Minicar RSV

The Minicar RSV was a concept automobile created in the United States and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find ways to decrease highway fatalities. A contract was awarded in 1975 to independent firms Calspan & Minicars, after rejecting unsuitable concepts presented by much larger automakers, including Ford and Volkswagen. The car itself was completed sometime between 1976 & 1980: at least 10 were produced & demonstrated on television & at county fairs. The program was terminated in January 1981, 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.^[1]

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: 1.6-liter Honda EF
Seating: 4 passengers

References

^ Hyde, Justin (27 May 2010). "How The U.S. Government Killed The Safest Car Ever Built". Jalopnik. G/O Media Inc. Retrieved 16 December 2022.

External links

Production and testing of RSV mini cars in the United States (purchasable video)

This article about a modern automobile produced after 1975 is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Hyde, Justin (27 May 2010). "How The U.S. Government Killed The Safest Car Ever Built". Jalopnik. G/O Media Inc. Retrieved 16 December 2022.

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