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HYBRID THEMED

In keeping with the questionably badged Hybrid Jeep Wrangler of earlier this week, may I present to my exponentially growing readership- the Hybrid™ Chevy© Express® Boston Transportation Department van.

Upon further research, this might not be utter bullshit in the same way that the hybrid Wrangler absolutely was.

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However, I’m willing to bet this is utter bullshit in a different way.  25% increase in mileage, but no quote for cost of installation and parts.  Something tells me this is a terrible way for municipalities to increase their hybrid fleet percentages.

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Online research turns up some numbers though- about $8,000 for a conversion with a claimed payback period of 3 years.  That’s not too bad.  And considering the amount of city driving and idle time these vans see every day, I would predict an even faster payback time.  Does this make it worth it, though?

In a city like Paris with serious smog issues due to diesel exhaust fumes, I would say converting municipal vehicles into hybrids probably does make sense.  In urban United States, though, the $8,000 would be better spent fighting pollution in more meaningful ways, like the Green Line Extension that has been delayed so frequently, the original plans are actually written in hieroglyphics.  Bad joke, I know.

THAT FIT IS TIGHT

Adding to my classic series of OEM wheels on non-OEM vehicles, we see here Honda Civic Hybrid wheels (a favorite of my OEM Wheels series) on a Honda Fit.  It’s not even ‘shopped!  Montreal is an amazing city, but this probably made me more excited than anything else.

XJ BRETHREN

What’s that?  Buddies!   When I asked my friend to describe the Globe car he drove to video shoots, he just said it was a small, boxy Jeep.  Naturally….

Jeep Patriot

But no! It wasn’t a crappy “Patriot”.  It was a genuine Jeep.  Color me surprised.  With ever decreasing resources, I bet the Globe mechanics love the XJ for being simple, reliable, and cheap to maintain.

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FORGET THE FCX CLARITY

Get an electric Accord!  Yes, it is a coupe, too.

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I began writing this post to complain about poor electric vehicle infrastructure and how it seriously hinders the feasibility of electric cars.  I mean, look at that! It’s a 110 (120?) volt plug that would take a Chevy Volt all night to charge a paltry 35 mile range.  No wonder electric vehicle sales are still so low in the US.

However, after a minute of using just 10% of my brain (thanks Lucy!), I realized that the future of electric vehicles will never allow for the same type of operation as the gas automobile.  It consists of consistent charging, providing amps here, there, and everywhere.  Charge for 30 minutes when you are in Starbucks, as I am while writing this (minus the electric vehicle).  Electric vehicles won’t travel from full to empty and back to full like their gasoline counterparts.

This is purely speculation, and I’m sure I will be proven wrong in the future, but it provides an exciting theoretical where we can begin to imagine all the future “quick charge” possibilities.  Why not tap into the under-street power grid and provide chargers at parking meters?  Induction charging in the pavement at red lights could be an ambitiously expensive way earn back a mile of range.  Could AAA bring a battery to your car instead of an extra few gallons to provide a quick 30 miles?

AAAThere are endless possibilities to the future.  No wonder nobody knew the profound impact the internal combustion automobile would have on our culture.  In much the same way, we still have yet to grasp how electric vehicles will once again transform the landscape.  Maybe a parking garage investing in slow 110 volt chargers instead of more expensive fast-charging stations is a prudent decision.  Maybe Tesla will look foolish in 15 years for wasting so much capital on their supercharger infrastructure.  Maybe Tesla will set the standard for future proprietary charge stations.

Tesla Supercharger

I will never be the legislator, inventor, or engineer who revolutionizes the electric car with a future charging standard, but I can’t wait until there is one.  It could be you.

HE SPEAKS DA FOOD TRUF

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Washingtonian article

For those of you wondering about the picture, it’s of the Cleveland Circle Applebee’s. I haven’t spoken to Mr. Applebee in a long time, but I suspect that if I asked him why this restaurant closed, he would tell me that too many smarties live in Brookline now.

If those people are going to waste their time at a sit-down restaurant, they will do it at somewhere good. Otherwise, they’ll go straight to food trucks.

WHAT’S “LUXURY’?

According to this article (I’ll wait), American engineers and designers certainly don’t know.

“They’ve never lived luxury. They probably come from a modest family, and they don’t know how people who know and appreciate luxury think and act, or what they respond to. Thinking in terms of the luxury experience totally escapes people who consider luxury dining Red Lobster instead of Big Boy.”

Ouch.

Bob is mostly wrong. He’s right in the sense that to design an American luxury car not called “Tesla”, one must work for an American car company, which means one must live in Detroit, which means one must chose to live in Detroit… Continue reading →