A group of researchers and engineers from the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is developing an innovative vehicle designed for its use around cities or small communities. The “City Car”, with room for two passengers, would be powered by lithium-ion batteries and could collapse, then stack like a shopping cart with up to eight cars fitting into a usual parking space.

The City Car is designed more as a service than as an individual vehicle. It could be connected to a network giving the driver access to real-time information, such as route advice in bad weather or traffic congestion conditions. Or it could even alert drivers when they approach the kind of restaurant they like.

The City Car would work similar to a shopping cart or a bike-share program where you return the item to a convenient location when you’re done with it. City Car users would be required to swipe their credit card as a form of deposit. The cars could also be tracked using GPS. To protect privacy, the GPS info could then be deleted once the car is safely returned.