Microlino’s ‘anti-pickup truck’ is designed for Americans

Micro — maker of those electric bubble cars found in some European cities — has a new Microlino especially for Americans. The all-electric Microlino Spider is dubbed the “anti-pickup truck” and is meant to be a golf cart replacement. No, not for use on fairways, but at expansive resorts and so-called golf cart communities where well-heeled urbanites can retire in the relative safety of walkable villages with low-speed roads.

“Americans don’t just drive large cars. In fact, the US is the world’s biggest market for golf carts, where they’re often used for personal transport within neighborhoods,” says Wim Ouboter, founder and chair of Switzerland-based Micro. “That’s exactly why we created the Microlino Spider.”

“Consider it the antithesis to massive electric pickup trucks — not built for the 5 percent of trips where you need to haul a lot,” says Ouboter, “but for the 95 percent of trips where you are alone.”

The Microlino Spider features an open-door and roof design to make it easy to jump in and out from the sides. That’s a marked departure from the highway-legal Microlino Dolce I reviewed last year, or the slower Lite version that only requires a moped license — both of which you enter through the vehicle’s hinged face to the delight of onlookers.

For the moment, Micro is calling the Microlino Spider a “concept,” but says it’s intent on bringing the micro car to the US “as a more stylish and safer alternative to golf carts, ideal for personal errands or commuting.” It’s now gauging interest from partners such as “dealer groups, leasing companies, and other entrepreneurs interested in bringing this new vehicle category to the country.”

Unfortunately for Micro, Americans are increasingly drawn to larger and more dangerous vehicles. Just about every truck and SUV sold today is bigger than they were 20 years ago. And those behemoths make up about 80 percent of vehicles sold in the US. Experts have warned that the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the risk to pedestrians and cyclists of injury or death.

Micro’s anti-pickup truck may not solve this particular problem. But more small car options is undeniably a good thing in a society overrun by rolling land yachts.