My First Smart Car

It's the day after Earth Day and I just saw my first Smart Car. They actually look better IRL than they do in the pictures I've seen.

These babies get 33mpg city and 40mpg highway, not quite as good as my Honda Hybrid but not bad at all and they are a lot cheaper. So once again, thinking of the environment will save you money!

Read more here: Smart Car Offers Drivers New High MPG Option

Earth Day and Me Being Smug

I'm not the sort of person to be smug and "I told you so" when it turns out that I'm really, really right. But as today is Earth Day, I thought I'd make an exception :)

In 2004 I bought a Hybrid car: a Honda Civic Hybrid. Now with the price of gasoline over $3.50 a gallon I see these gas guzzling SUVs driving around and I feel a sort of smug glow of righteousness. Not only am I saving myself money, not only am I helping reduce the reliance of the USA on the Middle East for oil but I'm also helping the environment by driving a PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle). Am I cool or what? :)

In addition to that, we just got a water filtration system last week which means we no longer have to buy bottled water. This also achieves the three things I listed above (money, Middle Eastern oil, environment) because we don't buy water in plastic bottles and we don't put those bottles in the trash to mess up the environment with more land fills.

So, don't just look at being environmentally conscious as something to do "because it is right", look at it as a way to save money!

Have a great Earth Day!

This is a hybrid??

I just saw an ad for the 2008 Chevy Malibu Hybrid. the ad contains all the usual hype about how great the car is and the wonderful improvements in gas mileage, etc., etc. But then I looked at the small print and then I looked at it again, wondering if my eyesight were failing or something. Here is what I saw:

- Non-Hybrid Malibu: with 2.4L engine: EPA rating 22 city/30 highway.
- Hybrid Malibu with 2.4L engine: EPA rating 24 city/32 highway.

Excuse me?? Did I read that right? GM has spent how many millions to produce a mere 2 mph (about 10%) improvement? My Honda Civic Hybrid has an EPA rating of 48/47 which is about 50% above the normal Civic. How come GM is incapable of producing a workable hybrid engine?

Then I saw their ad for the Tahoe Hybrid SUV - it gets an amazing 19 mpg on the highway (they don't dare mention it's mpg in the city). And that is an amazing 25% better than the non-hybrid. Man, you may as well just turn on the pump and drink the gas yourself.

In GM's favor I will say that they are also pursuing alternative fuel, electric and fuel cell cars but they are concept cars with no real delivery date.

How come the Japanese can create extremely popular hybrids that are very fuel efficient and America can't? Doesn't anyone get the importance of cutting down on pollution and our dependence on Middle Eastern Oil?

References:
Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Debuts at All-Star Game
Chevy Malibu Hybrid