The Obvio?

Could have some fun with...

Obvilivent
Obvious
Ovvioness
Obvioxious

In (obvio)seriousness, this technology has been around for a while, maybe since WWII Germany.

I had family once proud owners of an old Stanley Steamer that could run on coke, coal, kerosene, alcohol, vegetable oil, lard...

A driver and/or passenger must need to be somewhat

oblivious

to the fact that this car is really tiny and may not offer much protection in case of an accident. You'd be crushed like a bug if you were hit by an suv.

I didn't know this was a new version of old tech. Maybe the electric option is new.

With maximum speed of 45, they don't recommend Interstate driving. That variable gear thingy sounds interesting though - is that new?

But think of the pollution and congestion that could be eased if major cities gave a big tax break for their use! Along with a *big* tax increase to any non-commercial/non-emergency vehicle that weighed more and/or polluted more :) And if you've ever suffered through the twice-daily "rush" hours common around here, you'd know that 45 mph is about double the average speed for most of the commute!

Dunno mechanics, but the gearing description reminded me of the old, old "glide" transmission -- Chrysler? 1950's? I just recall driving a humongeous car with a very smooth auto-transmission, that had the young guys discussing all sorts of guy-stuff about ratio-gears, etc.

I don't know how new CVT is. Mini Cooper automatics have it.

Here is a link that might be useful: mini cvt

It may have been a Chrysler or maybe an Oldsmobile; my family had one about that time. Must be an engineering marvel but heck on repairs.