Crave

This next-gen electric wheelchair operates for about four hours per charge.

(Credit: Veda International Robot R&D Center)

Sometimes function can successfully follow form. That may be the case for Japan's Veda International Robot R&D Center, whose electric wheelchair for the immobile and elderly might be giving scooters and electric cars a little competition in the looks department.

The "universal vehicle" Rodem (model number M1-1) operates for about four hours per charge. My favorite feature, though, is the accelerator (of course, in electric vehicles, there are no "ignitions" or "gas pedals"), which a very smart person decided should come in the form of a joystick, thereby titillating the gamers of younger generations. (I also enjoy picturing my 91-year-old grandmother navigating by joystick.)

Of course, the "high" speed of the Rodem M1-1 is 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) per hour, so when it comes to giving electric cars and scooters a run for their money, well, this is more likely to be a toy for wealthy mall rats (they should hire Paris Hilton) than anyone aiming to look cute on the street.

So beyond being electric, what makes this next-generation wheelchair, well, next-gen? Ergonomics. Because riders sit in a more upward position, taking a seat from behind and relaxing forward, it is both easier to mount and friendlier on the lower back--not to mention on caregivers the world over:

When a wheelchair is used, an elderly or disabled person has to go through seven processes, sitting up on the bed, leaning forward, leaving the bed, turning his or her back to the wheelchair, sitting on the seat, sitting up on the seat and moving backward...It is possible to ride on the Rodem through three processes, which are sitting up on the bed, leaning forward and leaving the bed, reducing the burden on caregivers.

Veda International plans to select a partner company to mass-produce these for an autumn 2009 release at about 500,000 to 700,000 yen, or $5,300 to $7,500--a pop.

(Credit: Crave Asia)

What do you get when you decide that a bicycle needs only one main wheel while declaring that the seat and handles are useless? You get the Magic Wheel, which functions like a foot scooter but looks a little like an Andy Warhol installation.

We first spotted this odd conveyance while on our way to lunch, and our initial thought was that this was a little late for an April Fool's joke. But shockingly, we found out it's an actual product.

Despite its unusual design, the distributor claims that it takes only a couple of hours to master the Magic Wheel. At $229 a piece, it costs as much as a full-fledged mountain bike and a lot more than a skate scooter. Though it doesn't look as irritating (or deadly) as Heelys and takes up less space than a bicycle, we'd rather take a pair of rollerblades anytime.

(Source: Crave Asia)

Piaggio MP3 Scooter

(Credit: Popular Mechanics)

I'm loving this Piaggio MP3 scooter that has two wheels on the front. It uses a very trick suspension/steering set up to allow it to lean into angles just like a regular motorbike, though apparently it feels fairly different. The tripod stance also means it stands up by itself at slow speeds and stopped, negating the need for dragging feet for stability or a kick-stand.

The extra width also gives it a lot of presence which should be helpful on busy freeways. There is ample storage space under the front which makes it practical too.

Even though this is from Piaggio, the manufacturer of the original Vespa, the MP3 looks totally different from any other scooter out there, and not just because of the extra wheel. Especially in all-black it looks very menacing and not at all Roman Holiday cute. The front looks like Optimus Prime mated with a Stealth Fighter, and the back looks like a conventional scooter on steroids.

All that and it gets over 60mpg.

This is a great example of a storied company with iconic products in its past not being afraid to experiment and seek out new styles and new customers.

The RoboScooter folds into a compact package.

(Credit: MIT)

At last week's Systems, Cities, and Sustainable Mobility summit in Pasadena, Calif., Raul-David Poblano of MIT announced that the RoboScooter is moving toward commercial production. The RoboScooter, developed by the MIT Media Laboratory, Sanyang Motors, and Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, is an electric scooter designed for cities. The goal of the program is to provide clean transportation for congested urban areas. RoboScooters would sit in charging racks at key points in cities. Users could swipe a credit card, get a scooter, and ride it across town, bringing it to another rack. Once the RoboScooter is put back in a rack, the user's credit card deposit gets returned. There could also be a nominal rental fee. MIT suggests putting GPS chips in the scooters to keep track of them.

The scooter uses in-wheel motors to save weight and space, while making the energy transfer to the wheel more efficient. Because of this design, the RoboScooter can be folded, making them easier to store or drag up stairs. A prototype of the RoboScooter met a positive reception at the Milan Auto Show last year.

(Source: Green Car Congress)

(Credit: Hammacher Schlemmer)

Online stores like Hammacher Schlemmer are turning into little Harrods. To prove the point, one needn't look any further than this two-person, three-wheeled scooter coupe on its virtual storefront.

In addition to a retro-chic design, it has all the trappings of a miniature car: a 50cc air-cooled, four-stroke engine can reach 30 miles per hour on a 1.5-gallon fuel tank that's good for 100 miles with two riders up to 400 pounds. The coupe sports a steel tube frame covered in a fiberglass body and comes with 13-inch alloy wheels, rubber tires, front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. On the body you'll find front, side, and rear turn signals integrated into the headlights, folding side mirrors and brake lights. Inside, the chrome dashboard includes gauges for fuel, a speedometer and tachometer, and there're two-point restraint seatbelts.

At $6,000, it gives those China-made Chery QQ mini-cars a run for the money. And they're cuter too.

(Credit: Drugstore.com)

If there's a polar opposite to the "Aptera" spaceship car from the future, this might well be it. The "Shoprider Flagship" looks like Mini Cooper that was sandwiched between two buses, but it's really a four-wheeled electric scooter.

This anorexic golf-cart rival has a roof, or canopy, for use in all seasons and weather, as well as removable doors, according to OhGizmo. It even has front and rear suspension, hence the four wheels--which, oddly enough, is one more than the high-tech Aptera has.

Yet the Shoprider Flagship's name alone pretty much ensures its reputation as something more likely for seniors than urban hipsters, not to mention that it's sold at Drugstore.com and tops out at 10 miles per hour. (Although you never know.) In any case, we think a better name for it would have been the "Skinny Cooper."

On Wednesday Michael Kanellos did a Crave blog about his electric scooter ride in Austin, Texas, and he showed us the still images. But now Crave has this exclusive, never-before-seen video.

The scooters are being made by Vectrix, which has operations in Italy and the U.S., and are already on the streets in Europe. They'll be sold in the U.S. starting this summer.

You've heard a lot about electric sports cars. Now a new generation of electric scooters is coming to town.

The Maxi-Scooter from Vectrix, an all-electric scooter that can go from 0 to 50 miles per hour in 6.8 seconds, will soon be available in the U.S., Jeff Morrill, director of marketing for the Americas for the company, said at the Clean Energy Venture Summit taking place this week in Austin, Texas.

Like electric car companies such as Tesla Motors, Vectrix is attempting to show that electric vehicles are a practical option for getting around town and that they can compete on many fronts with traditional gas burners. The $11,000 scooter, which runs on nickel metal hydride batteries, can hit 62 miles per hour, go from 0 to 30 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds, and can be recharged in 2.5 hours from a standard outlet. (Eighty percent of the battery can be recharged in two hours.)

It will go about 68 miles at 25 mph before needing a recharge, Morrill said. And, like other scooters and motorcycles, you can store helmets and other items in an empty space below the seat. The bike is powered by a hub motor on the rear wheel.

"We want to be the first zero-emission, high-performance, street-legal consumer electric vehicle," Morrill said.

Besides the electric engine and Vectrix-designed battery, the Vectrix is made from components familiar to the scooter world. The tires come from Pirelli, while other components come from Sachs.

Vectrix started selling the Maxi in Italy last November and two weeks ago in London. Right now, the company is seeking U.S. retailers and distributors.

In a test ride in the parking lot, it was pretty clear the Maxi had some pep. We got it up close to 30 miles per hour before we had to slow down to avoid hitting a speed bump.

Like other electric vehicles, it makes a lot less noise than its gas-burning counterparts. In fact, it makes no noise at all. The word "Go" is displayed on the speedometer so that you know the engine is on, Morrill said.

(Credit: Akihabara News)

We're not quite sure why anyone would want something so cumbersome (and vulnerable to theft) as a CD system for a scooter. But we're not sure why anyone would want to risk their lives on a scooter in Tokyo traffic either. Nevertheless, Clarion has provided just such a product for the Japanese market to be mounted on the handlebar, which Akihabara News calls a "Drip-Proof" CD player--presumably meaning waterproof (we hope).