Pedal Powered Car

So what been distracting me lately? Alternative transportation...
We all love our cars. But they stink. They are loud. They are expensive. They pollute and they take up a lot of real estate. We have 'smart' cars which do a little less of all this which I think is a great step but not everyone can afford a new $15,000 car.
Biking is great. It's cheap, healthy, doesn't pollute but it has some serious issues. Cargo area, passenger capacity, shelter from rain and it takes work. So what do you want? Perhaps something in between.
I want a vehicle that doesn't pollute, isn't loud, isn't too expensive, fun, unique, doesn't take up too much space, cargo space, passenger capacity or passenger capacity expandability, isn't too much work and has shelter from the rain.
I want a pedal powered car. We have existing technology to make a lightweight frame and shell with some kind of extra power plant other than just your legs. Esthetically speaking the idea of having bicycle wheels on a car body looks weird but not on a car modeled after a 'Model T' with spoked wheels.

Another distraction of mine is the idea of building one of these units by hand. The trick would be trying to use parts that already exist such as bicycle wheels, brakes, lights, horns and drive-trains. Parts that would need to be fabricated would be the chassis, steering, suspension, body shell and canopy. Ideally you would want a nice aluminium chassis with a light-weight steering system with a shell/canopy made out of a combination of canvas and thin Plexiglas supported by fiberglass ribs similar to a tent.
Other technologies to increase practicality could include a launch assist system that gathers energy in capacitors when you hit the brakes. The kinetic energy would be captured by an electric hub motor such as the e-Bike DIY. A battery pack could also be added to the system to aid in longer distance or uphill commutes.
There are several neat ideas out there already: The human car, Light electric vehicles, Four wheel bicycles, ZEM