The BMW C1 is back... TO THE FUTURE!

We've been getting LOTS of excited emails on this HOT scoop from green.AutoBlog's Jeremy Korzeniewski.  He's got a full line of pretty images and some details on the possible return of the BMW C1 in the form of the C1-E concept.  My first response is "PLEASE be more than just a concept!"  followed shortly by a "PLEASE come to the USA!".

I'm pretty sure BMW is going to hold this card until we see some battery tech improvements coupled with a couple of years of skyrocketing gas prices.  The C1 was a GREAT, proven feat of engineering from a safety standpoint.  There were only few minor flaws with the old design; slightly poky performance, a tad bit top-heavy & wind prone and a hefty sticker price.  The only MAJOR flaw from BMW was hoping that UK safety departments would bend the rules to allow C1 commuters to ride without a helmet... that never passed, so charging people the extra loot and not offering a solution for helmet hair proved fatal to the C1, living only two years before vanishing from showroom floors.

Thanks to Grant and Fred for being the first two to serve up that fresh scoop!

I'd love to experience the return of the dream (as seen below)

I may end up having to settle for THIS instead.

Rise of the Roboscooters

(Photo source: ScooterInsight.it)

Great news from SYM! The foldaway electric Roboscooter, joint designed with MIT Media Lab and NEXT Consortium, is about to become more than a prototype. Check out this bit of background from CENS.com .

Motorcycle makers in Taiwan have been forced to brainstorm, besides relying on filling OEM orders in rosier times, to come up with creative ways to effectively compete in the increasingly harsh global arena, especially with players in emerging economies ready to reduce costs and margins to paper-thin levels. One recent example of the local makers` innovative attempt is the prototype RoboSooter, a compact and foldable electric scooter.

Three major participants in the joint RoboScooter project recently demonstrated the ingenious foldable scooter in Taiwan, after its global premier at EICMA 2007, the 65th International Bicycle and Motorcycle Exhibition in Milan, Italy.

The main backers of the RoboScooter include Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. (SYM brand), the second-largest powered two-wheeler (PTW) maker in Taiwan; Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) Creativity Laboratory, who aims to generate, evaluate, demonstrate ideas by tapping in-house mechanisms and intensive interactions with industry; and MIT Media Lab, a globally-famous research unit at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology devoted to integrating multimedia and technology.

Look for commercial production to begin Q3 2009! What's so good about the Roboscooter? I think this quote puts it best:

SYM president Huang said that his company, being given significant innovative input by joining NEXT Consortium, decided to design a personal transport ideally suited for increasingly crowded streets, parking lots, worsening pollution, and spiraling fuel prices. "The RoboScooter fits the bill: it is a personal urban transport," Huang said, "which is not only foldable, compact and electric but also an easy link between private and public transportation systems."

The goal for the production unit is to cut the gross weight down to 88lbs with a top speed of 31mph and a max distance of 37 miles... all for under $2000. BRING IT ON, SYM! Click on the CENS.com link above for more info and photos.