Concentrated coolness

I think the Hummers are cool looking vehicles. If they weren't hazardous to the environment and extremely dangerous to everyone else on the road, I would be totally into them. They look sharp and have a fabulous advertising campaign. Unfortunately, Hummers are hazardous to the environment and a danger to everyone on the road, so I actually hate the things and spit on anyone who is so selfish that they would buy and drive one.

In this day and age the vast majority of Americans could get by with a pretty small, efficient vehicle. The gas-electric hybrids that are starting to be seen around urban areas are a significant step in the right direction. Unfortunately, most of the efficient cars (hyrbrid or otherwise) lack pizzaz. Toyota did a good job making their Prius a lot cooler when they redesigned it last year, but Honda has failed twice with the nerdy Insight and the boring Civic Hybrid. Ford's Focus, Toyota's Echo, and anything put out by Volvo are just not doing it for me.

Fortunately, there are some cars out there that have the cool factor of Hummers and Cadilacs without their unforgivable downsides. I think more American are becoming aware of the Smart ForTwo even if they can't get their hands on them due to American emissions standards. These little guys make the Mini Cooper look huge and even have reserved parking in high traffic areas of some major European cities. There are a couple lesser know cars that are high on mileage and 'cool.' I just discovered the Tango by Commuter Cars. It's an electric car with an 80 mile range, so it's definitely not for everyone, but since it's slimmer than many a Harley it can zip right between lines of gridlocked cars. (That's a legal maneuver in California where they're marketed.) My favorite of all, however, has to be the Carver. It's not in the U.S. yet, but I'm hoping it will be here by the time I can afford it.