Recent Comments:
BREAKING: Subaru expanding R1e pilot program to NY {Autoblog Green}
Mar 18th 2008 2:17AM 50 Mile range? Close enough. It'd work for about 99.5% of all of my trips - for the other 0.5% I can rent a truck or a van. Looks like a winner if it can come in at $20K or less.
"the range on this is way too low and it's too inefficient and limited compared to competitors like the Aptera."
But I suspect it'll be a good bit cheaper than the Aptera.
Paris 2008 preview: pricey Lumeneo Smera to be released early 2009 {Autoblog Green}
Mar 13th 2008 1:07PM Ridiculous pricing.
Will the U.S. get a BMW electric car? Decision coming later this year {Autoblog Green}
Mar 13th 2008 1:53AM Again, this is all I need:
* 2 seats + room for (at least) 2 bags of groceries
* electric (no hybrid, please)
* 60 MPH top speed
* 60 mile range
* recharge overnight
* price under $20K
...somehow I don't think BMW would be able to deliver that last requirement.
Less is more.
Geneva 2008: Subaru wants to be tops in EVs {Autoblog Green}
Mar 6th 2008 6:35PM The R1e seems to be getting closer to what I want:
* all electric (no hybrid please; don't want the extra weight or maintenance issues - such as having to change oil)
* 2 seats
* room for 2 bags of groceries (at least)
* 60 mile range (sounds like it's got that)
* recharge overnight (check plus)
* 60MPH top speed (?)
* under $20K (?)
Subaru, are you listening: if you bring something like that to market here in the US I WILL BUY IT - and I'm sure I'm not alone.
But will it ever make it to the US. I think most of us in the US who want something like this are getting cynical: it's as if some conspiracy is keeping them away from our market. (not that I'm a conspiracy theorist, but none of the really efficient cars are making their way here)
Geneva '08: Th!nk announces the Ox, a new 5-seat electric car {Autoblog Green}
Mar 5th 2008 3:17AM I only need 2 seats and room for a couple of sacks of groceries. 60 mile range. 60MPH top speed (if it takes 12 seconds to get up to 60, so be it). Under $20K. In the USA. Please.
I don't need a car that seats 5 and weighs 3300lbs. (and I'm guessing it'll cost over $30K)
12,600 people place $99 order for Smart fortwo in U.S. {Autoblog}
May 11th 2007 12:18AM Doesn't the European version of the SmartForTwo get closer to 60MPG? 40MPG is really not that great for a car this small. A Toyota Yaris is bigger and cheaper and gets 40MPG. Even a Honda Civic gets 40MPG and the Civic has quite a bit more room than a ForTwo.
When I first saw the SmartForTwo in Italy a couple of years ago, I really wanted one, but if they only get 40MPG I don't think so. I used to get 52MPG in my Chevy Sprint in the mid-80's and a sprint is a good bit larger than a ForTwo.
So what gives with the mileage?
SmartUSA has already accepted 12,600 deposits for the FourTwo {Autoblog Green}
May 11th 2007 12:11AM It seems like there are a couple of different versions of the Smart ForTwo. There is already a dealer near where I live that is selling them. However, they cost $26,500! which is just crazy. They won't sell many at that price - when I was in Italy even grad students drove them so they couldn't have been anywhere near that expensive.
Now, the Smart ForTwo that you describe above, I understand will be going for something like $16K, but one of the main differences is that it'll have a Mitsubishi engine instead of the one from Daimler that comes in the European SmartForTwo.
I think they could sell very well at $16K if they got better mileage - 40MPG really isn't all that great for a car this small. The Yaris (which is larger and cheaper) gets 40MPG. I was getting 52MPG with a Chevy Sprint back in the mid-80s.
Again, my understanding is that the European Smart cars get closer to 60MPG, but with all the required pollution controls and safety equipment the US version only gets 40. Given that the mileage isn't all that great I would guess that they'll sell well for the first couple of years due to the novelty effect, but after that we'll (hopefully- I'm keeping my fingers crossed) have cars available in the US that either get better mileage than this or are larger and still manage to get 40MPG.
First image of 2010 Volkswagen Lupo {Autoblog Green}
May 8th 2007 12:01AM I wouldn't mind getting one of these "emerging market" ones with 2 cylinders or maybe the electric one. The price is nice. But, unfortunately we'll probably never see them here in the US because they figure all we want is SUVs.
Vauxhall CO2RSA drops CO2 emissions to a cleaner, cheaper level {Autoblog Green}
May 7th 2007 11:55PM OK, so Vauxhall (what a bizarre monicker) is a subsidiary of GM? Why don't we have these available in the US then?
...Oh, it's because they think we only want to drive SUVs.
Idiots.
Daelim Delfino scooter review - 100cc 2 stroke in the U.S. {Autoblog Green}
May 4th 2007 11:16PM Considering that there are cars in Europe (not in the US, but maybe someday...) that get 60MPG, is 80MPG really all that great for a little scooter?
