So the fine people over at XP Vehicles have designed what we all wanted as children. Nerf cars. Well not really, they are inflated, but the very idea of driving around in an inflated vehicle opens up the possibility for so much fun. Bump people, no problem its inflated. Not only that but they are super cheap, and electric!

Q. Regarding your inflatable vehicle options, won’t my metal car protect me better?
A. Research shows that the metal in your car is the largest cause of death and injury. The shrapnel, body compression immobility, lung compression, dismemberment and other serious results of a crash are most often caused by the inflexibility of metal and the permanent deformation of the body of the metal car around or into your body. Hence the need for, and name of, the Jaws-of_life.

Q. How hard is it to assemble a Whisper that is flat-pack shipped to me?
A. It should take two average adults, with a high school education, less than two hours to inflate and unpack the vehicle.

Q. Can I get one already assembled?
A. Most likely; fleet departments and regional retailers will be purchasing sets of the vehicles and will likely offer them local and assembled. Ask your local car dealer to carry them.

Q. When can I get one?
A. We expect our first vehicle to be available seven months after we close our current funding round.

Q. Are the cars entirely inflatable?
A. No. A variety of novel materials and systems are used. Some models use no inflatable technologies at all.

Q. Can the cars be driven on the road?
A. It depends on your country and your local laws. Your local dealer is responsible for assembling and certifying the vehicle for your region. If you order a flat-pack vehicle that you assemble, then you are responsible for local certifications.

Q. How much will they cost?
A. That depends on local tariffs, taxes and option packages but we are targeting all vehicles for sub $10K pricing targets with one vehicle targeted at a record breaking low price in the Southeast Asian market.

Q. What is your power source?
A. Massed battery arrays, fuel cells and fuel cell/battery hybrid plants.

Q. What options will be available?
A. ipod mounts & connects, 20 colors, trim, decals, roof, no roof, car covers, solar mounts, stereos, integrated pumps, home connections, GPS, battery clubs, alarms… all the good stuff you get with a “regular” car.

Q. What’s all this about driving them off cliffs and floating them in floods and Tsunami’s? Are they really super cars?
A. The nature of the inflatable construction, on those that use it, offers secondary advantages which are not part of the intended use but which could possibly provide additional safety in such circumstances.

Q. What if somebody stabs my inflatable car?
A. The material is pretty hard to pierce and anybody can stab your tires or top in a “regular car” now anyway. In our cars you can repair them yourself in a short time frame and they have multiple chambers so somebody would really have to go at it.

Q. Can the inflatable version blow away?
A. We have a special ballast and aerodynamic design set of features which makes the car very stable.

Personally if I had to choose what kind of car was going to run into me on my bike I would pick an inflatable one. There is also a significant savings in metal and the reduced weight of the vehicle makes it get much better life out of the battery, but what about safety? According to their site they are even safer than metal and plastic cars. Interesting.

They have several other kind of vehicles they make, unfortunately the site is a flash mess and it is hard to link to individual pages, you will just have to go browse around. While this particular company might not have the answer, (I am worried about the shoddiness of the site), surly someone could build a nice inflatable car that would be as safer than a metal one, and because of its ultra-light frame be very suitable to all electric technology. Interestingly enough they are talking about producing a car for the southeast Asian market, something that might help to alleviate the problems of producing gas powered cars for the region. I figure the fact that oil was briefly 99+ dollars a barrel today will have a lot of interesting ideas coming out of the shadows over the next couple of years. I for one welcome our new super efficient transportation overlords.