Isn't this the cutest little car?? I have never been a person who pays much attention to automobiles. My only requirements are that when I put the key in the ignition - it runs...and it has to have air conditioning. But lately, several cars have made me stop and look. I loved the little mini coupes (I think that is what they are called. You know - the ones in the movie The Italian Job.) And, I liked the new VW bugs when they came out a few years ago - especially the added touch of the flower vase near the steering wheel. Then the Toyota Scion made me turn my head - but not in a good way. Looks like box with little wheels. The Honda Element is a little better - but not much. Oh - and whatever car it is that has that automatic parking feature. That sounds wonderful to me. I have never been able to parallel park!
This little car in the picture above is Nissan's Pivo 2. It is not available for purchase because they have not been able to make it affordable. But - it is really unique. It is an electric car that can go 78 miles on one charge...fit into extremely tight spots because its wheels turn 90 degrees...the interior cabin can rotate in a complete circle, so the driver can see everything from whatever angle they want.
Still - none of those features attract me. I like the little companion bobbing robot head near the steering wheel that speaks in a cute electronic voice. This is not a GPS system. It is there to keep the driver company...and be a kind of road rage therapist. Seriously. Nissan claims the robot can detect the driver's mood by analyzing changes in the facial expressions picked up by its digital-camera eyes and using a microphone that picks up the driver's voice to detect volume and speaking speed. The head says preprogrammed phrases such as "Don't worry. Relax." Too funny!!! I suppose it recognizes curse words and hand actions, too. Just think - drivers can never get away with flipping the bird to one another. That little robot head would probably say, "Naughty, naughty! Was that a nice thing to do?"
I don't think I would want to own one of these little things - but I certainly would like to ride in one just once. I keep thinking about the cartoon series, The Jetsons, that was popular when I was a kid. They had all these crazy gadgets and cars that seemed too wild to be anything other than make-believe...and yet, today, those same cartoons are almost ordinary. Progress is wild. But, this little Pivo 2 hammers home a point. No matter how advanced technology becomes, we humans still need that little voice in our heads (or on our steering wheels) that reminds us all is well, and that we need to play nice with one another.
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