Bikes & Cars...

In April 2008, upstart car company Think (also spelled Th!nk) made its first move toward invading North American shores with its compact, fuel-effiecient, city-friendly cars. It partnered with several U.S. companies, including General Electric and lithium-ion battery producer A123, as part of its strategy for world domination.

Maybe not world domination exactly, but at least world market share. Think already produces and sells the City, a little zero-emissions, all-electric number, in Europe; it plans to bring the car to the U.S. next year. A full charge gets you 200 km, with a top speed of 100 km/h (that's 124 miles and 62 mph for us Americans).

Many of the City's parts are recyclable, including the dashboard and body panels.The car is made in Norway at a carbon-neutral facility, and the company will buy carbon offsets to compensate for the emissions produced in the process of generating the electricty that charges your batteries. These guys are really commited.

The Think Ox is already in the works for 2011. This basic auto platform can be configured by the company into everything from a sports car to a taxi. The first iteration to hit the market will be a crossover 5-seater the size of the current Toyota Prius. The most important function of the Ox may be to take the EV from cute oddity to "real car" status, with it simple, roomy, Scandanavian design. If Ikea built a family car, this would probably be it.