"Imagine: A Street-Legal, Human-Powered Car" Green Car Advisor

Imagine: A Street-Legal, Human-Powered Car

Artist's rendering of HumanCar's people-powered Imagine LMV

By Carol Moody, Contributor

There's no debating gas prices are on the rise, obesity rates are bulging and the environment is suffering, what is debatable is whether a small car company with a unique human approach can do anything about it.

Meet HumanCar, an environmentally and health conscious car company you've probably never heard of -- although it's been around for 30 years.

A little background: HumanCar is an Oregon-based technology firm founded by the aptly named Charles Samuel Greenwood, whose roots are in automotive racing and design. He is the inventor and engineer of what he claims to be the world's first human-electric, plug-in hybrid automobile.

His son, Chuck Greenwood, is the company's chief executive officer.

HumanCar has three models: The FM4 "Troublemaker", a prototype, low-cost, street legal, "Low Speed Vehicle" the company hopes to have in production by 2012; the Rod, a $95,500 hybrid-electric race car whose internal combustion engine is fueled by ethanol' and -- the one we're concerned with -- the Imagine LMV, or Low Mass Vehicle

Imagine is the company's newest, and greenest, alternative vehicle. It's a four-seat, 400 pound human-electric hybrid requiring no fuel, except sweat, and little maintenance.

Power comes from a pair of electric motors that run on juice generated from passengers "rowing" back and forth on T-shaped handles. That's how it rolls, literally. In operation it looks much like an old railroad handcart. Rear-seat passengers face backward and occupants steer the car by leaning in the direction they want to go – which makes getting and following directions crucial.

"You and your family will power yourselves down to the store and back," said Chuck Greenwood. Single folks may have a tougher time although, he said, there is a rechargeable battery so if you just don't feel like rowing you can plug the car and use the stored electricity for your next drive.

With a base price of $15,000, it might seem that the Imagine LMV costs an arm and a leg -- which could be a problem because you'll need those limbs for rowing.

Rowing will clearly save you money, so that could make the HumanCar's price more palatable. Standard features on the Imagine are heating and air-conditioning plus cup holders for energy drinks no doubt. High-tech options include a navigation and communications system featuring voice-activated Internet functionality, an iPod plug-in stereo and a live audio-video chat system.

The look of the Imagine LMV is reminiscent of the Flintstone's car, pimped out by the Jetsons. Unlike the Flintstone's ride, though, the Imagine has a half-ton cargo capacity. HumanCar also plans to offer accessory kits so owners can individualize their vehicles.

The Imagine can also serve as a mobile water pump/purification system and mobile power station, Greenwood said. The human-electric hybrid is capable of generating over 2,000-watts of A/C either from its regenerative brake system or from pure human power.

"The HumanCar in all forms is about taking the party with you," Greenwood said. "People will use the Imagine LMV in yet to be discovered applications creating micro-economies wherever they go."

Greenwood, who likes to think in the long term, has a 200-year business plan and a corporate motto: "whenever you're ready."

And that's the question, "Are we ready"?

It often seems as if our Starbucks society is moving away from hard labor and heavy lifting. Even with the Imagine's environmental and health benefits, will people really buy a car that requires them to be the principal moving part?

Greenwood thinks so and said that HumanCar has taken more than 100 advance orders so far, from people willing to drop $15,000 for a car they'll have to row, row, row.

First look at Imagine's rough body shell, awaiting finish work and power train.

The customer profile, he said, is "all over the map, housewives in Utah, executives in Dubai, national security, military, patriot types and vegans."

There's also interest, as you might expect, from celebrities who, Greenwood said, would rather remain unidentified.

After postponing the car's original launch date, HumanCar now plans a Fourth of July coming-out party.

Greenwood said that customers could begin receiving their vehicles within 90 days of the official launch. We can't help but wonder if that time line isn't a little ambitious, but Greenwood said he's confident HumanCar can do it.

It's easy to jump on the Imagine bandwagon. We all want to believe in something that would make a positive impact on society, especially as we struggle to pay at the pump and fit into our jeans. Greenwood says his human-powered car "will add decades to your life and just make you healthier and happier."

Wonder if they'll write that into the warranty?

It's too soon to predict HumanCar's success, or failure. But as a niche vehicle for the lean and green consumer, a car you row around town seems like a stroke in the right direction.