What’s up with the BMW Isetta Concept, New Nissan Leaf and Why Not Do a Car Project? [Ask Nathan]

    • Is this BMW Isetta Concept the future of city cars?
    • Are you covering the next Nissan Leaf?
    • Too many trucks – do a car project!

The first question comes from a fan who wants to know about the BMW Isetta Concept that’s been circulating.

 

Q:Greetings guys! It’s Mike again! I need to know if you’ve seen the sketches for the BMW Isetta Concept?

Looks cool, but it worries me because it is built to completely eliminate driver inputs. Basically, it’s a robot car. I don’t like the idea of not having a single control for us to use in case of an emergency.

What say you?

Mike G

 

A: Hi Mike!

What you saw was a concept penned by Justin Hyunjung Cho, the same talented artist who penned awesome concepts for McLaren, Volvo and Peugeot – among others. His idea was to create a small, autonomous vehicle that shared a few features with the original BMW Isetta. For those of you who don’t know, the original BMW Isetta was a micro car built with a 236 cc motor, basically a scooter engine, and it featured a front door that opened outward bringing the steering wheel with it.

BMW was one of many companies that built the Isetta and they were sold in different variants (including a work truck) from the early 50’s through the early 60’s. They were very inexpensive and popular as nearly 162,000 were sold.

 

This modern concept is all-electric and, like the original BMW Isetta, its front door opens with the front glass.

Yes, it looks like it would be an entirely automous vehicle. I wouldn’t worry too much about fully autonomous vehicles not having emergency controls any time soon. This model would work with your smartphone, which, in the future, might be an implant.

It would be fun to see an electric car like this that people can actually drive in the nearer future.

What do you think?

N

This next question comes from a viewer who wants to know if we are covering the next Nissan Leaf.

This is only a concept. The next Nissan Leaf will look… different.

Q: Hi Roman and Nathan, how are you doing? I loved your race video with the Chevy Bolt vs the VW GTI. Are you covering the 2018 Nissan Leaf debut?

I am very curios about what Nissan has done and I like your perspective on electric vehicles. I am serious about owning an electric car soon, but with this new Nissan Leaf coming, I might wait before buying. Currently, my bank has okayed me buying an Orange Burnt Metallic 2017 Chevy Bolt EV Premier which comes out to about $42,000 before credits.

Should I wait for the Nissan, or is this a good time to buy the Chevy?

Thanks guys, you’re the best!

Andy from Chico

A: Hi Andy!

Looks like it’s going to be a while before TFLcar sees the new Nissan Leaf. There will be several events coming in the (very) near future. While we’re off the invitee list, we’ll do our best getting that information out – as soon as we can.

N

The last question comes from a Twitter comment sent to me (via: Twitter@NathanAdlen) about our future projects.

Q:Are you guys going to ever build a hot rod or a sports car?

I see you always playing with Jeeps and trucks. Why no cars?

A: Howdy

We did work with a few Porsches and a Lincoln, but you’re right – we need more car projects.

We are working on several special film projects, kind of like Motor Mountain USA and whatnot, but we can always look to the near future.

I’ll bring it up with the team soon.

– Promise!

N

Check out all of the Paul and I had at the track with a BMW!

Nathan and The Fast Lane Car team are here to answer your (reasonable) questions. Interesting and/or entertaining emails will be posted to this column. If it’s relevant in the automotive universe, there’s a chance we may know something about it. The author’s email address and name will be omitted – leaving your initials or nickname, your preference.

From day one, The Fast Lane Car has made it our policy to answer as many questions and comments as we can. We get thousands of emails and comments and feel that, as part of a tight-knit automotive community, having an open dialogue with you keeps things fresh and exciting.

Got a question for Nathan? Drop him a line at: asknathan@tflcar.com.