................You May Not Know This About Me.................

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.............but I am NUTS for cars.

Not the "see how much horse-brake-power and torque" nuts - but the "how comfortable - techy - and economical" nuts.

I love cars with luxury - cars with gadgets and cars that LOOK interesting.

And these three qualify.

2009 Puegot BB1

Similar to the design strategy employed for other light cars already on sale, the BB1 has four wheels pushed right to each corner. The body consists of an upright box, but it is how Peugeot has packaged it that makes all the difference.

It's an electric car. And it seats four people in a body that measures just 2.5 metres long, making it shorter than a two-seater Smart Fortwo.

And then there's that pug-nosed look. A sharply rising shoulder line runs from front to rear, while the windscreen, inset on its lower edge, wraps around above the front seats and splits to form two bubbles that provide head room for rear seat passengers.

Underneath, the BB1 is a motorcycle-inspired tubular space frame. That's then clad in a lightweight carbon fibre shell.

Solar panels formed into the roof help recharge the BB1's batteries, as well as running the air-conditioning system while the car is parked so that it's not too hot, or cold, once the driver returns.

The two rear seats are more like those you'd find on a motorbike than the classic rear pew you'd expect in a conventional car. The car's banks of lithium-ion batteries are stored beneath them.

To access the rear, Peugeot's designers have done away with the complications of a front seat that has to tilt and slide forward, building a seatback that folds flat into the front seat.

There's no steering wheel, either. Instead, there's a motorcycle-like set of handlebars similar to a three-wheeled tuk-tuk motorcycle taxi.

Renault Twizy E.Z.

The Twizy Z.E Concept is a four-wheeler that measures only 2.3 metres long and weighs just 400kg. The only passenger sits behind the driver, with both enclosed in a protective capsule.

Renault says the car has a footprint similar to that of a scooter, but provides the protection of car-like crush zones and three airbags. The car's 100km range is depicted by a lotus flower display that loses leaves as the car runs out of charge. It can be recharged in three and a half hours. Renault says the open cabin removes the need for energy depleting air-conditioning.

Renault Zoe Z.E.

The more conventional looking Zoe Z.E concept seats four people and is powered by a small electric motor that develops 54kW of power and 226Nm of torque.

The car's roof has a photovoltaic film that both insulates the cabin and recovers solar energy to power the air-conditioning. Another film of polyurethane gel protects the car's paintwork from bumps and scratches.

Inside, another membrane on the dash serves as a touch-screen display, while the interior lighting can change colour to match the tones of the driver's clothes. Vehicle information is relayed to the driver by an animated avatar character that can be male or female, while the air-conditioning can be set to rehydrate the skin, keep out harmful odours and perfume the cabin.

The car's battery can be recharged via a normal plug or fast-charging station. Alternatively, the driver will be able to swap the spent battery for a new one in the same way people change over gas bottles.