GM plant closures

Here's a quick little map outlining GM plant closures, in an attempt to keep some portion of the company viable for the future. The map locations also note planned closure dates. Thanks Jalopnik!

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Triumph Scrambler

The Triumph Scrambler, new for 2006, is a tough standard at home either on dirt and gravel or in the city. Sporting an optional number plate indicating a tie to Steve McQueen's racing career.

Coming in around $8,500 new, the air-cooled, carb'd (now FI), 59hp/51ft.lb 865cc parallel twin sits at about 450lbs. It has a 5-speed gearbox, chain-drive and a 32" seat. A single seat with rear rack is optional, perfect for a big ADV-style aluminum box. A 17" rear and a 19" front wheel give confidence on and off road. A 4.2 gallon tank should give decent time between stops.

City cars, three-wheelers, leaners and future concepts

There are quite a few unique lightweight vehicles on the horizon. Many of these vehicles have motorbike-derived engines for higher efficiency. Some are more practical, some well-suited for commuting duties, any of which would be welcome in my garage.

BMW's Clever (Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transportation), a tandem two-seat leaning three-wheeler. The concept is shooting for a cost around $10-13k. Just about right to offset the Chevrolet Suburban.

Here without the skin, you can see the design a bit closer.

The NARO project, from the UK. It's a bit like a pair of motorbikes connected as a tarmac-bound catamaran, tandem seating as well.

The Fiaro Carver is another tandem, leaning three-wheeler. Looks to be very similar to the Clever.

As far as smaller city cars and three-wheelers, I still prefer to have two up front and one at the rear.

Liberty Motors in Seattle, WA has created a classic Morgan-inspired three-wheeler. It runs a modern Harley-Davidson engine for reliability and style, as well as ease of maintenance. They call is the ACE; the American Cycle-car Endeavor. Cycle-cars have been around since the internal combustion engine, though more popular in Europe than the States.

Side-by-side seating for two in an open-air roadster.

Simple engineering, classic styling, hopefully this one makes production.

The high-tech Loremo concept, a beautiful two-seat commuter. It's twin-cylinder diesel engine returns 120mpg with style, capable of 100mph.