http://www.commutercars.com/

[JayB]

Much cooler than the Ed Begley Jr. Memorial Golf Cart.

 

0-60mph in 4 seconds.

[Alpinfox]

 

 

I saw one of these in action on TV not too long ago. Very cool.

 

$108,000 though.

[JayB]

Sounds like they'd sell in the sub-20 range if they could be manufactured in the 10,000+ range. Makes a lot of sense for a solo-commuter who lives within 30miles of work.

 

My kind of solution. Innovation in response to market forces vs consumer capitulation driven by punitive taxation, e.g. 3+dollar-a-gallon taxes and LeCar's for everyone, all the time. Drive this thing to work, for groceries, etc and save the big vehicle for long drives with lots of people and/or cargo.

[murraysovereign]

My '87 Ranger P/U is on its last legs, and after considering what I really need in a vehicle for the majority of my driving, I bought myself a Smart a couple of weeks ago. I'm adding a tow hitch and buying a very light trailer that will act as a base for a set of Yakima bars, allowing me to tow light loads when I need extra cargo capacity (rarely) - just add a roof box to the trailer, or bike carrier, or canoe, or whatever would normally go on the roof rack if I had one.

 

Most of the time driving my truck around for the last twelve years, it's been just me and some personal effects, plus a bunch of old junk and recycling in the back that I keep meaning to throw in the garbage but never get around to. So I don't really need a truck for buzzing around town, or up to Whistler, or trips into the Interior. The few days of the year that I actually need to use a truck, I can rent one for about $50 a day. The rest of the year, I'll be getting somewhere in the 70s MPG in a car that doesn't even need a parking spot 'cause I can damn near fold it up and put it in my pocket when I'm not using it.

 

And besides - this thing is damned fun

[JayB]

Sounds cool Murray.

 

Here's another non-enviro-hairshirt electric car: $80K, 0-60mph in 3 seconds, range 150 miles.

 

 

Wired Article

 

Seems like these companies are both fueled by the same combination of idealism and the profit motive that drove the PC through its initial phases of development.

 

This is the first alternative technology that I've been excited about for a while, because I can actually see people wanting to drive these cars, rather than being driven to drive them by the kind of autoflagelletory enviro-guilt that will eventually erode in the face of the ease and convenience offered by a normal car/house/diet/ or whatever else they've castigated themselves into giving up.

 

I don't think these developments will have the fine folks that sit atop the vast majority of the world's oil reserves holding out the tin-cup anytime soon, but if I was in charge of budgeting in Jedda or Tehran I'd start dusting off the calculator and plotting things like population growth versus projected non-state employment growth and oil-windfall-fund portfolio-yields. Might not be a pretty picture in 20-30years.

[JayB]

$108,000 though.

 

Steep, but pretty much every new consumer technology has been brought to market as a novelty for the rich early adopter/hobbyist.

 

I don't think the car as we know it is going to change that radically anytime soon, but these cars are definitely a step in the right direction.

[Crux]

[Fairweather]

Sounds cool Murray.

 

Here's another non-enviro-hairshirt electric car: $80K, 0-60mph in 3 seconds, range 150 miles.

 

 

 

Wired Article

 

Seems like these companies are both fueled by the same combination of idealism and the profit motive that drove the PC through its initial phases of development.

 

This is the first alternative technology that I've been excited about for a while, because I can actually see people wanting to drive these cars, rather than being driven to drive them by the kind of autoflagelletory enviro-guilt that will eventually erode in the face of the ease and convenience offered by a normal car/house/diet/ or whatever else they've castigated themselves into giving up.

 

I don't think these developments will have the fine folks that sit atop the vast majority of the world's oil reserves holding out the tin-cup anytime soon, but if I was in charge of budgeting in Jedda or Tehran I'd start dusting off the calculator and plotting things like population growth versus projected non-state employment growth and oil-windfall-fund portfolio-yields. Might not be a pretty picture in 20-30years.

 

 

I like the alternative-fuels initiative, but in the case of battery/electrics:

 

Most of the 'lectricity will come from here

 

and the lead/cadmium/lithiumin the batteries will end up here

 

and here

[JayB]

No free lunch, but I suspect the waste issue could be dealt with fairly readily by recycling, which should prove more cost effective than extracting nickel, cadmium, and lithium at some point.

 

It'd be interesting to see how the cars stack up in terms of real efficiency, if you follow the energy from turbine to transmission line to miles traveled. I suspect the energy balance is a bit more compelling for electric cars than for Ethanol, which usually yields a net loss when you take a careful look at inputs versus outputs.

 

The energy's gotta come from somewhere, though, and at some point, necessity is going to compel a return to nuclear energy.