Two to Tango
Not to be outdone by their California rivals, a pack of Spokane brainacs have come up with their own high performance, electric two-seater. The Tango, however, is a narrow little wedge of a car.

It's definitely an unconventional design, as if someone took the cockpit of a P-51 Mustang and put it on wheels. Or (if you prefer), as if someone squeezed a Scion xB down to a third of its normal width -- and it miraculously still worked.

It sounds weird, but it's cool enough for proud Tango owner George Clooney. The Tango's manufacturer, Commuter Cars, claims it can do a quarter-mile in 12 seconds. So, people won't laugh long after you leave 'em in the dust. Or if they do, at least you won't be around to hear it.

Geeks show the way
I suspect these electric speed demons are just a hint of what's to come. Apparently Ferrari was humbled by the sight of an electric car out-accelerating its 360. The Italian automaker has announced plans to market hot hybrids by 2015, cut its cars' CO2 emissions by 40 percent between now an 2012, and develop electric cars.

Mercedes also plans to sell an electric car by 2010, which suggests the Europeans are tired of watching our West Coast geeks have all the fun.

All this is great news, of course, but for one quibble. The Tesla Roadster and Tango go for $100,000 each. Ferraris and Mercedes are not known for their affordability either, which leaves me wondering when the heck we'll see a green road rocket that's priced for "the rest of us."

History shows cool automotive technology tends to trickle down from expensive cars to more affordable ones -- antilock brakes are the classic example. But, with my manhood at stake, I wish it would trickle down a little faster.

David Gewirtz is the author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone? For more than 20 years, he has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com and you can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.