Electric Vehicles - Some cool things coming!
First, I want to shamelessy plug Plug In America. This is a cool site with lots of great information about electric vehicles. Plug In America is a nonprofit organization based in California that promotes “Battery Electric and Plug-in Hybrid vehicles for the public to drive today.” I stumbled upon their site and was quite impressed with some of the up-and-coming electric vehicles. We all know about the Tesla Roadster, but do you really have $100,000.00 to spend on your ride? If not, then here are a few other vehicles you may be super excited about.
Phoenix Sport Utility Truck
- 100% Electric
- Top Speed: 95 m.p.h
- Range: 100 miles off a 10-minute charge!
- Street Date: 2010
- Price: Not Set
Mitsubishi i-MiEV
- 100% Electric
- Top Speed: 80 m.p.h.
- Range: 100 miles
- Street Date: available in Japan now, maybe by 2012 in USA
- Price: Not Set
- 100% Electric
- Top Speed: 95 m.p.h.
- Range: 100 miles
- Street Date: Currently being leased for testing.
- Price: Test Lease is $850/month. MSRP not set
Increasing Fuel Efficiency with a Plug-In Hybrid
NPR’s Morning Edition recently spoke with Green Car Company owner Susan Fahnestock about what kind of fuel efficiency you can get with a plug-in hybrid. A U.S. Department of Energy report found that plug-in hybrids were showing only a little more than 50 mpg. when the vehicles are actually capable of much more.
Susan explained that plug-in hybrid drivers need to know how to drive in a manner that maximizes fuel efficiency. While it’s hard to shrug at 50 mpg, 80, 90, or even 100 mpg can mean incredible savings on fuel.
First thing you need to do is get rid of your lead foot. Accelerating quickly will cause the gas engine to engage. At 20 mph the electric motor is sufficient. Susan says to pretend like there is an egg under your foot, and if you hit it too hard, the egg will break.
Secondly, resist peer pressure. While you may feel pressured to keep up with other drivers, don’t feel obligated. It’s a balance between driving safely and operating the car so that it uses the battery to the greatest advantage.
If you’d like to tryout a plug-in Prius, we’d love to show you how! Visit our company site to see what’s available and how to contact us.
The Green Car Company in Bellevue Reporter
The Green Car Company was featured in an article by the Bellevue Reporter newspaper.
Busisness owners Don and Susan Fahnestock talked about the kinds of vehicles The Green Car Company provides, as well as what the core focus of the business is: helping fight climate change.
Gas is cheap - time for a guzzler?
Okay, I need to vent.
A guy came in today who owns a 2006 Volkswagen Tdi that gets 42-47mpg and of course can run on biodiesel. He is going to trade it in for a Mazda 3 Speed Edition that gets 14-18mpg.
I asked him, “Aren’t you concerned about the rising price of gasoline?”
He sheepishly answered, “Kind of…. but the Mazda has 268hp and biodiesel is too expensive right now.”
Hmmm…….This makes sense. He is getting rid of a vehicle that gets over 40mpg on fuel that costs 50 cents more per gallon and replacing it with a vehicle that gets less than 50% of the VW’s fuel economy.
What should we call this delusion? “Post declining gas price neurosis”, “Recession Rage”??
And I don’t mean to pick on this poor fellow. In fact, if he is reading this post…..please forgive me for using you as an example. You are not the only one suffering from this malady.
Our local Toyota dealer used to have a wait-list on Priuses and could not move an 8 -cylinder Toyota. Now they are offering a $750 rebate on Priuses but Sequoia sales are on the rise.
Wake up America……gas will rise again. Peak Oil is a reality. And even if the price of gas does not go up again for awhile, what about…
- Global Warming?
- Dependency on Foreign Oil?
- Pollution?
- Conservation?
Just because you have the ability to waste a resource does not mean that you should.
Now many people out there are driving “non-green” vehicles. They may not be able to buy a green car right now for whatever reason. I am not judging those people. There are ways for everyone to be more “green” no matter what car they drive. In fact, being “green” is not a function of what you drive, it is how little you drive.
But already having a “green” car and going backwards is a little sad.
I am done venting now. Thanks for listening.
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