear, but the iQ uses a more conventional front engine and front-wheel drive.
These cars also display surprising variety in their seating configurations: The P-NUT has a one-plus-two layout. The iQ is a two-plus-two, although Toyota says it seats three adults and one child. The Nissan Land Glider and Volkswagen's L1 concept cars seat two in tandem. The Smart is a more conventional (side-by-side) two-seater.
As to their overall shape, "The Smart and the iQ have it right," says our own design editor, Robert Cumberford. "A really small car has to be fairly tall to be seen among SUVs in heavy traffic. Low, narrow fuselages, such as the VW L1 or the Nissan Land Glider, are entirely too scary to be successfully marketed for intense urban use."
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding these miniature machines, it's clear that the notion of minimalist motoring is one that has an outsized hold on the world's carmakers.
What's perhaps most interesting about the P-NUT is that it was designed in the United States (by the company's Advanced Design Studio, in Pasadena) and it debuted at a U.S. auto show. Typically, these tiny transportation units are the province of foreign auto shows.
Dave Marek, head of Honda's U.S. design studio, argues that America is a legitimate venue for cars like this. "We need urban cars as much as anywhere else, given the economic climate today," he says.
Unfortunately, the one city car that is sold here, the Smart ForTwo, saw its sales drop dramatically in 2009, its second year in our market. Despite Smart's difficulties, however, Toyota has indicated that it wants to bring the podlike iQ here, possibly as a Scion. The car is already on sale in Europe and Japan.
In addition to being an unproven business prospect, these vehicles also lack a consensus with regard to their ideal layout. Most have their engines in the rear, but the iQ uses a more conventional front engine and front-wheel drive.
These cars also display surprising variety in their seating configurations: The P-NUT has a one-plus-two layout. The iQ is a two-plus-two, although Toyota says it seats three adults and one child. The Nissan Land Glider and Volkswagen's L1 concept cars seat two in tandem. The Smart is a more conventional (side-by-side) two-seater.
As to their overall shape, "The Smart and the iQ have it right," says our own design editor, Robert Cumberford. "A really small car has to be fairly tall to be seen among SUVs in heavy traffic. Low, narrow fuselages, such as the VW L1 or the Nissan Land Glider, are entirely too scary to be successfully marketed for intense urban use."
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding these miniature machines, it's clear that the notion of minimalist motoring is one that has an outsized hold on the world's carmakers.
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