The Future of Minicars?

An article found on the Reuters website Friday, talked about the future of minicars. A company in California, known as Zap tried to order minicars from DaimlerChrysler, but the auto giant said no thanks. Instead, Zap turned to a Brazilian company and ordered 50,000 microcars called Obvios. The Obvio is very similar to the minis found in Japan and Europe. They are a ridiculously small city car that is a three passenger, and equipped with a huge 1.6 liter 170 horse four cylinder motor that is designed to go 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. Zap has only placed the order for the cars, and have yet to put one on the road. My question is would any one actually drive these cars? I am sure they would get over 40 mpg, but what do you think about Zap's risky purchase, will this mini fad take hold here in the gas guzzling US?