Here's the car my husband wants me to get--when I sell millions of copies of my upcoming book and can afford it, that is...
General Motors has a new concept car, called the "Volt" which is an electric car roughly the same size as the Chevrolet Cobalt, but can run entirely on electricity! "The car plugs into any 3-pronged wall socket and fully charges in about 6 hours", says CanWest News Service. "It runs on high-tech lithium ion batteries, the same technology used in digital cameras." On one 6-hour charge my car and I can travel more than 60 km. That's an electricity rate of 10 cents per kilowatt hour. The Volt also houses a one-litre 3-cylinder turbo gasoline engine that acts like a generator burning fuel to power the car's battery. In "alternative run mode" one 45-litre tank of fuel can take me more than 1,000 km--enough to go to Calgary and back! The car accelerates like a Cobalt, says CanWest News, though that doesn't help me (because I don't know what a Cobalt can do). Plus the Volt can go to up to 160 km/hr. Which doesn't phase me...my current car, Norman, can't go faster than 50 km/hr, or he has a case of the palsies. Time for a new car...only hitch is the Volt is still on "promise" mode. Besides, it is a Chevrolet. And look at it...It doesn't have a "face".
The insurance is bound to be lower too. We might see a young generation of eco drivers on the roads if the "Volt" takes off.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, do you know much about "green" cars? I read something (totally right wing propaganda-- but still) that said the production of the nickle engines used in the Toyota Prius use more energy and waste to produce than a Humve would use during it's lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI thought you might know the real deal since you seem all scientific and smart and stuff.... ;)
Thanks for the link too btw!
That car looks beautiful but have you seen this documentary? It will blow your mind.
ReplyDeletehttp://wizardofcause.blogspot.com/2007/06/electric-car-murder.html
the car does look cool, but I am unable to refrain from saying that the only total lemon I've ever owned was a Chrvrolet. your mileage may vary.
ReplyDeleteRe: prius vs hummer issue: I don't really know, sqt...except that I'd be quite skeptical of a right-wing source. A quick google search drew this counterpost:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/Green_Car_News/Prius_Versus_HUMMER_Exploding_the_Myth.S196.A12220.html...It makes sense to me...
Steven, I'm scared to check your site but will...
And Alan...You said it!!! That scares me too! LOL!
Very cool, although the prices should be lowered to encourage "going green."
ReplyDeleteThe future is here! Lol, that's what I love about your site, makes me feel I'm a bit ahead, all sci-fi and futuristic ^^.
ReplyDeleteThe car looks awesome, hope you can sell millions of copies and get one of those someday ;)
W.
PS: I just found out the other day that you were a published writer, congrats! It'd be a dream come true for me.
I wish I could get your books in my country but I don't think so :S
Nice looking vehicle. Me? I get the feeling that no matter how rich I was that I would drive the same vehicle. Maybe I would go wild hybrid.
ReplyDeleteSqt, the first mistake was reading anything by the right. I'm suspicious of the term "green" cars. It sounds too liberal cute to me. I believe the term means not using internal combustion engines.
We need to use the term, fuel efficient vehicles. I want a car that uses an average of 50-60 mpg. And although the corporatists will run screaming for a Republican shelter, I would also be comfortable with forcing this as a national mandate. While people would scream about their rights to own a gas guzzler, I would argue that in the long run it would lower gas price and free us from middle eastern dependency.
If you want some interesting reading, and I think I will do a posting on this myself, follow this link :(http://itotd.com/articles/205/oil-from-garbage/. It's fascinating. And it makes you wonder why the government isn't looking in this direction. No wait, we know why.
Yeah, the right is still trying to deny global warming. I mean, sheesh.
ReplyDeleteThat car looks cool.I would love one in silver or grey. I am with you in getting a fancy, new top of the line car soon!
ReplyDeleteWell, Norman (my car) is definitely on his last legs--er--wheels...He's making strange noises every time I turn a corner that scares my son (he thinks the car will just come apart eventually...he might be right...)
ReplyDeletep.s. Wonder, you CAN get my book from ANYWHERE in the world! It's called Amazon.com. Just order it and the book will be delivered to you anywhere in the world! :)
So did you get that car? lol, did they even put it into production? I like concepts from camaro and chevy lately. they are cool, and they are green.
ReplyDeleteLOL! ... well, I haven't quite sold my million books yet... so... :) I DID trade old Norman for another car, Chelsea... (an old Acclaim) and I'm still driving the Acclaim (see my post on Butte Montana! HAR!). I'll have to check out the camaro and chevy concepts. Are they nicer than this one? One can always dream... LOL! That's why they're called "dream" cars...
ReplyDeleteYou have to admire all the effort that goes into creating new technology that will help us save the earth and ourselves, in the end. Electric cars are definitely not new, but if this car can live up to the hype, then it would be a big help to the environment. Although, as you pointed out at the start of the entry, it’s most likely going to have some hostility with our finances, haha!
ReplyDeleteIt’s been more than 5 years since this post and electric cars have actually come to fruition now. I’m sure that this environmentally friendly technological advancement, while still in the process of being perfected, will someday be the norm. Imagine all the money you could save on gas if you owned an electric car. I definitely would want to own one!
ReplyDeleteWOW! You're right! Isn't that cool?... Thanks, Naomi, for your comments.
ReplyDeleteIt's been five years and I still don't own an electric car, but I am much closer to owning one!
Best Wishes,
Nina
That is a fascinating car, Nina. And it’s nice to hear that you’re close to getting one! Cars these days seem to come up with a variety of features that makes the old ones completely obsolete. The tradeoff for all these unique features is that newer car models need more maintenance and repairs take longer. If that will give us comfort on the road, then that tradeoff is worth it!
ReplyDeleteEnoch Ross