(This is PART THREE of a series relating to electric and alternative fueled vehicles.)
In New York City, many people who live there do not own a car. It’s not that they can’t afford one: Owning a car in a city where virtually everything you could ever want is “just down the street,” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Reliable local transportation is abundant.
When a New Yorker wants to head to the Hampton’s or Florida for a vacation, they rent a car. This does make sense. We WestCoaster’s can’t seem to get along with less than one car per driver. Sure, there are reasons for this, but do we really need a Hummer, a BMW 7-Series, an Escalade SUV and a ’55 Chevrolet? (Ed: Well, maybe we need the ’55 Chevrolet!)
Unless money is no object and common sense has taken leave, most families could get by with two cars … or even one, most of the time.
The object is to match your needs to your vehicle and forget how it looks parked on your driveway. Let’s sit down with a “cool one” and see what might make sense.
* Needless to say, there are many very attractive internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) to choose from: Everything from the newly announced $2,500 India made “Tata” (Yes, that’s no typo: Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars) to a $500,000 Lamborghini. Gas mileage ranges from 45 mpg, more or less, to less than 10 mpg. There’s nothing “green” here.
* A hybrid car: The Toyota Prius is a good example of a hybrid. In case you’re wondering, a “hybrid” is an ICE vehicle with a smallish gas engine and an electric motor drive system that work together. The car will run a few mile on battery power, then the gas motor takes over. For very short trips, the fuel economy is terrific. For longer trips, fuel consumption is only “somewhat better” than the average smaller car. The main advantage is you can drive to Hoboken, if you want. (To be honest, the road to Hoboken is not well traveled.)
* A “Plug-In” hybrid: “Plug-In” means something like a Prius, with a gas motor and parallel electric drive, but with an added beefed-up battery pack and charger that can be “plugged-in” and recharged at home or the workplace. There are not many of these available right now - mainly converted Prius’s. Unless I miss my guess, the “plug-in” hybrid will start to dominate the market for several years to come. Because of the larger battery pack, short trips - say around twenty miles - become all-electric, not requiring the gas motor to even start.
* Pure battery cars. The battery cars that are reasonably priced make great cars for just putzing-around. These types of cars range from golf carts to NEV’s: “Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.” Basically an NEV is a spruced up golf cart and looks more like a real car than a golf cart or dune buggy. They also are usually fully enclosed, which makes driving during monsoon weather definitely nicer! NEV’s are restricted, by law, to roads where the speed limit is 35-mph, or less.
* Converted cars. Some cars are available that have been converted from gas to electric and thereby have more characteristics of an ICE vehicle, e.g., longer range, faster speed and no road restrictions. Almost any car can be converted, but the smaller lighter vehicles are the most cost effective. This is pretty much a custom car thing, so … Caveat Emptor.
Next week: “Choose Your Weapon.”
In New York City, many people who live there do not own a car. It’s not that they can’t afford one: Owning a car in a city where virtually everything you could ever want is “just down the street,” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Reliable local transportation is abundant.
When a New Yorker wants to head to the Hampton’s or Florida for a vacation, they rent a car. This does make sense. We WestCoaster’s can’t seem to get along with less than one car per driver. Sure, there are reasons for this, but do we really need a Hummer, a BMW 7-Series, an Escalade SUV and a ’55 Chevrolet? (Ed: Well, maybe we need the ’55 Chevrolet!)
Unless money is no object and common sense has taken leave, most families could get by with two cars … or even one, most of the time.
The object is to match your needs to your vehicle and forget how it looks parked on your driveway. Let’s sit down with a “cool one” and see what might make sense.
* Needless to say, there are many very attractive internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) to choose from: Everything from the newly announced $2,500 India made “Tata” (Yes, that’s no typo: Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars) to a $500,000 Lamborghini. Gas mileage ranges from 45 mpg, more or less, to
* A hybrid car: The Toyota Prius is a good example of a hybrid. In case you’re wondering, a “hybrid” is an ICE vehicle with a smallish gas engine and an electric motor drive system that work together. The car will run a few mile on battery power, then the gas motor takes over. For very short trips, the fuel economy is terrific. For longer trips, fuel consumption is only “somewhat better” than the average smaller car. The main advantage is you can drive to Hoboken, if you want. (To be honest, the road to Hoboken is not well traveled.)
* A “Plug-In” hybrid: “Plug-In” means something like a Prius, with a gas motor and parallel electric drive, but with an added beefed-up battery pack and charger that can be “plugged-in” and recharged at home or the workplace. There are not many of these available right now - mainly converted Prius’s. Unless I miss my guess, the “plug-in” hybrid will start to dominate the market for several years to come. Because of the larger battery pack, short trips - say around twenty miles - become all-electric, not requiring the gas motor to even start.
* Pure battery cars. The battery cars that are reasonably priced make great cars for just putzing-around. These types of cars range from golf carts to NEV’s: “Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.” Basically an NEV is a spruced up golf cart and looks more like a real car than a golf cart or dune buggy. They also are usually fully enclosed, which makes driving during monsoon weather definitely nicer! NEV’s are restricted, by law, to roads where the speed limit is 35-mph, or less.
* Converted cars. Some cars are available that have been converted from gas to electric and thereby have more characteristics of an ICE vehicle, e.g., longer range, faster speed and no road restrictions. Almost any car can be converted, but the smaller lighter vehicles are the most cost effective. This is pretty much a custom car thing, so … Caveat Emptor.
Next week: “Choose Your Weapon.”
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