ZEUS Nanocar -- small isn’t always beautiful

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The polar caps are melting. Low-lying islands like the unspeakably pretty Maldives, glistening in the Indian Ocean, could soon be underwater. Inner-city pollution causes asthma in children. We need fixes, and we need them fast. This is Canada’s contribution to the looming environmental catastrophe -- the ZEUS Nanocar. Never has anything with ‘nano’ in its name seemed so uncool.

It looks as if it should be towed by something, but it actually balances on just those two wheels -- think of it as a kind of horizontal Segway. The nanocar is described as a ‘zero-emission urban scooter’ (hence ZEUS), though whether it’s meant to go on the roads or the sidewalk is unclear. Neither seems like the ideal option. But it weighs just 150 pounds and is certainly compact.

So far, there are no details on availability and price. Interested parties might like to check out the manufacturer’s website while the rest of us keep looking for more workable solutions. But thanks, Canada, really.

-- Colin Ryan