Cobra GT500

While it may not happen in our lifetime (yeah, you, you old SOB you), it will certainly happen during the lifetimes of the children being born today: Electric cars will get most people from here to there.

And, really, there are no downsides to this. We’ll still have road freedom, but we’ll have no pollution from the operation of these vehicles. Our nation (and nearly all nations) will no longer be held hostage to those with the fuel needed. Because it will all come from the sun.

Meanwhile, we’re busy working on a new sun-ray device that burns off clothes without harming the delish below.

Referenced article

AlterNet: Electric Cars Are the Key to Energy Independence

Via editorial staff

Sweet!

Sorry if this is old, we just came across it.

Via editorial staff

Can’t any of us travel more than thirty feet without paying for another friggin’ toll?

The Bush administration unveiled a plan to impose new tolls on freeways and encourage more private investment to finance road and mass-transit projects…

Ha! Freeway! That’s funny stuff right thar!

Between tolls and higher fuel prices, why is anyone driving at all anymore? If all this less driving is happening… think of the oil companies! The poor, poor oil companies. How will they survive?

Meanwhile, we cruised Brooklyn in a 2009 Dodge Challenger. If you see one pass by, you’ve seen the best part (as in, don’t bother sitting inside). It does have an awesome rumble while idling. What’s this have to do with anything? Well, we certainly used 86 gallons of fuel racing from one red light to the next. But we were the first ones there! That’s right, sucka! First.

Referenced article

Wall Street Journal: Bush Calls for New Highway Tolls, More Private Funding of Roads

Via editorial staff

No, not with Lightning McQueen and good ol’ Mater, but a movie about a man and his battles with the auto industry.

About windshield wipers. Really.

Referenced article

Movie trailer for Flash of Genius
Washington Post: Accomplished, Frustrated Inventor Dies

Via editorial staff

Eschaton makes a good point with his “Driving Less” post. Essentially, places that can be made more walkable, should be.

Via editorial staff

Thanks to researchers in Ohio, our waste hear might not be so wasted any more. Well, it’s not ready yet, but the long-haired thinkers out in Oh Aych Ten have figured out something with something and then, boom, you gots yourself from power from garbage.

Yeah, we didn’t get it either. But maybe, down the road, it means less moving-parts stuff in our cars!

Referenced article

ScienceDaily: New Material May Help Autos Turn Heat Into Electricity

Via editorial staff

So you leased your SUV rather than buying it? Turns out that was a smart move. For you!

What’s gonna happen when folks start turning in these SUVs? We’ll tell you: pain. These SUVs are just going to sit and rot because no one’s gonna want these gas gobblers. Even if gasoline drops by 25% (ha!), folks have learned their lessons and we’ll never again return to the days of the casual SUV owner.

Is your lease coming to an end? Gonna buy the vehicle or just give it back? What would it take for you to but it?

Referenced article

BusinessWeek: Nobody Loves a Three-Year-Old SUV
(from Eschaton)

Via editorial staff

So, big announcements from Ford today. Which of these is worse?

1. Ford posts $8.7 billion loss. For the quarter. 90-some days. That’s about $100 million a day. About $4 million an hour. About $67,000 a minute.
2. Despite losses, Ford will not be bringing the beautiful Mondeo over from Europe.

Of course it’s number 2. Look, let’s say the Mondeo is a tremendous failure once it’s for sale in the U.S. How would you be able to tell? Bring it!

Referenced article

Jalopnik: BREAKING! Ford Reports $8.7 Billion Net Loss For Second Quarter 2008, Bringing Six European Small Vehicles Stateside

Via editorial staff

Toyota got some mo bigga!

Toyota Motor sold nearly 300,000 more vehicles than General Motors in the first half of 2008 and appears to be on its way to ending G.M.’s 77-year reign as the world’s largest automaker.

Our guess is the rest of the year will play out the same way, regardless of how many incentives GM (and all of Detroit) offers up.

Referenced article

NY Times: Toyota Moves Ahead of G.M. in Auto Sales

Via editorial staff

Man, it’s all plug in, all the time! Lately, anyway. This totally makes sense as every current hybrid sold is really a regular car first and a hybrid second (meaning it really relies on the old-style engine we all know and use the battery system -the hybridy part- as supplemental power). But we we’re starting to see the opposite happen… and even cars that are fully electric.

In the GM article below, we wonder… are all the manufacturers talking and working together to make the connector bits universal? Will the Volt have the same plug bits as the Tesla Roadster? Or as the Electric Lightning? Would be a big drag to have to go to different charging stations based on the car you are driving.

Referenced articles

arstechnica: GM, utilities to develop plug-in stations for electric cars

engadget: Blighty’s electro-supercar 2.0 uncloaked today

autobloggreen: Electric MINI will be in US customer hands in summer 2009! (Thanks to engadget for this link, too.)

Via editorial staff