My childhood in China involved me riding on my dad's bicycle. He sometimes carried a family of 4 by pedaling. On two separate occasions at age 3 and 5, my foot got caught in the front wheel and we all flipped over and my ankles got twisted badly. So while I love my $48K truck, I have to say that these little cars are luxury for the developing world. We can't compare these cheap cars to big fancy cars. They're meant to replace bicycles, mopeds, or cheap scooters for people working their way up. They're finally protected from weather and far more protected from small collisions.

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

A great (but painful) story - thanks for sharing @GeorgeOu

CNN/BBC: .... but at what cost?

You can't even get a bicycle for $800 in North America, this keeps you dry and that is what it's intended purpose is !

@connorPiper0

2 ай бұрын

You can get a very nice Trek road bike for that price?

@etow8034

2 ай бұрын

@@connorPiper0 Okay you can put your toddler on your Trek bike in the rain, they will put theirs in an EV and be dry ! ...LoL

@connorPiper0

2 ай бұрын

@@etow8034 I agree, but it's crazy to say $800 would not buy you a bike. You can get a bike for less than $250 that's pretty nice.

@yagooatthegoat

2 ай бұрын

Ive see a few import these over there

@hi9580

2 ай бұрын

@@connorPiper0not ebike

This is why I keep telling my folks and friends in the States that I felt liberated in China immediately after only a few days of stay. It's a different kind of freedom that brings me back there repeatedly. It's not "lawlessness"as quoted here, it's a structured randomness called stochastics achievable only in Chinese culture and society.

@etow8034

2 ай бұрын

You can get a license to start a business in one afternoon in China and over 2 years to get one here in North America or you can smoke and drink in public where you would get a fine for drinking a beer in North America ...China has more personal freedoms that you would were get here in North America or Europe ! Would you rather live free 24/7 365 days a years in China or have this silly notion you have freedom to cast a silly ballot once every four years for billionaires to become your government ?

@noseboop4354

2 ай бұрын

Funny you feel liberated in a country that bans this website (KZread).

@DuyNguyen-vi8mg

2 ай бұрын

Tell that to the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities oppressed by the CCP. Here in USA we have morons protesting and chanting death to America with impunity whereas in China you would be jailed. Do remember that "freedom" can easily be taken away from you whenever the CCP feels the need to arbitrarily label you as a spy. Thanks China, but no thanks 🙄

@rudyalfonsus686

Ай бұрын

the more freedom in china is when you visit their hospital. the system may confuse you at first, everything are digitalize and self service, but once you master it, you'll love it. it is fast, very modern, and transparent. and after cured, the hospital's bill will make you feel liberate.

Every income group should have ways in which to live dignified lives.

I believe these are legally classified as electric quadracycles, not cars

@Wigington24

2 ай бұрын

You should be able to register as a motorcycle in the United States get it over with.

@winandd8649

2 ай бұрын

@@Wigington24 Sure, and then drive it between 5000lbs pickup trucks and other cars that even don't need a proper MOT or safety check in many states 😂

@adamn7516

2 ай бұрын

@@winandd8649 How is driving these cars next to 5000lb pickups any less safe than driving motorcycles next to them. You are still safer in the cheap steel frames of these 4 wheeled cars then on a 2 wheel completely exposed motorcycle.

@winandd8649

2 ай бұрын

@@adamn7516 I guess you're right, but at least wear a helmet 😉

@BlisterBang

2 ай бұрын

@@Wigington24 Four-wheeled vehicles can not be registered as motorcycles in the US. The only exception is that weird motorcycle with wheels sticking out the side (kind of like on "wings") for balance; and they have to be configured so only one of the side wheels can be on the ground at a time.

So much fun to watch. Also: that mini Smart #1 looks fantastically cartoonish. 😂

@mem7562

2 ай бұрын

Honestly it feels more like a Smart than a real deal :/ ... they should take notes!

i'm glad you show the cultural aspect and context behind these vehicles, not just joking about it like the typical western media

@wheels2fun526

2 ай бұрын

How can you not make a joke about them. They are rolling pieces of shit.

I absolutely LOVE these kind of interesting vehicles, maybe you should do chinnese farm trucks and farm tricycles next time

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

Great idea!

@DollyBoy_1923

2 ай бұрын

I’ve always wondered about the tricycles from old pictures of Chinese roads. A video on one of them would be very interesting!

@Macc-

2 ай бұрын

Gay ahh goofy ahh vehicles

Grand Tour should make a special with these cars😂

This is one of thr best videos I have ever seen made in China. It shows true soul of this place. So optimistic and about having joy in horrible world. Amazing.

It's amazing in value and a godsend to old folks in rural areas who are not looking for things you are looking for.

Eliot as always love all your hosted show, especially the one you did to northern border with an EV, eyes opener!

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

Thanks, glad to hear it!

this is hillarious! i want one! for farm use only

@hdzy121

2 ай бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/pZt40tOdY5uupLQ.html

Amazing presentation. Greetings from Tunisia.

Basically evolution of the tuktuk, rikshaw, kei cars etc.

north america could never. love this channel

Those wheels look about 6 inches diameter. Very enjoyable video, thanks. 👍🏼

This bringes back Top Gear memories from the Golden age 😅 Super content… you are unique 👍

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 😁

These would be great for "contained communities" like golf resorts where the speed limits are usually less than 30 mph (more like 15 to 20mph). Kind of like a super deluxe golf cart. But for regular driving on roads with big cars and trucks it could potentially be very dangerous, especially considering their almost total lack of safety features... But small cars like this, in general, are a good idea for saving money for the consumer, assuming it had added safety features like GOOD brakes, seatbelts and slightly stronger construction.

@ranjusranjus143

Ай бұрын

These are meant for inner city dwellers....not country freeways or highways

@JustWasted3HoursHere

Ай бұрын

@@ranjusranjus143 Yep.

safer than a bike , better than a 2 cycle eng. no exhaust . for short trips perfect .... low cost and stay dry

I'm enjoying the new Elliot Richards on Lao Tou Le channel!

Stan had the right of it when he said that the government should set a basic set of safety standards. Surely it would not cost that much more for manufacturers to make these very basic vehicles safe. Kind of surprising that the authorities turn something of a blind eye. Will be interesting to see if indeed they do ban them from 2026 onwards. Allowing for cultural differences, people are pretty much people wherever you go in the world. Given how popular laotoule are in parts of China, add in the relevant proper safety features, if you sold these or even set up pay as you go by the hour, ½ or 1 day service, I rather suspect they might be a runaway hit in crowded Asian and so-called 1st world countries. If you give people the choice of having something that just fits their needs rather than what has always been marketed to them as what's a 'minimum' & is in fact far more than that, suddenly they'll go, 'hang on a minute, maybe I'll try one of these instead', & suddenly they realise they have something that they just never knew they needed; landline telephones for mobile telephones after all are a great example. We've given up our landline as we found that we couldn't even remember when we last used it to make a call & almost never received any incoming calls on it anyway. After watching & listening to Fully Charged Show & yourself for many years, I've become much much more conscious of car size and I find myself taking a REALLY good look at what's on the local roads. Even in Swansea, a city that could hardly be considered 'crowded', lately I've noticed a phenomenal amount of really small 4 seater ICE, not much bigger or near to, the same size of a Wuling Mini. So it's not that much of a stretch to think that Laotoule would do well here, in the UK, Europe, and elsewhere outside of China.

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

I think they will be forced into a more legal and therefore safe direction. I also hope these types of vehicles become more popular - I am still delighted that the Wuling MiniEV is one of the best selling cars in the world - so there’s a clear demand there.

@pinkelephants1421

2 ай бұрын

@@electricelliotrichards Agreed. I love the Wuling Mini and the European tiny EV's. The EV car buying public's reaction to them is so counterintuitive to what most people would imagine, given that they quickly sell out. If the oft reported reaction in your videos Elliott, are anything to go by, namely that of freedom, ease of use, & parking, it's one that should readily apply anywhere. A girlfriend bought an ICE Fiat years ago. She absolutely loved for all of the same reasons that people love Laotoule.

omg, i love your quality content mate, you earned a subscriber here!

This is like a classic Top Gear cheap car challenge. God I wish we had classic TG back

My dad drives a $3000 lao tou le and it's awesome for in-town trips

Idk man...$800 bucks? For that kind of mobility? It would make sense depending on where I needed to go and where I lived, especially for when I was young and didn't have money. Also you have protection from the elements..shoot I have a Onewheel that costs more than this thing and I'd probably get about the same speed but more protection.

Absolutely brilliant!

As being said in the video, the vehicle is called “Lao tou le” - means “joy of old/stubborn/disabled old man”. These vehicles are not forbidden in many Chinese cities as they (or the drivers) don’t follow the traffic rules and thus caused too many accidents.

@Gutraidh

2 ай бұрын

not forbidden or forbidden?

@deepseer

Ай бұрын

@@Gutraidh In theory, forbidden. In reality, traffic police rarely bother to stop and detain them, unless in most developed cities like Beijing, or center area of second-tier cities.

I'd buy half a dozen to display in my garden. So cute 🥰

Excellent insight into the real China

Chinese culture is just crazy to us Europeans need to experience it once 😊😂

is it really bad that i like the lao tou le "car"

This is the funest, the scariest, and the freest driving I have ever seen! If they ever sell one here even if it'll never be public road legal, I'll drop the money then and there!

These are not cars, they are luxury scooters.

Stan is epic 👍🏽💪🏾 very good presenter

I have been fascinated with Chinese cars and how weird they can be (90's Guangdong illegal imports for example) and its nice to see a great video on these cars!

15:36 An Aston Martin DB9 as a newborn.

this costs cheaper than many electric bikes in western countries. at $800, this good or upscaled alternative to e-tricycles/long golf carts that are getting popular in our country. Airconditioning and getting protected from the elements is a big plus of this cheap EV over anything in this price range.

13:53 a driving food house，yes this exist in China, confirm as a Chinese.

Isn't the Chang Li basically the same thing as these cars. A lot of car KZreadrs are importing them and doing videos on them.

i remember when you could buy an old vw golf for 3800. Auto too. now it costs £950+ for an old manual fiat.

Those are essentially golf carts.

There are some pretty looking ones,caught a few in ur camera pans

I saw a house on wheels 😂 at 13:51.

@easonchen8591

2 ай бұрын

Lmao

Now this was hilarious ! If these can be had for $/€800 what does that say about the €6000 Citroën Ami 🧐 Coming from Ireland where much of the country is rural and isolation becomes a genuine problem seperated by dangerous roads, there would be a lot of demand for weather protected heavy quads if the price was right. I've seen one too many elderly people in their 4 wheel rascal scooters getting caught out in the rain and children sometimes without their parents diving into hedgerows to avoid the speeding VW crossover around a blind corner carrying that kid's schoolmates.

@NoName-md5zb

2 ай бұрын

It says that ami wasnt build by someone earning 300$ per month

@yun-z

17 күн бұрын

@@NoName-md5zb the slave robots earn nothing

You should really try and do a race day in these. I bet it would be fun... well actually it would be terrifying.

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

Driving it was terrifying enough...

Slow speed streets -- allow this freedom and human density....

Definitely wont be able to climb a 50m 12 degree incline I have to take everyday.... Bummer. In spite of this, I love it if it can jack up the safety to 2.5/5.0 !!

@carkawalakhatulistiwa

2 ай бұрын

If you live in Dutch or Finland or Belarus is not big problem

I love the big smiling face

You can probably drive this INTO Walmart in America. Probably fits between the aisles.

@markuc

Ай бұрын

Might not fit most Walmart customers though. At least not two in a row...

Its a motorbike with shell 😅

I like that your co-host wears pajamas

They are vehicles that do the job at an affordable price and much less pollution.

For that price, that is a bargain

Costs less than a decent bicycle, I wouldn't complain at all. It'd be a great alternative to scooters in India

Easy point A to point B mini car

14:37 The price of this Wuling license plate is many times that of the car.

Ridiculous but so much fun.

I want

Amazing 🤩 Truly shows that electric transport is by far the most affordable way of getting around ⚡🔋🚗🔌 Keep up the great work in bringing us these stories of cars few in the West have heard of!

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

Agreed fully! Whatever it is-just make sure it’s electric

I like them but the issue with all small EV’s now is that they drive on the pedestrian side walk. You walk and suddenly someone blow the horn behind you.

This things are exported to the Philippines, the popular one is the 3 wheel version, and yes any age can drive them without license they drive in the fast lane and changing lanes like a psycho causing accidents.

This could bring mobility revolution to Africa. That itself is however a national security risk to the US.

Just imagine have an accident on one of those toys.

A cultural bridge

Old can also afford and enjoy China Dream not just the Yuppie.

They would be more interesting if they had gas powered motorcycle engines.

I want to be Stan’s friend

Still vastly safer than an electric scooter bike for about the same price.

Why the Narrator sound like Kai W?

Golf cart for the rich, and some thing for the poor, is fare.

There were a lot of jokes about Japanese cars when the began conquering the American market and you see the results

By “illegal”, does he mean, not street legal?

I would like a small car, but even these are just way too small...

I would have liked if you had share there contact I'm trying to get a enclosed mobility scoooter

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

You can find them on aliexpress

@REALVIBESTV

2 ай бұрын

@@electricelliotrichards If you no mind what's their name on Aliexpress

Give it 5 years...

Does it have AC? lol

Golf Cart

Yeah.....HELL NO!

they don't need to be and shouldn't be regulated more than a bicycle would be.

Cart - Rickshaw - Moped - Mini EV. It's the natural progression. Only those backward Westerners would want massive SUVs.

Chinese way to deal with the aging population:

If only doughnut could modify and race these.

@theairstig9164

Ай бұрын

Just need a motor and controller to swap out then take these to a go cart or an RC track. I used to teach motorcycle skills on a RC track

#theskydoesn'tlie These small EVs are so dangerous even the Chinese government is banning them

when (if)arrive in italy, from 800 at 8000. Democratic price!

Get rid of western impact safety mandateress and let those who want safe vehicles make the informed adult choice to pay for them as we do with motorbikes. The nanny state is too expensive and despite nonsense to the contrary all life dies so what is really in question is individual longevity. Evolutions relies on death and the reward for great old age is a slow nasty demise vs. quick and easy in many fatal crashes so let the owner of each life choose how much safety they wish to purchase or install (roll cages etc).

Don't worry guy, poor americans will buy cheap Chinese EV. It's depend on your budget.

💞Thanks💞 🌀☸️☯️🕉️🌀 Sino sphere 💚🐉🇨🇳🐉💚 💙🌀🇷🇺🌀💙 💓🌟🇰🇵🌟💓 💚🌻🇧🇾🌻💚

Just one complaint... wearing the hat while indoors seems very strange Mr Elliot,

@electricelliotrichards

2 ай бұрын

It was freezing cold and I don’t have hair!

What's the title supposed to mea3, before you test it, you are already bias.

Probably the worst cars ever built

They're Golf carts with a plastic body ! LoL How was the gutter oil BBQ ? 🤮

Its a golf cart. This would never legally be on a north American roads This is a Deathtrap and that fiid looks disgusting are they eating dog?

THIS IS CLICKBAIT! FREE COMMERCIAL FOR CHINEESE CAR RENTALS! GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@theairstig9164

Ай бұрын

Sorry, what was your point?

What utter dog 💩 motors 😅 #SKYDONTLIE

It’s good for western food delivery men

Better than any American cars

Garbage cars.