Minicar RSV

The Minicar RSV was a concept automobile created in the United States by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find ways to decrease highway fatalities. The design was picked in 1975 from a competition between Calspan & Minicars, after rejecting unsuitable concepts presented by the domestic automakers. The car itself was completed sometime between 1976 & 1980: at least 14 were produced & demonstrated on television & at county fairs. The program was terminated at the start of the Reagan Administration, and most of the test vehicles were destroyed by 1991. In the late 2000s, two vehicles were found, and NHTSA paid to bring one to semi-usable status for further study.

Specifications

• Doors: 2 gull wing
• Features: airbags; run-flat tires; did NOT have seat belts in the front
• Frame: plastic-composite and steel mix
• Mileage: 32mpg est.
• Powerplant: Honda EF
• Seating: 4 passengers

External links

• "How the U.S. Government Killed the Safest Car Ever Built" on Jalopnik
• Reddit Thread on Jalopnik article