small

BIBS IG

A man with a huge smile on his face zoomed past me in his tiny green car, which rounded the corner on three wheels. The car was cute and weird and edgy, and it might just be the wave of the future. Tiny is trendy.

In an era of 50-inch televisions, McMansion homes, and supersize meals, how can this be? According to Kathryn Porter, author of Too Much Stuff: Decluttering Your Heart and Home (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2006), we may finally be burdened by our many possessions. Whatever the motivation, many people are trying to reduce their impact on Earth—and they want to have fun doing it, which may be the real reason that little is huge.

TRANSPORTATION Three-wheel micro cars, such as the build-it-yourself Trimuter, may look odd, but they have been around since the birth of motoring. Karl Benz created one in 1886 before turning to the four-wheel vehicles that bear his name. In crowded cities where parking is next to impossible, micro cars are all the rage. As gasoline

–Robert Q. Riley Enterprises, LLC

The three-wheel Trimuter

prices climb, their fuel efficiency may soon bring them to a showroom near you.

Four wheels have certainly not fallen out of favor, but they, too, are shrinking. Carmakers are finally giving us a choice of fast, good-looking, fuel-efficient subcompacts, such as