Now, this may not be a concern in the majority of the United States, but in cramped European downtowns, where swirling masses of pedestrians, bikers, cars, Range Rovers and buses vie for tiny amounts of space inherited from medieval times, a car you can park perpendicularly suddenly makes a lot of sense. Doesn't matter whether it's a G-Wiz or a Smart. Additionally, they're also usually more fuel efficient.

On the other hand, I did see a G-Wiz take a corner the other day. It was frightening to watch. The suspension provides insight into just what happens to all the discarded chopsticks produced by the city’s countless noodle bars.

It’s quite a challenge to keep one’s imagination at bay when considering the above image. On technical specs, it’s no contest. The car in front is an Ariel Atom, a British-built land rocket with a 300 HP engine, notable for the significant transformation it brought about in Jeremy Clarkson’s face on Top Gear. Behind the Atom is a REVA G-Wiz, an Indian-made electric car for two adults and two children which will very slowly accelerate all the way to 50 MPH. It’s so small, it’s not even a car in Europe: it’s classified as an L7e heavy quadracycle.

Yet consider the drivers: the man commanding the Atom is at pains to look cool in his colored sunglasses and snowboarder hat. Breathing down on his neck, the men in the G-Wiz are dressed in Reservoir Dog suits. And it’s really not that hard to image the child seats in the back occupied not with children but with blunt instruments of terror.

No, one should never challenge men in a G-Wiz to a drag race. Not even if your car will out-accelerate a high-energy proton.

Photo Credit: Máté Petrány