Kia Ray is a compact car, currently only available in South Korea. It’s tiny yet can carry a lot so a lot of small businesses have these as a van alternative.
I hate cars. But getting rid of them has a long way ahead and I think this kind of small-but-big kind of car can appeal general public and make cities better.
To me the idea of “fuck cars” is not so much about cars as a concept, but rather the scurge of car dependency.
You don’t want a society built around cars to the point that you cannot reasonably live your life without one.
That said, even in a perfect situation with ample public transit and walkable/cyclable cities everywhere, there will still be people in situations who need a car to get around. And for those people I’d prefer it if they would be driving around in compacts like this or smaller, rather than some of the cross-overs, SUVs and pickups you see today.
Some people will always need a car, and practical compacts like this would be perfect for that role.
@Humanius @praise_idleness That and shared car ownership is an important part of the picture. When everybody owns a private car, everyone has taken on the sunk costs of ownership and feels an urge to drive more to justify it, plus cars dominate the landscape. Having to walk a few blocks to pick up a Zipcar and then pay a rate that to some degree reflects the cost of the trip significantly reduce discretionary driving by those who can walk/bike/use transit.
I live somewhere that very much isn’t car dependant, but there’s still too many of them and it’s still shitty. But I do agree that for those times that they’re still necessary, the smaller the better.
I also live somewhere that isn’t car-dependent (the Netherlands)
While I would like to see fewer and smaller cars, I don’t particularly mind the current state of things over here.