General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAmi, the tiny cube on wheels that French 14-year-olds can drive
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/11/ami-the-tiny-cube-on-wheels-that-french-14-year-olds-can-driveAt first glance, Citroëns new Ami, a playful polypropylene cube on wheels with an unashamedly Toytown aesthetic, seems hardly the kind of car to excite the passions of Frances drivers. But, perhaps because it is not a car, that is just what it is doing.
Classed as a light quadricycle, the Ami is, Citroën says, an urban mobility object. All-electric, 2.4 metres long and 1.4m wide, with a top speed of 45km/h (28mph) and a range of 75km (46 miles), it can be driven in France without a full licence by anyone aged 14 or over.
It can be recharged from a standard home socket in three hours and, in its basic grey-and-orange edition, costs 6,000 (£5,550) to buy outright, or, with 100 down, 78 a month roughly what most Parisians pay for an all-zone metro and suburban rail pass.
$22.00 per month rental or $7100.00 New
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)I wish I could have had one for my daily commute for years, it would have been great.
Thanks for posting.
mysteryowl
(7,398 posts)This kind of "car" would be great for warm climates like CA, AZ, FL etc.
Lochloosa
(16,073 posts)Wing vents were really important in FL when driving a bug. It's an air flow thing.
lindysalsagal
(20,747 posts)It's just city based.
NBachers
(17,149 posts)of the reviewer forced me to shut it down before it finished. I'll look around for a more tolerable review.
But - Thanks for putting this in front of us. This car would cover most of my day-to-day needs. We're sure to see vehicles like this in the near future here in the USA.
Sanity Claws
(21,860 posts)forget teenagers.
uponit7771
(90,367 posts)LittleGirl
(8,292 posts)not less. These still need parking! Not what we need at all.
Sorry, Ill see myself out.
Iterate
(3,020 posts)In that way this, or something like it, works for the lower density development built since the 50's where a bus route isn't going to happen and the train is a few miles away.
RVN VET71
(2,698 posts)in a primitive country where even adults on bicycles get harassed by unwashed and gap-toothed unshaven idiots in beat up old trucks, I'd be concerned driving one. (Yes, America, I'm talking about you.)
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)those gap-toothed idiots down the road.
RVN VET71
(2,698 posts)He's a bike-rider and every once in a while he'll put up a post beginning "This doesn't happen all that often around here, but it does happen" and detailing how he or a friend were driven off the road by one of the single-digit IQ folks driving a truck. Not even once a year, but often enough to make you feel wary of the trucks and the occasional inbred driver.
BumRushDaShow
(129,662 posts)Article from 2016 (diesel models) - https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15345640/an-aixam-to-grind-a-sub-class-of-tiny-french-cars-that-caters-to-drunks-the-elderly-and-kids/
robbob
(3,538 posts)Its still an automobile, it still is driven on roads. How does that make it safe for a 14 year old to operate?
muriel_volestrangler
(101,390 posts)when out in public. I'd want the driver to have passed a test.
flotsam
(3,268 posts)than scooters which younger teens opt for. The main factors being visibility and a steel safety cage.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)for smaller vehicles that allow non-licensed operation and no vehicle fees.
tavernier
(12,410 posts)that Ive seen when Ive traveled to Paris on many occasions. I once saw a man whose tiny vehicle was trapped between two other closely parked cars. He went inside a store and came out with two other gentlemen. They picked up the car and moved it into the street without too much difficulty.
paleotn
(17,989 posts)Sorry. Couldn't resist.
For city interiors, where internal combustion engines should be limited to essential services only, it's a wonderful concept.
MineralMan
(146,338 posts)Baclava
(12,047 posts)Solly Mack
(90,792 posts)dalton99a
(81,637 posts)flotsam
(3,268 posts)Your city could set a citywide speed limit of 30MPH to avoid morons running these over from behind. On all major roads leaving the city you could place limit signs where higher speeds are permitted-and these vehicles are not-and perhaps little turning areas for the city cars to turn back. Huge help for traffic enforcement and safety and a great aid to low income and young and elderly drivers. Also those devoted to higher speeds would avoid population centers. A nice way to slow things down and add a sense of community.