Have you seen those smart little cars driving around the city? They are kind of cute and get very good gas mileage. Of course, most people need a little more space, so what if they had a micro minivan? Did you know that these mini vans circulate in many other countries? They have them in Europe, Asia, India, and in many countries in South and Central America. Why not in the United States?

Is it because we have so many rules and regulations regarding cars, or do people just want more power in their cars? Do people in the United States travel longer distances with more stuff on them? Do we want everyone to have a big minivan so that when they go to the store they buy more? It is hard to say why we are not using these fuel efficient vehicles in our own country.

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on May 11, 2011 titled “GM Bets Big on China’s Rural Markets: Success of Microvans Drives Build of Other No-frills Vehicles for Emerging Consumers” by Norishiko Shirouzu. The article looks at how GM wants to sell 5 million of these microvans by 2015 in China, and do you think they can do it? Well, I certainly do. Apparently according to the article they sold 2.35 million in 2010.

You see, China’s middle class continues to grow. By the way, in China, living in the middle class means earning around $1500 a year, so that’s a lot different than here in the US, but now there’s something like 500 million people in China. Interestingly, these microvan-type concepts are not only hot items in China, but also in India, where Tata Motors recently announced the new Magic IRIS as a replacement for all those 3-wheelers people now drive to transport their goods.

In the city I live in, it is legal to drive your golf cart on the road, and we have oversized bike lanes that allow people to do this. In fact, it’s a bit of fun in the bike lane, it has a picture of a bike stamped on it, along with a picture of a golf cart. It’s pretty fun actually, but it works. People take their golf carts to the grocery store, to Starbucks, and even through fast food, it works.

If people only have to drive short distances, why do they need a big car and why do they need to spend all that money on insurance and monthly payments? they don’t. It really doesn’t make sense. So, I dare to ask the question; Why are we not selling these micro minivans in the United States of America? American companies are making them, why don’t they sell them here too? If you have the answer to my question, send me an email, in the meantime, consider all this and think about it.