The Loremo LS from 2006 was a lightweight, aerodynamic, and incredibly efficient car from Germany. It was planned to be released in 2009 for a starting price of 11.000 €. It produced only 50 grams of CO2 per kilometer (for comparison, a Smart at the time did 88 grams).
I got the chance to sit in the concept car at the IAA 2007 and had already decided I would buy this car on day one.
Then the financial crisis came and the project didn't get enough funding. By July 2010 the company had just 50 euros left in its bank account. The prototype was handed over to a car workshop to pay off a debt. The factory that was supposed to build these cars never opened.
This car would have been absolutely perfect today. People are willing to pay good money for fuel efficiency right now. It still makes me sad that this project never made it into production.
by dark-cosmos