Goodbye Old Paint... Hello New Sweetness

Hello Einstein!

Well I finally bought a new ride.. say hello to Einstein, my new Scion IQ. It was sad to say good bye to Ichiro, my old Suzuki... it had served me well for 16 years- I hope his new owner will appreciate it as much as I did. NOTE: I still haven't realized my dream of owning and driving an electric car, but until the car companies make it easier to buy them (Without involving the useless GEEK squad) I am guessing that there is no market for me in them.

Good bye Ichiro!

You can call me Mr. Begley!

My new car? Hopefully!

Well it looks like I am a step closer to my dream of an Electric Vehicle. I put a reservation deposit on a Mistsubishi I EV (MiEV) ES in raspberry red, at the local Mitsubishi Dealer. If all goes well I should have my new car in December/January. First, I have to have the Geek Squad come out and do a site survey for the charging unit. And get rid of some cars I already own. It makes me sad that my faithful Suzuki Swift is one of them, though. Oh well. After that it is just wait for the car... then I can pretend my name is Ed Begley Jr!

Volt VS. Leaf

I have been looking at Electric cars again. This time I looked and did some test drives. I test drove the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf.

The Volt- I cannot get over the sticker price of the Volt- over $40K. But it does have some advantages- Your batteries run down below 50% and the gas "generator" takes over. But i still cannot also get over the fact the GM had the EV1 and the way they got rid of them. GM could have been a leader and chose instead to cow tow to the Big Oil companies and withered away their opportunity.

The Leaf- Me personally I think the Leaf is a sharper looking car. Great lines and such. And it has features that even Romeo is looking for.

But all that being said, Neither company seems to get the fact that putting a deposit down to order a car is a turn off. Just sell me the damn car. Don't take my deposit and make me wait 3 to 6 months to buy my car. Nothing turns me off faster.

Scooters Catching On!!!

Fido... looking sharp!

King 5 in Seattle did a report a few months back on the new popularity of scooters (I can attest that Scooters are fun transporters), watch to the end of the report to see FIDO, an new electric scooter being developed here in Seattle

(en)VISION E V's

EnVision's EV Pick UP... Made just for Me???

A lot has been written about those EV Sports cars like Tesla and the Lightning GT, that would cost a small fortune to buy. But what about the rest of us? Has nobody got the vision to make an affordable All EV for us?
Well enter EnVision Motors- a complete line of EV's that include a mini-van, a cargo van and a pick up! Based in Ames, Iowa, they plan to be on sale in the US by Summer 2010.
The vehicles will be outfitted with 24kWh sodium nickel chloride batteries and AC motors. The company states they'll have a max speed of 75 mph and a 200-mile range. They have on board chargers and can juice up at home on a 110V circuit in six to eight hours. The vehicles have already passed crash testing.
It is getting exciting! I am betting it won't be too long until I get my dream of an EV.

LATE NIGHT TV GOES GREEN

There is a new late night war (not Conan vs. Jay). The hosts of our late night fare seemed to be doing things for Mama Earth.
Fake Plastic Fish has an interview that Dave Letterman did with Captian Charles Moore on her blog. Dave at least asked the serious and hard questions with the Captain. The reason I mention this, is I know this will be the only exposure many in America will ever get to the problem of plastic waste. It is really worth taking a look at.
Jay Leno has been an eco warrier for awhile now. Jay Leno? The man who has more gas guzzlers than god? Well, the argument can be made that Jay doesn't drive the hefty cars that much. And he reuses a lot of parts, as any car guy and I can attest to that when owning a classic car you are dependant on reused parts. Jay, a friend of Ed Begley, Jr also goofs on Ed's show quite a bit. Whether showing his 1909 Baker Electric, or putting up a bigger wind turbine than Ed, he is a proponent of alternative powered vehicles. I know he has a Vectrix Electric motorcycle. And he was charmed by the A2B Electric Bicycle,which also is charming me.
Hollywood Hype? Maybe. But I like to think that these guys are looking to the future. Dave has a son now and probably feels it is important to hand a better cleaner earth over to Harry. Jay, whose wife Mavis is an enviormentalist and activist, must realize the oil is a finite resource and we need alternatives if we want to keep on driving. Whatever the reasons, I am all for it!
Some vids from Jay Leno's Garage



And for the classic car guys:

A FESTIVAL BREAKS OUT WHEREVER I GO

The "Shuffle" Bus -Photo
by Scott Eklund/Seattle P-I

I went to a class put on by Seattle Free School in Ballard today. What the SFS Didn't mention was this class was part of Sustainable Ballard Festival! What fun! I got to go to a great class, and have some fun at the same time. There were some Electric Cars there, so I got to see my Suzki Swift redone in Electric, and got to see one of the contenders for my replacement car- It actually is a SUV style, about the same size as Martin's Toaster, and I got to go to Ballard, which is a mecca for Scandinavian Americans living in Seattle. The class was on Growing Sprouts. Very informative- facilitated by Sarah, a SFS Facilitator. Very cool!
Who knew that Sustainable Ballard would hold a festival in honor of little ole' me? (No, I don't have an inflated opinion of my worth now - do I?) The festival runs through tomorrow

The Next big Think!

The TH!NK electric automobile will be coming to the USA! According to this article by Dan Neil in the LA Times and this article by the LA TImes Ken Bensinger says that TH!NK Global plans on having the cars available in the US by the end of 2009!

I guess Ford at one time owned them, but gave them up.

And folks wonder why Detroit is in trouble!

God Bless the Norwegians

And not just because I am 100% Norwegian origin.

First, they are coming out with the Think! Electric Automobile, my new favorite car, and now in Trondheim,Norway, they have invented the worlds first Bicycle Lift (The Trampe) which actually has become one of Trondheims most popular tourist attractions and has become a success.

The bicycle lift carries cyclists uphill. Inspired by the ski lift technology, the cyclists could be pushed uphill without having to get off of the bicycle. Taking into account the topography of Trondheim, it is no surprise that the idea of a bicycle lift was conceived here.

Talk about conquering hills! If we had that here in Seattle there would be no excuse for me not getting on a bike!

Trondheim is an environmental friendly city that promotes cycling. It has a public bike project were you can rent bikes. 18% of the population of Trondheim is using their bike as a daily means if transport to work or school. Norway aims to raise bicycle traffic to at least 8% of all travel by 2015.

And looking the trampe official website it looks like folks have learned to adapt it to other forms of transport also!

Detroit Dreams and NEV's

Phoenix Electric SUT


The Chickster a la crunchy had an interesting post today- and it got me to thinking about my obsession with electric cars. I have been waiting and waiting. Now they tell me wait until 2010. I have a prediction- that the first motor car company that has enough brains to buy out one of the up and coming electric car companies and mass produce a decent range electric car that can do 55+ will be the one company that succeeds in the 2010 decade. GM Had their chance with the EV1 . But I think their sincerity has gone with the wind with their new entry the Volt. But what I feel more than anything is American drivers are going to have to change their mindsets on vehicles. I own 6 vehicles, from my 1967 Vespa to my 1979 MG-B, all get pretty good gas mileage. I belong to a classic car club, Stratocruisers South, and have even served as their president for a couple of years. The folks in the car club, while being the nicest group of people you could ever meet, are extremely short sighted when it comes to alternative fuels/engines. I desperately want to convert my MG to an electric vehicle, the sooner the better. I know the problems- shorter range, people laughing at it. But there are advantages- no noise, no mechanical problems, no oil changes. If Neil Young can convert his 1959 Lincoln into a Hybrid there is no reason why the rest of car enthusiasts couldn't do the same. But folks in the car clubs just sit and think "I am never going to convert." Well, someday bubba you will probably have to. I just think it would be neat to drive around in my baby and just plug in when I am done.
But back to everyday America- driving an electric or "NEV"(neighborhood electric vehicle) would solve most Americans transport needs- A trip to the store, a quick commute to work, Most of Americas driving is within 2 miles of their homes. I know a NEV would be ideal for me to commute to work in. And for a while one of the electric car makers had a solar panel that you could use to charge your car with that was mounted to the roof of the vehicle. So in effect a cost free way to get around. In fact there have been many very interesting inventive ideas brewing around Detroit and other areas. The one that bothers me the most is HYDROGEN. As in BOMB. I keep hearing all this talk about hydrogen fuel cells, and then of course we will need hydrogen fuel cell stations. Something to give Chevron and the rest a job. But what the hell? we need an alternative fuel car- C'mon Detroit. We are rooting for ya!
WHERE TO BUY A NEV
THE Reva -Bangalore, India
The Kurrent- Designed in Italy and is built in Michigan, USA
The IT car- Delta, BC, Canada
The ZENN car - North america models built in St- Jérôme Canada
Eride- NEV's that look like Hummers~ Princetion MN
Think Car- Snarøya, Norway, THINK North America- Menlo Park, CA
Might-E Truck - work trucks Errington, BC
OKA CAR- Las Vegas NV
ZAP- Santa Rosa, CA
PHOENIXS SUT AND SUV- Ontario California

Vehicles of our future!

The Vectrix Electric Motorcycle

I was wondering about the future again- and thinking what will we drive? I cannot see us driving Hydrogen vehicles that soon. And Biodiesel while a good idea, I think smells a bit funny. Ethanol? Are we really going to grow corn for fuel instead of food while the world is hungry? I am waiting for something electric Like a new Vectrix Motorcycle. "The Vectrix ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle) is the first fully electric bike, it's great for the environment, and its low repair rates are unrivaled. And it goes fast. By fast, we mean zero to 50 MPH in 6.8 seconds." I think this is exciting! There are also numerous bikes like eco bike and I-Zip- not as fast not as long a range but offers a nice commute or ride in town. The scooter set also has choices-Neo Scooters offer a bit more zip than the bike, not as much as the Vectrix- For those who aren't into two wheels there is always your friendly NEV -Neighborhood Electric Vehicle from the Zap Xebra Sedan and the Zap truck. For the more hoity toity, one could go to a Phoenix truck"SUT" or "SUV" the only problem being is that you have to go to California to get one- but I am sure that will change soon. And soon, GM will once again enter the electric car market with the Volt. Maybe they have learned their lesson from the EV1, but I doubt it. We are talking about a car company here! All of these vehicles are Electric and yes they all have range limits. You aren't going to be taking them on a cross country trip. But here is the point. Most all of the driving Americans do is around 2 miles- to the store, to the school. To work. And that is what these ev's are all designed to do. And if we had solar chargers for them- there would be no carbon foot print at all! Of course some will argue "Get A Bike Fat Ass!" And I agree- but I cannot wait until the next generations of EV's come out!

Waiting Until 2010 to buy a new car!

2010 looks to be an important year for cars- EV cars. Eco geek suggests waiting until 2010 to buy a new car as there will be choices then. Including one from Chevy/GM, the company rightfully vilified in the movie Who Killed The Electric Car? My dream is coming true!!! LOL Now all I have to do is get 2 more years out of the SWIFT. Another point of disappointment in cars is Suzuki. They were building the cars with the best gas mileage on the road,The Suzuki Swift /Geo Metro, then one model year after Chevy ended the metro, they went to their gas guzzling SUV's and mid sizes. There seems to be little corporate responsibility in creating efficient cars in either Japan or the US. You can't get Dubya to sign a bill saying the minimum gas mileage is such and such, then the dumb bastard from Crawford says out of the other side of his mouth we gotta do something as the global warming worsens. We have been trying, you stupid hick bastard- Now get together with congress and DO something. Dubya -You are going down in history as the most disliked man in the office. How this man got re-elected as well as elected I will never figure out.