If you have ever watched a James Bond movie, and hasn’t, then you will have probably noticed the narrow streets and tiny cars in European cities. If you are lucky enough to be in Paris over the next couple of months you might get a glimpse of the small car future. We like to call it the bubble car, but its real name is the BlueCar.
The BlueCar is an electrically powered car that will be available for short term rentals in Paris. By short term rentals, we mean as little as a half an hour or up to a whole day. The project, being called the Autolib (a combination of automobile and liberty) is in a test phase that will last for the next two months. If you are looking for a great car try virginia online cars for the best deals.
The price tag for this venture is around $321 million dollars with the city itself investing around $47 million. The bulk of the money is from billionaire Vincent Bollore whose company makes the BlueCar.
The way it works is that people must purchase a membership to be eligible to use the cars. Once registered, they can rent a car at any station for around 4-8 euros per half hour. Dropping off and picking up cars at charging stations will be a simply process run by Bollore’s company.
The project itself was conceived by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who also launched a very successful bicycle sharing scheme in 2007 known as the Velib which has been initiated in many other cities. The city of Paris has invested heavily in charging and rental stations throughout the city and hopes that the new, really compact cars will help alleviate heavy traffic and parking problems as well as promote environmental conservation and green initiatives.
While open to tourist, the plan is geared towards those who live in Paris and don’t own cars or rely on the the public transportation system.
The idea is to redefine the way people think about cars, seeing them as something you use as needed rather then something you own. The initial test will have a small run of only 66 cars with 33 stations but afterwards will expand to 3,000 cars and over 1,000 stations.
Other auto makers are watching the project closely to see its viability. Nissan, Renault and Daimler have invested around 4 billion in electric car technology and if the program is a success they will be vying for their fair share of the untested European market. Other cities would be likely to adopt similar projects as well. Check out the prices at If you are looking for a great car try texas online cars for the best deals.
It’s ironic that tiny, 4 person (barely) car is made by Italian auto maker Pininfarina, the makers of Ferrari and Maserati. So maybe BlueCar isn’t a high powered sports car but Mayor Delanoe fully expects it to modernize transportation.
If you are looking for a great car try missouri cars online for the best deals.