since the rio car has been discontinued, i would like to know if there are plans on new, similar projects. yes, i read the faq but there are only statements about the future sofware development. what about the hardware development? are there any concrete plans to produce a rio car like piece of hardware in the future? or is this really the end and i have to buy one via ebay to be able to use the advantages of open source in my car?

actually i can't believe that no manufacturer out there might be interested in producing a rio car clone. or are there patent problems, so that it is legally impossible to let someone else produce something based on the rio car?