A velomobile is actually not all that expensive...

Expensive? If you bike to work, you can collect (more and more firms are conforming) 0.15 Euros per kilometer.
I ride 32 km per day. That is to say that after 6 years, my Versatile is reimbursed through the Ministry of Education. My Versatile then costs me zero Euros!!! Even better: in the long term, it brings in money. That assumes that no large expenses arise and that it lasts as long as ten years. If you buy a Versatile to tour around a bit on the weekend, then it is very expensive. (Unless you find a sponsor -- see also the site of www.velomobiel.nl, service, reclame)
By ordering it (as I did) in June of 2003, I did (and do) run a certain risk. Something could go wrong with the early production runs. But in the meantime the purchase price has been raised by 2000 Euro, which is a windfall for me. So far (at 1500 km) I am tremendously pleased with this velomobile. Not even a flat tyre. It meets my expectations: it replaces my car. I ride with it to the store, to the baker, etc. After 10 years, this yields a profit of around 25.000 euro if I compare it with a second-hand car. I can assure you that this was for my wife the decisive argument for the purchase.