Так вот, оказалось, что существует такая небольшая фирмочка, фактически, ателье автомобильного дизайна, называемое Fisker Coachbuild (что-то вроде "Кузовного производства Фискера"), возглавляемое Хенриком Фискером, довольно известным автомобильным дизайнером. Этот самый Фискер создавал дизайн BMW Z8, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, DB9 и Volante, так что в своем деле он кое-что понимает.

Недавно, он, совместно с Quantum Technologies основал совместное производство, скромно названное Fisker Automotive. Новая компания обещает выпустить суперэкологичный и недорогой (по меркам сегмента, разумеется) суперкар. Называться он будет Fisker Karma.

Итак, что из себя будет представлять этот автомобиль? Прежде всего, это PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electrical Vehicle - приближенно это можно перевести как гибридный электромобиль, подзаряжаемый от розетки). На сегодняшний момент, сегмент таких машин практически не существует, равно как не существуют и электромобили, которые смогли бы удовлетворять требованиям нормальных людей (к "зеленым" это не относится). Toyota, правда, утверждает, что в конце 2010 года, они начнут продавать PHEV вариант Prius (для тех, кто не в курсе, нынешняя модель Prius не имеет системы подзарядки от электросети), но поначалу эта модель не будет доступна частным покупателям. General Motors грозится в том же 2010 (или в 2011, 2012...) году выпустить Chevrolet Volt, так называемый RE-EV (ох и любят же плодить аббревиатуры в автомире!), который является электромобилем с Range Extender (система увеличения дальности действия). Всяческие авантюры, рассчитанные на людей, которых гложет вина перед всем миром за то, что они посмели пользоваться бензином в то время, как в Африке голодают дети, а планета нагревается до уровня Венеры, я в расчет не принимаю, поскольку это просто нишевой идиотизм, хотя, к сожалению, психическое расстройство под названием "глобальное потепление" принимает угрожающие размеры.

Кроме того, Fisker Karma обещает быть одним из первых автомобилей на рынке с Li-Ion батареями (теми самыми, которые так недавно горели в лаптопах, если кто помнит), хотя Mitsubish i-MIEV, скорее всего, их опередит. Да и Tesla Rodster уже вроде как начал серийно выпускаться (на момент написания этого поста, они уже доставили покупателям первые 10 машин, или около того). В любом случае, проект может получиться достаточно интересный, особенно если учесть, что четырехдверного суперкара с гибридным приводом на рынке еще не было.

Так вот, если отставить всяческие спекуляции на тему, и предположить, что наполеоновские планы компании по выпуску 15 тысяч таких машин в год, оправдаются (хотя остаются неясными некоторые моменты, как например, где взять такое количество батарей, если даже Toyota не может получить достаточное их количество для Prius), то это будет действительно технологический прорыв. Для того, чтобы понять, почему я так думаю, достаточно просто посмотреть на заявленные технические данные (да-да, я тоже отношусь к ним скептически):

Модель: Fisker Karma
Платформа:нет данных
Класс: суперкар
Двигатели: Гибридный привод с подзарядкой от электросети
0-100 км\ч: 6.0с
Макс. скорость: 200 км\ч
Средний расход топлива: 2.8л\100км
Выбросы СО2: нет данных
Цена: $80,000
Конкуренты: Tesla Roadster
Начало продаж в UK: 2009 год
Шансы: Если эта машина действительно появится в продаже и будет соответствовать заявленным данным (в чем лично я сильно сомневаюсь), да еще и будет стоить всего 40 тысяч фунтов (ха-ха три раза), то это будет хит похлеще Prius-a. Но что-то мне подсказывает, что серийного производства не будет, а все дело обойдется ограниченной партией, которую продадут коллекционерам, собирающим коллекцию автокурьезов. Хотя я буду очень рад, если мои прогнозы не оправдаются.

For example, the beginning of the summer had me sucked into Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods. That was some pretty crappy yet fantastic tv which I could talk about for this entire post but I will spare you. If anything just watch Seth Rudetsky's video blogs about it.. HIlarious.

Anywho a few shows I am so happy are here for the summer: Weeds and Project Runway! And, not to deny my environmental motives, I have green comments about both!

First, i have been catching up with this season of Weeds with the help of Surfthechannel-- woo! loves it. In a recent episode, Captain till notes drug dealer Guillermo as "environmentally sensitive" as Celia has a picture of him in Nancy's Prius. Toyota gets pretty good product placement with the Prius-- I mean its no GM and Transformers deal but hey, it's green and I appreciate it... and check out this clever video using Weeds as a Toyota Prius Commerical

It surprises me though, that as many celebs that drive hybrids and support the environmental cause that more eco-friendly product placements do not make the cut. I know back in November NBC did a whole green programming week but that is kind of nothing in the scope of things...

Needless to say I love weeds... and PR! (Project Runway, obvs)

The most recent episode of PR also feature a green element as models chose green, sustainable fabrics for their designers to engineer a cocktail dress from and let's just say some were FIERCE and some were FLOPS.

Examples:

So, Loved Suade's dress and not a fan of Wesley's. most people used that stupid bronze fabric and it did not look good... I also like Daniel's design in this episode! But it goes to show you can be eco-chic!

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice —
I just wear my Wings —
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton — sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman —
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last —
I'm going, all along.

Tonight, on my walk at dusk, I was reminded of one of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems. Pink clouds hovered over the houses, the songs of crickets, tree frogs and cicadas hung in the air, and the deer were out in droves.

There were comments recently on this blog about spirituality. I find I am most spiritual and most at peace when I'm outside. Whether I'm on the beach, in the woods walking my favorite trail or out working in my (over grown!) yard, I find I am happiest when I'm "experiencing" nature. Maybe this is why I'm so interested in sustainability, protecting the environment and living "green." I try to eat locally grown food and I support as many locally owned businesses as I can.

The U.S. Postal Service, which has 43,000 alternative fuel vehicles, is pushing the green movement. NPR reported today that the USPS is taking the lead in looking for alternatives to carbon-based fuels. Yay! I have my eye on a Toyota Prius - so cute and so hybrid!! Maybe next year ...

One of my life goals is to live a healthy, independent, sustainable life. I believe that if  we would all change a little, the impact can be huge. I'm trying to do my part. 

Tell me where I'm wrong ...

General Motors is currently in serious arrangements with around 30 electric power utilities in 37 states and with the Electric Power Research Institute to develop a charging infrastructure for electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

By creating this alliance and decide how the infrastructure is going to be, these will ensure a technology that is implemented homogeneously across the market, becoming more secure, and more reliable to customers because charging ports and charging regimes for the technology would be implemented the same way.

General Motors is aiming for these car-charging stations to be implemented by the year 2010, when their new brain child the Chevy Volt is due to be produced and be on sale for hundreds of early adopters of the car offering.

The goals of developing these sorts of standards are to make it an affordable, reliable electricity source that is weather proof and child-proof and simple enough to be implemented in public garages, curb sides meters and workplace parking lots.

Another very important intentions of the alliance it to make the charging stations controllable in a certain way by utilities to prevent overloading the electric grid capacity during peak hours and challenge the reliability of electricity service.

It would much ideal for power utilities for these new electric loads on the grids for them to demand power during the off-peak hours when the demand is low and in some areas during the off-peak hours also the electricity is cheaper to the consumers.

The problem is that creating this sort of infrastructure takes time and new investment for a technology that is not even wide seen as a real alternative to transportation. Currently there are few options on the area of electric cars and plug-in hybrid, but as the prices on oil and cost of using hour gas car and trucks becomes an expenditure that eats much of our incomes, people would change their perceptions of new technologies that can make them save how they transport.

As for me, I am one of the hundreds of people that are very eager for a mass adaptation in the transportation industry for electric cars, because these give and edge for the transportation technologies and also allow for a big window of opportunity to free the dependence on pollution expensive oil. Electricity most come from clean renewable sources for this vision to work, but that complementations are very feasible and most be put into the hands and reach of all RIGHT NOW.

Resources:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9996348-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

If you're a Sex And The City fan, you will probably agree that meeting Sarah Jessica Parker is like a dream come true.

The starlet, who doesn't dress as over the top as does in the show/movie when she is off-camera, is still as stunning in person in "normal" clothes.

We ran into SJP leaving the George Michael concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and strolled with her down the street to her car.

We kindly asked her for a photo before she got into her Prius (so environmentalist of her! Tres chic!), to which she replied "Sure, if you can take it quick..."

You better believe we were ready for our photo opp!

Can you say.....HOT?

SJP had come in via helipad, and left directly after the show via helipad as well. If you're an avid fan... head out East to the Hamptons to find Sarah Jessica Parker this summer.

They report on the "Best Fuel Economy for the Buck" and provide a top 10 list of the cheapest price per MPG cars, and found the Honda Fit Sport manual was #1 with a meager $464 per MPG ($15,765 price/34 mpg). The huge flaw in this type of analysis is it only compared cars that never leave the showroom. I recalculated the Consumer Reports findings to include cost per MPG after 1 month, 1 year, and 10 years using the US FHWA's National Highway Statistic of 11,766 mi/yr for passenger cars.

The list below gives the ranking (1 -10, best to worst) for price per MPG at 4 times during the life of a car (Consumer Report's showroom,1 month, 1 yr, 10 yr)

Honda Fit manual (1, 1, 3, 4)
Honda Fit (2, 3, 5, 5)
Toyota Prius (3, 2, 1, 1)
Mazda3 (4 , 6, 7, 7)
Toyota Prius touring (5, 4, 2, 2)
Nissan Versa (6, 8, 8, 8 )
Honda Civid Hybrid (7, 5, 4, 3)
Honda Civic Ex (8 , 7, 6, 6)
Hundai Elantra (9, 9, 9, 9)
Scian tC (10, 10, 10, 10)

The only cars to improve with age were the hybrids (Toyota Prius and Honda Civic) and the standard Honda. After just 1 yr the hybrids were at # 1, 2, and 4 ranking, much different than their initial Consumer Reports ranking of #3, 5, and 7. Honda Fit start as the least price per MPG but slowly drift to the middle of the pack after a few years. Even more pronounced, the Mazda3 starts at #4 and ends up at #7.

You can’t assume fuel is “free” any more. But especially when you pack people into the car, or drive a fuel-efficient car, driving still compares favorably to the price of bus and train tickets for nearby day or weekend excursions. We’ve analyzed two road trips from Dallas, taken by three sample people: Patty Prius, driving all alone in her fuel-efficient 2006 hybrid; the Camry Couple in their trusty 2006 Toyota; and the Ford Family, two adults and three children in a 2006 Explorer SUV. We took local average gas prices from GasBuddy.com.

As you’ll see below, taking to the road can still make sense if you have your own fuel-efficient car and you plan to take your buddies or kids along for the ride. But if you plan to drive alone in a gas guzzler, or you balk at car-rental fees, it makes sense to hop on a train or a bus. Frommer’s Guides always have the latest directions both by roads and public transit to the world’s top destinations, helping you decide how best to make your way.

New York City’s great public transit system makes driving a car an unnecessary hassle. Frommers’ book, Great Escapes from NYC Without Wheels (Wiley, 2006, $16.99) offers dozens of ways to get out of the city, including romantic weekends, spa escapes, food and wine adventures and trips to historic country towns.

You can take a gamble on Atlantic City for a good time, and you don’t have to bring the car. New Jersey Transit offers frequent trips to Atlantic City from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan for $29.85 each way. If you intend to gamble, you can do even better with Academy Bus, who offset their $35 fare with $20 credits at various casinos. Or bring some friends to split the cost of gas, and use the leftover cash for another hand of poker. Driving to Atlantic City, including gas and New York City bridge tolls, costs $27 round-trip for Patty Prius, $38 ($19/person) for the Camry Couple, and $61 ($12.20/person) for the Ford Family.

Who knew there’s art even beyond the boundaries of New York City? The denizens of Cold Spring and Beacon, NY do. These two towns on the scenic Hudson River are home to charming cafes, B&Bs, antique stores and a huge modern art museum, Dia:Beacon. Stop by the museum in Beacon first, then hop back in your car for a seven-minute ride to Cold Spring, where the eight-block downtown looks like a postcard of historic Americana. The two towns are easy to access as a day trip from New York, served by the frequent Metro-North Hudson Line, with round trip tickets costing $34. Via car, you will expect to pay $10.16 round-trip for Patty Prius, $15.61 ($7.80/person) for the Camry Couple, and $26.55 ($5.31/person) for the Ford Family.

For more escapes from New York City, pick up Frommer’s Great Escapes from NYC Without Wheels (Wiley, 2006, $16.99).

Washington, DC is a notoriously difficult city for drivers with its myriad of diagonal avenues and one-way streets. But the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia, both covered by Frommer’s Guides, offer plenty of top day trips and weekend getaways that gets you, and your car, out of the city for only a few dollars.

Baltimore, Maryland has always had a bit of an inferiority complex compared to its more powerful neighbor to the south, but Frommer’s has been singing about the charms of Charm City for years. Affordable restaurants, quirky museums, and a terrific aquarium makes Baltimore a great day trip for all ages. To get from DC to Baltimore without a car, your best bet is to take the MARC commuter train on weekdays for $14 round trip, or Amtrak on weekends for $28. Once you arrive, riding the city’s tourist-centric water taxi is a big part of the fun. Round trip driving for Patty Prius costs $6.89 in gas; for the Camry Couple, it’s $10.68 ($5.34/person); and for the Ford Family it’s $18.16 ($3.63/person).

For a weekend away from DC, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown offer three opportunities to steep yourself in history. Take some time to duck back into the 18th Century in restored Williamsburg and Jamestown. If you need to raise your pulse, pop over to the Busch Gardens water park for a few rides on the slides. Twice-daily Amtrak trains from DC drop you in Colonial Williamsburg for $70 round trip per person, and there you can pick up public shuttle buses to Jamestown, Yorktown, and Busch Gardens. Driving to these sites is also relatively affordable from DC. Gas would cost $25.28 for Patty Prius; $38.27 ($19.14/person); for the Camry Couple and $65.08 ($13.01/person) for the Ford Family.

For more top day and weekend trips from the DC area, pick up Frommer’s Virginia, 9th Edition (Wiley, 2008, $18.99) or Frommer’s Maryland & Delaware, 8th Edition (Wiley, 2008, $17.99).

San Francisco is surrounded by charming towns and gorgeous countryside, and driving down the California coast is one of the most scenic road trips in America. You can also tour towns and taste local wines by bus and train—and you won’t have to worry about a designated driver.

Just a short way up the bay from San Francisco is the former hippie haven of Berkeley, still home to a beautiful college campus, extensive parks, world-class restaurants and eclectic shopping. And the weather is guaranteed to be 10 degrees warmer on the east side of the Bay. It’s easy to get to Berkeley on BART subway trains, which run several times an hour for $6.80 round trip. It will cost Prius Patty $5.19 to drive to Berkeley, the Camry Couple $6.16 ($3.08/person), and the Explorer clan $7.70 ($1.54/person).

Head south from San Francisco by car or transit and you’ve got a full weekend of activities in the Monterey area. Grab a hotel in Monterey and hit the aquarium, then take a Monterey-Salinas transit bus down to to Big Sur or on the Carmel Valley Grapevine Express, which runs every hour and passes ten tasting rooms. An MST “Super Daypass” only costs $9 from San Jose. A full weekend costs as little as $33 per person via public transit, including CalTrain service from San Francisco to San Jose. Driving to Monterey from San Francisco will cost $37.65 for Patty Prius, $56.85 ($28.43/person) for the Camry Couple and $96.67 ($19.33/person) in that gas guzzling Ford Explorer! With plenty of wine tasting rooms down the coast and charming B&Bs, this outing may be well worth the ride if you plan for an overnight trip.

For more tips on great San Francisco side trips, pick up Frommer’s California 2008 (Wiley, 2008; $21.99) or Frommer’s San Francisco 2008 (Wiley, 2008; $16.99).

The “Big D,” Dallas isn’t known for its public transportation—but maybe it should be. Recent improvements in the city’s bus and trolley system means it’s possible for visitors to enjoy the city without driving on the wide roads Texas is known for.

Our top day trip from Dallas, Fort Worth has a charmingly renovated downtown, world-class museums and the Stockyards Historic District, part Old West theme park and part living history museum. It’s safe to say that if Dallas is Texas leaping forward into the 21st Century, Fort Worth still has a smiling eye on the 19th. It’s only an hour between the two cities on the swift, efficient TRE train, and a day pass costs only $5/person. When you get to Fort Worth, “the T” bus shuttles you between attractions. The round trip price for Patty Prius costs about $5; for the Camry Couple, around $8 ($4/person); and for the Ford Family around $14 ($2.80 /person).

If you want to extend your trip out of Dallas, getting from Fort Worth to Grapevine without your car is half the fun. Frommer’s recommends the Grapevine Steam Railroad, running a steam or diesel locomotive with vintage coaches from Fort Worth to the Old West town of Grapevine, once daily on Fri-Sun for $14. According to our experts, the railroad is one of Texas’ top travel experiences! However, to return from Grapevine, you’ll need to take a $20 taxi ride to the DFW airport and connect there to the TRE train. To get to Grapevine for the day by car, gas will cost $3.80 for Patty Prius, $6.03 ($3.01/person) for the Camry Couple or $10.27 ($2.05/person) for the Ford Family.

For more adventures around the Dallas metroplex or further afield in Texas, pick up Frommer’s Texas, 4th Edition (Wiley, 2007; $19.99).

About Frommer’s®

The market leader in travel guides, Frommer’s has a guide for every type of traveler—from the sophisticated world traveler to the first-time student traveler on a tight budget. Frommer’s publishes more than 300 guides and sells 2.5 million guides annually, reaching 7 million travelers who count on Frommer’s for exact prices, savvy trip-planning, sightseeing advice, dozens of detailed maps, and candid reviews of hotels and restaurants in every price range. Frommer’s—the best trips start here. Frommers.com is a comprehensive, opinionated travel resource featuring more than 3,500 world destinations. For more information, visit frommers.com. Frommer’s is a registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Frommer’s is a branded imprint of Wiley.

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Once you get past the headline, the piece details what makes the smart car a smart buy for Washington suburanites. In this fast paced city with ridiculous amounts of congestion, having a car that gets 33 miles per gallon city and 41 miles per gallon the highway makes sense (especially when paying $4+ at the pump).

However, the smart car is not for everyone (myself included) and the Post even points out,

If gas were to reach $5 a gallon, every 10,000 miles would save Smart drivers only about $200 or $300 over a comparably priced Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris, which come with back seats.

Many would think this teeny tiny car would not be safe, but it did rate well, earning for its size, top marks in front- and side-crash protection and acceptable ratings for rear-impact protection against whiplash.

Another downfall of the car is its ride -- apparently not very smooth, according to the Post.

While this car may be popular in Europe, which has smaller streets and parking spaces, I don't think it will really latch on in the US. My bet is that the hybrid Prius and similar models will hold their corner on the market over the smart car.

I have to tell you that is music to my ears when gas is over $5 a gallon in some places.  Currently there are no Plug in Hybrid vehicles....now this term is a bit odd, Hybrid should cover it all, but it doesn't.  This vehicle will be an electric vehicle that gets plugged in every night and can get up to 40 miles per charge...then it switches to the Hybrid engine and gets around 100 miles per gallon.  WOW!  I want it now!

For those of us who have a desire to purchae such a vehicle now, alas we can not...but we certainly can modify our current hybrid vehicles to become plug in hybrid vehicles.  A company called Hymotion is planning on selling a conversion kit to augment your existing Hybrid car for $9,995.  There is a $1000 deposit and units are expected to begin shipping in December of 2008.  Currently only the Toyota Prius models have kits but they are working on all the Hybrid models and plan to have them available in early 2009.

I am pleased and excited to see major manufacturers thinking so "green" of late. Maybe something did come out of big oil after all.

            As most may have guessed the most popular car with the candidates today is a hybrid, but its not a Prius (maybe they read my article). Its actually a Ford Escape hybrid, which is the car of Obama, Clinton and Christopher Dodd.

 But something I got a kick out of were the cars that Romney and McCain drive. They seemed to have taken the republican spirit and sacrifice MPG and global warming hecklers for the good stuff. Romney’s toy is a 1962 Ford GT Convertible Mustang with over 400 horses. But McCain may just have topped it with a 3.6 Liter Cadillac CTS V-6. Good stuff. Maybe he has his employees drive a fleet of Prius’s or something to make it up to America. 

Pessimistic: a tendency to take the gloomiest possible view of a situation.

Times are getting tough. People are perturbed. The usually optimistic are beginning to rethink their positions.

• An old friend stopped by today. She is visiting from the Bay Area for a long weekend with her husband. Just before leaving town yesterday her boss at Oracle called her in to say she was being laid off.  Part of a purge.
• My ex has a real estate investment that just went belly up.
• My gig contributing feng shui articles to the local newspaper was terminated because that section of the paper is being eliminated (along with 20 more staff members).
• My investment portfolio is down 22% since Jan.1.
• Food prices have increased 5.3% in the past year.
• Gas prices are $1.32 a gallon higher in Washington state than a year ago - more than 25%.

It's not all bad:

• My laid-off friend found a job in a different division of Oracle and will be able to work when she returns from vacation.
• Many of us are driving much less and much less aggressively, which is good for the environment and our stress levels.  Some of us even have enough spare cash to buy a Prius
• Many of us have returned to growing our own veggies... I've got lettuce, spinach, herbs, and blueberries right now. Beans, squash, tomatoes, beets, grapes on the way. How locavore can you get?
• I still have a roof over my head, with enough rooms in my house to sleep extra folks if necessary. I don't know if I can extend that offer to my ex though... (he still has his own roof).
• The less I have, the more appreciative I am of what I do have: friends, family, health, music, dance, books, children, beauty, laughter. On and on. So much.

"In fact, the Prius sold better in the Golden State in 2007 than Chevys, Pontiacs and Buicks did...combined.  WOW!  I guess all that foresight the American car manufacturers display is finally paying off for them....pause....NOT

James L. Martin, president of the 60 Plus Association, believes the total energy consumed in building and operating a car should be considered alongside its fuel efficiency when calculating the vehicle's impact on the environment.

Martin wrote a commentary based on a study by CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore., that tabulated the energy required to move a vehicle from drawing board to junkyard and came up with a "dollars per lifetime mile" figure. "When looked at from that perspective," Martin wrote, "the Prius and other hybrids quickly morphed from fuel-sippers into energy-guzzlers."

Martin noted that the Prius registered an energy-cost average of $3.25 per mile driven over its expected life span of 100,000 miles while the Hummer came in at $1.95 over its expected life span of 300,000 miles.

You can read Martin's commentary in this PDF. The CNW study is in this PDF.

The Solar Car Challenge, a time/distance race of solar powered vehicles from Dallas, Texas to Alberta, Canada, is set to arrive in North Dakota today. The University of Michigan Continuum, winner of four previous solar challenges, is currently in the lead. Each of the cars must meet a stringent set of standards, closely follow a set of rules and regulations, and qualify for the event in difficult test matches. The race is a proving ground for emerging technologies like advanced lithium ion batteries and solar cells. The cars are highly engineered to be lightweight and aerodynamic. The last solar challenge saw speeds in excess of 65 mph, an increase of 20 mph since the first race was held in 1987. Auto companies are paying attention. Ford and Honda are well represented among the competing teams and Toyota is a major sponsor of the event. The events of the race can be followed on the race blog and photos can be viewed at this photostream.

With solar technology emerging as fast as it is, maybe we can expect solar powered vehicles for local travel soon. Toyota recently announced that the Prius would incorporate solar technology to help power the cars electrical components.

Is it some weird tree hugger site? No there are no tree huggers here. (No offense real tree huggers.)

Is it a blog written by a bunch of nerds? Well kind of.

Is it another "green" blog that gives useless information on eco-products people will never use? Not at all.

Here at GGG we aim to deliver our readers with valuable information regarding everything in the "green" world. We get a lot of hands on access to the latest and greatest green products so if you want to know what the latest energy bill that just got passed is all about or you are looking for information regarding solar power we have you covered.

Now the "green" movement used to be a one of those things that only dedicated environmentalists cared about. Well things have kind of changed just a little...ok well a lot. Today everyone is talking about going green, everyone wants to be energy efficient, everyone wants to have a smaller "carbon footprint", and now everyone gets all excited when Jennifer Anniston buys a green house or Ms. Alba buys a Toyota Prius.

Tune into GGG everyday so next time your co-workers are talking about latest Telsa model you know what the heck they are talking about.

The Bay Area, being in California, sucks. One of the major ways it sucks is the serious traffic problems. If the highways and freeways are the arteries of the San Francisco Metropolitan Area, I'm surprised it hasn't had a heart attack yet. You would think that California, being the home of supposed greenies and environmentally friendly folks, would have decent public transit, but no, you would be wrong. California has a huge car culture, the people out here love to drive (poorly), and can't be asked to take a train or bus. This means all 7.2 million people are on the roads during rush hour, creating a problem of unimaginable proportions.

Much like the rest of the country, the Bay Area tries to alleviate the congestion using dedicated HOV lanes, and much like the rest of the country they allow hybrids to drive in these car pool lanes. The one big difference between the Bay Area and the rest of America is the level of conspicuous "green" consumption going on out here. All of the hippies, and their flower children have a Prius out here, and given the abnormal concentration of hippies, this means there are a lot of Prius' on the road, and since these folks all want their "independence" it means all of these Prius' are single occupancy vehicles. I guess it must make Gaia cry when you car pool, almost as much as when you shower.

Let's get this straight people, your Prius is NOT a car pool. Those HOV lanes are there to reduce traffic, and since all of you nancy boys are driving single occupancy hybrids you're not helping the problem in the slightest. Furthermore, you're not helping the environment. Your Prius get's a lousy 44 person miles per gallon [pmpg] (and that's if we're being generous), my Saturn SL1 get's 32 pmpg if I drive it alone too (actual performance), but given that I regularly carpool my performance is much closer to 64-128 pmpg, and is a SULEV to boot. This means when I carpool, I do a hell of a lot more to reduce traffic, pollution, and gas consumption than you do. Not to mention the fact that, when I send my car off to die it won't leave a lot of nasty reactive battery waste behind, just clean readily recyclable metals and plastic.

Please folks, think of the commute time, the environment, or just our plain good old energy dependence, and get your Prius out of the damn car pool lane. It's for High Occupancy Vehicles, not Keeping Up with the Joneses.

It goes something like this:

It feels, at least here in Silcon Valley, that there is some sort of _shift_ happening. I noticed it when I was out of the country for a month or so earlier in the year. Its this transition--from bags being given out at the store, to bags that one brings to reuse; from high end luxury cars, to small gas saving vehicles; from opulence to reduction.

In the New York Times today there was an article on one of the women who had been a founder of the Kate Spade line of fashion merchandise. The company was subsequently sold, and this person is now semi-retired, living with her three or so kids in a 4 million dollar New York townhouse. What is interesting about it, is the return to ruin of her style. She covered her antique sofas in white muslin and invited her children and their friends to draw on them--she painted dried twigs and strung them with Christmas lights to make lighting for her main rooms and used very cheap sconces from a local shop for her stairway lighting. Stacked vintage luggage serves as a bedside table. Her whole home seemed to be decorated in, and functioning as a "reuse, recycle" sort of home, not the showpiece architect designed sample of perfection, which so many aspire to, and which she herself lived in with her husband (now-divorced) several years prior.

Another article, also in the Times, focused on how even those with private jets are "sharing" them with friends, as one would share a taxi ride uptown.

Okay, admittedly these are very high-end examples.

To put my finger on it, it seems that priorities are shifting which in turn are changing some internal values. The economy has got to be a factor, but its also as if the neighborhood collectively woke up one morning and decided that they had entirely too many possessions and weren't being smart about how they were using what they had.

Trend: not sure what it is, but it feels like there is some sort of values resorting going on...

Should you pay for a more expensive hybrid? If you have decided that all that matters in a vehicle for you is sheer economics than this question is for you. This question can be answered by simple math or difficult math depending on how you look at it.  What car will give you the lowest cost of ownership is the real question. There are a few factors we must consider. There is the initial cost. Fuel economy is huge right now, but not everything and it may change. Resale value will be a big deal as well but is often overlooked. Reliability will be an issue as well.

·         Initial cost – What will it cost you every month? Make sure you can afford the paying the monthly payment. It may save you in gas but if it $100 higher each month in payment it may be too high for your budget.

·         Fuel economy – This one is huge right now and it sounds like it may be here to stay and may even get worse. This is just one part of the equation.  Purchases should not be made on fuel economy alone. What you need to realize is the less mileage you drive the less weight this should have on your decision. The more you drive the larger factor this becomes. The more you spend at the pump the more this will affect you. Please understand that this is just a factor. Fuel economy is just one part.

·         Resale value- This is the most important part that always seems to be overlooked. The majority of the people I have spoken with never consider this. It is hard to know what the market will do in three or five years from now but most cars are pretty consistent with resale value. Generally the more reliable or rare the car is the better they are at resale. Which is why the Japanese makes, especially Toyota and Honda do so well. They have a reputation of reliability. Sports cars tend to do well also simply because there are substantially less of them.  Resale value can be affected by you, the driver as well. Did you keep it well maintained and can you prove it with records? Did you put a ton of miles on the car? Did you wash it and wax it regularly? The better looking that car is the more you will get out of it in the end.

·         Reliability- This is a big issue many people overlook as well. You can avoid costly repairs by just owning the vehicle while it is under the factory warranty but the reliability will affect you when you go to sell or trade it. People will give less money for a dime a dozen poorly built vehicle even if you took great care of it. Buying reliability in the beginning is always a plus. Just make sure you get your money back in the end.

Now that we have discussed these factors let’s apply them to a few scenarios. The number one selling hybrid out there is clearly the Toyota Prius. It will run you anywhere from $24,000 to $28,000 on the sticker. From my research it will take three to six months to get the car and many dealers want more than sticker for them. The cars are decent sized but I find it difficult to see much more car there than what a Toyota Corolla offers. You’re looking at an $8,000 difference. Will this Hybrid save you more than $8,000 in the next few years in fuel economy? Maybe, maybe not, the way to know for sure is to calculate the mileage you drive each week, month or year and divide that by the miles per gallon each vehicle gets and then multiply by the average cost for a gallon of gas. Once you have the calculation then multiply that by how long you plan on keeping the car. This is just the fuel economy factor. Be sure to look at resale value as well.

The Prius right now has an unprecedented resale value. There are many dealers asking more for used current year to 1 year old low mile Priuses. Which means the resale value should be very strong. This can change as soon as gas prices drop however that does not look like it will happen anytime soon. Based on what we have discussed if you drive average miles or less, it is safe to say a hybrid Prius is a good buy. The other vehicles that come in a hybrid and regularly aspirated engines are not near as good of a buy. I have yet to see one improve the fuel economy enough to make up for the cost. These types of vehicles are the Ford Escape Hybrid vs. the Ford Escape, the Toyota Camry Hybrid vs. the Toyota Camry, the Honda Civic Hybrid vs. the Honda Civic, the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid vs. the Chevrolet Tahoe, etc. Most of these vehicles do very little to no better on the highway.  Unless you are doing a majority of city driving you will not benefit enough to justify the extra cost.

                If you happen to drive a large amount miles per year, say 25,000 or more, a hybrid is probably a bad to horrible idea. The reason being, that you will destroy the resale value by having a vehicle with no warranty and a high potential for a very expensive repair. High mileage driving will remove the strong resale value as well. If you are in that situation and you want the best bang for your buck, nothing is better than a three year old Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. Drive it for three or four years and then replace it with another. This will minimize the loss and give you the best value for your buck.

I hope that helps!

When we decided to move to one car, we did a lot of thinking about whether to keep one of our cars, or trade them in on something new.  Getting rid of our station wagon was not a tough choice - really lousy mpg, premium gas requirement, and it was really becoming a money pit at the repair shop.  Depsite being paid off long ago, it was a no-brainer to trade or sell it.  The minivan was tougher.  It wasn't great around town for sure (around 18 mpg despite trying my best), but it did okay on the highway, and was almost paid off.  However, we rarely made use of the cargo space (though its last few weekends with us saw some serious hauling . . . ), it was a pain to park, and seemed just "too much" for what we needed.

Our friends Jim and Diane were kind enough to let us borrow a Prius for a weekend to see: (1) if we fit; and (2) if the Prius could meet our transportation needs.  We were really surprised with how much room there was on the inside, and how versatile the storage space was.  When we ended up averaging 52 mpg or so for the weekend, we were sold.

Not surprisingly, there's quite a demand for the Prius given gas prices, but our wait was relatively modest (45 days from getting on a waiting list to taking delivery of a car) as we were very flexible on color and were interested in one of (if not the) most common option package.  Our dealer was very fair on the trades, and the price of the Prius, so now we have it.  I became a bit obsessive about the whole process, so I promise to refocus on things other than cars for my next several posts!  Now, I'm off to make the 2.5 mile walk home on a lovely, steamy 93F St. Louis Summer afternoon.

(07-10) 20:36 PDT -- Speculation that Toyota Motor Corp. might build Prius hybrids in the Bay Area appeared to unravel Thursday when the company announced plans to start Prius production at a Toyota plant already under construction in Mississippi.

In May, a Japanese newspaper, Tokyo Shimbun, reported that Toyota and General Motors were in talks to build the Prius at their joint-venture plant in Fremont, operated by New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (Nummi). It would have been the first site outside Japan and China where the Prius is built.

A Prius plant in California would seem to be a natural fit because the state is, by far, the nation's largest market for hybrid cars. More than 26 percent of all new hybrids registered in the United States last year were in California, according to R.L. Polk & Co., an auto industry research firm. San Francisco alone accounted for 7.8 percent of the national total.

But the selection of Mississippi came as no surprise to Jim Wunderman, president and chief executive of the Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored public policy advocacy organization. Read the entire story.