Called a bicycle.

A motor vehicle needs motive power, and significant power at that to move people or cargo at an adequate pace, the power plant and energy storage would be cumbersome to deal with by one person on a dialy basis, especially in ones "office" clothes, and possibly unsafe to store where people are.

A better idea would be to have microcar parking spots where needed.

Even if it had a mower size engine in it, between the fuel, safety systems, steering, tires, and all the fun stuff that engines leak...It'd never even remotely begin to function.

Acrobatic aircraft engines are made to operate in any position. The leakage problem would not be significant to overcome.

The transformer-like vehicle would be possible. Obviously it would have to be activated remotely. Imagine the passenger compartment rolling up over the engine compartment; there wouldn't be much weight involved. The rear wheels could telescope inward up against the engine compartment. Effectively shortening the car to fit next to your front door on a city street. A miniature garage could be created in the wall of a city apartment. Only a person of wealth might afford such a vehicle, but it is certainly possible. By shortening the wheel base of cars by 40%, this would significantly increase the parking space available on city streets. Since such cars would be remotely controlled like the Lexis, the existing spaces could hold two vehicles.

Another variation of the folding car would be to use the DynaCam engine in conjunction with a custom transmission and create a power unit in a wheel hub. This would allow the vehicle to collapse and expand in both the length and width. Potentially reducing the empty space in a vehicle when parked significantly. Perhaps putting up to 4 vehicles in the same city parking space. Parking your vehicle on the walkway to your front door.

Also, if given a standardized stacking profile for condensed vehicles, the vehicles could be stacked in a parking warehouse. For someplace like Tokyo, and when shipping cars world-wide, having the cars stacked takes up considerably less space and reduces shipping costs; which also figures into the cost effectiveness of the folding car proposal.

Are these ideas practical? Paying $500 a month for parking in Tokyo and New York makes this potentially practical.

The folding car is a good idea, but obviously there are many factors to consider.

That is a dang good idea--have a minor fnder bender, get killed--the folding car can be used as the casket--Less people on road--lets start mass producing them today--I'm buying me a 4X4 and see how many folding cars I can put in the ground in one day--SPLAT--another bites the dust--SPLAT--

MIT thinks a folding car is a good idea, too.

http://flickeringpictures.com/2008/03/10/mits-folding-car-stacks-eight-to-a-parking-space/

Can't say that I want one, though.