Autoblog

There is currently a growing list of three-wheeled vehicles set to be sold in America. One reason for this trend is that by losing out on the fourth wheel, the vehicle is officially classified as a motorcycle and is therefore exempt from much of the safety testing that is required for automobiles. Some three-wheelers are more like cars than others, and the Corbin Raven qualifies as rather car-like in its execution. Consider the windshield, which offers some relief from wind and weather. Note the steering wheel replacing the handlebars, and foot pedals as opposed to hand controls. The vehicle appears to be front-wheel drive as well, and offers three-wheel steering. Also of note are what appear to be hydraulic tubes connected to the rear hub, which would explain how the rear-wheel steering operates.

There are many questions that hopefully will be answered soon, such as if heating and air conditioning are to be offered. We don't see a windshield wiper on the concept, either. One wonders what the frontal body work might look like, as well. It should also be noted that this is not Mike Corbin's first three-wheeled vehicle, the first one being the electric Corbin Sparrow. The Sparrow is now sold as the NmG, which stands for "No more Gas". Corbin is known for its motorcycle accessories, specifically seats, luggage and windshields. With gas prices on the rise, would any of you be interested in a vehicle such as the Raven, if it indeed is able to reach 100 miles per gallon and sell for less than $12,000?

[Source: Straightline]

click on the above image to view a high-res gallery of the VW GX3

Most of you probably remember the Volkswagen GX3, the German automaker's sensational three-wheeled sports concept that stunned LA Auto Show attendees in January of 2006. After a roller-coaster ride of will-they-or-won't-they speculation, including spy shots of a mule undergoing testing, VW canned the project because in today's litigious society, the risks to the company were deemed too great.

Enter Defiant Motors, an entity that has apparently been set up to gauge public interest in seeing a production version of the GX3 come to fruition. In the email we received from Aaron Mady, the owner of the DefiantMotors.com domain, he states that if there is enough interest, the ultimate goal would be to partner with Volkswagen to market a production GX3 as a Defiant-badged vehicle "so that they will not be liable for consumer education that the GX3 is a motorcycle." We have no idea what kind of resources Mady and/or Defiant Motors has at its disposal, so the viability of making step 2 happen is completely speculative.

We're not legal experts, so we'll have to defer to others more versed in matters such as this to determine whether such a situation would or could work. If you do have experience in this arena, we'd like to hear from you in the comments. And Defiant would like to hear from you if you're interested in parking a GX3 in your garage. It may be pie-in-the-sky, but it sure is an interesting idea, and it's just another great example of the kind of grassroots effort you can mount via the Internet. To Mady's and Defiant Motors' credit: they're trying.

Click on the image above to see our 24-image high-resolution gallery

The Quebec-built T-Rex has been on the market since 1996, and at the recent Montreal auto show the wraps were taken off the newly-revised model. For 2007, the T-Rex ditches the old carbureted 1200cc, 152-hp engine for a bigger, more powerful fuel-injected Kawasaki unit displacing 1400cc and pumping out 200 horsepower. On a motorbike, two hundred horses go a long way – now imagine saddling that with more traction and better stability than any motorbike could and you begin to fathom the kind of performance the T-Rex serves up: 0-60 in 3.6 seconds (in first gear) and 1.3 g's of lateral acceleration. Intriguingly, to get the engines and other components from Kawasaki, the makers of the T-Rex buy the full bikes from the factory, take the parts they need and sell the rest to shops in the US.

For 2007 the T-Rex also gets new lights, new instrument gauges and a covered engine. They also offer carbon-fiber body-kits, a wind deflector, larger outboard storage bins capable of holding a full-face helmet in each and special-order paints.

We got a chance to check out the T-Rex at the Montreal show, and have the pictures to prove it. The blue model pictured is the updated 2007 version, while the white and green ones are first-gen models, both featuring special-order Lamborghini colors for a customer in Dubai.

Check out go-t-rex.com for more details.

Iconic U.S. bike-builder Harley-Davidson, Inc. (ticker symbol: HOG) announced Friday that it will develop a range of Harley-branded three-wheeled 'trikes.' The company is partnering with South Dakota's Lehman Trikes (the self-proclaimed 'Leader of the Three World') to build Harley trikes based on its motorcycles, like the aftermarket Lehman Renegade touring model shown above. The new trikes will be sold through Harley dealers.

Lehman already builds three-wheeled conversions of Harley-Davidson, Honda and Suzuki bikes, among others.

Looks to us like Harley is covering its bets as its core demographic gets ever older...

[Source: Reuters]

When two wheels isn't enough and four is too many


Thoroughbred Motorsports, a subsidiary of trike conversion producer Motor Trike, is developing a trike from the ground up called the Stallion that will be available in the fall. The Stallion will feature a frame and suspension designed completely in-house by Motor Trike engineers, and will be powered by a 2.3-liter Ford four-cylinder engine.

The engine will produce 150 horsepower and 160 ft-lbs. of torque, which Thoroughbred says will give the Stallion the power-to-weight ration of a Corvette. Unlike a standard trike conversion, the Stallion will feature a Ford 5-speed automatic transmission and a steering wheel instead of handle bars. The "dash" will also have air conditioning and heat for both the front and rear passengers, who ride the Stallion on tandem leather seats.

The Stallion also has an 11-gallon fuel tank, which is much larger than what most motorcycles carry. Its fuel economy should also be excellent compared to most cars, which means cross-country trips can be made in comfort comparable to that of a four-wheeled machine, while still retaining that wind-in-your-hair-and-bugs-in-your-teeth charm of a motorcycle.

Thanks for the trike tip, James!

(You'll find more pics of the Stallion after the jump)

[Source: Motor Trike]

Sadly, Volkswagen looks ready to pull the plug on its GX3 project, which only weeks ago looked set to put the three-wheeled star of this year's L.A. Auto Show in U.S. showrooms by 2007. AutoWeek reports that concerns about U.S. liability laws have driven a stake through the heart of the project, which, although not officially dead, is at best on life-support.

Although the trike would have been classified as a motorcycle, with safety standards vastly different than an automobile's, it sounds like VW lawyers are concerned that the GX3 was just too car-like for (their) comfort.

We really can't blame VW, but we'd sure like to blame somebody... a few staffers are ready to hold a candlelight vigil in hopes that the German automaker will have a change of heart.

[Sources: AutoWeek; Volkswagen]

Volkswagen's shocking GX3, the California penned roadster-cum-motorcycle that rocked the Los Angeles Auto Show is likely to shake up the North American car market like few vehicles have in recent years -- provided it's a success. Many other world markets have a goodly number of oddball, small volume vehicles like the GX3 -- Britain and Japan come immediately to mind. But in the U.S., unorthodox offerings have largely been confined to the margins of the market, fringe bets by fringe players. VW's GX3 has the potential to turn that convention on its head.

But if it sees production (as it looks as if it will), the automaker may pick an equally unconventional manner in which to launch the trick trike -- a "junior brand" legally separated from the parent company. According to Automobile Magazine, there are those within the VW fold who "... have concerns about handling, roadholding, and controlability and who question the appeal of the vehicle to U.S. buyers." This has a few around Autoblog Towers thinking that VW is fearful of America's reputation as a sue-happy, litigious people. Given the GX3's minimalist ethos (which brooms such items as air bags, a windshield or electronic aids), this could be a legitimate worry, even if the GX3 is legally classified as a motorcycle. Rumored suspension and steering fiddling by Lotus may go a long way towards convincing sportscar and bike buffs, but the British legend's involvement is unlikely to sway the company's hardnosed legal teams.

If the GX3 is green-lighted, Volkswagen sees the potential for 10,000 units/year and could have examples in dealerships late next year. Of course, it remains to be seen whose flag is flying out front.

Our thoughts? Provided the GX3 is as good as it has the potential to be, our advice to Bernhard's boys is: "If you build it, they will come."

[Source: Automobile Magazine; Volkswagen]

BusinessWeek Magazine recently weighed in on 'Skipee', the three-wheeler concept seen here, designed by Australian Dimitrios Scoutas.

As an environmentally friendly proposition, Scoutas envisions his curious trike as an alternative form of transportation produced primarily from recycled materials, with a battery-powered motor contained within the rear wheel.

Skipee debuted as part of the 'Forecast Motors' exhibit by the Monash University Art Design Faculty at the Melbourne International Motor Show. Other displays by Monash included the Tribe and the Triad 2-seater sports car.

[Source: gizmag via BusinessWeek]

This odd duck is a 1980 Freeway II Deluxe, a single-cylinder gas miser engineered by Minnesota-based High Mileage Vehicles Corp. (HMV). Designed to get 110 mpg, the company certainly paired things down to the bare minimum in an effort to achieve that figure-- the awkward-looking trike is a single-seater, with the bare minimum of gauges and no visible driver amenities, save a sunroof.

The eBay seller of this Kansas-based Freeway II informs prospective buyers that this is 1 of 700 street legal examples built between 1979-1982, and comes with about as much documentation as one could reasonably expect for a vehicle like this.

As of this writing, the litle red commuter is going for around $2,750, and there's not much time left on the auction. If you've an insatiable penchant for oddball microcars, you know what to do.

[Source: eBay]