I don't like paying for gas.  Of course, saying something like this is like my son saying he doesn't like to take a bath.  No one likes shelling out ducets for anything, let alone gas, and even more obvious, a boy of 5 hates taking baths.  But you need gas to get around in today's world, and the boy needs a bath to keep from looking like this (which ironically is from a movie all about fuel).  Both are a necessary evil.  So maybe the original statement should be amended to say this: I don't like paying for gas anymore than I have to, and it seems that I have to pay a lot more these days.  Well, never fear...there are some proposed solutions on the very distant horizon that might help your wallet, and you've probably never heard of them, nor will you in any dimension of reality.  Ok maybe you should fear.  But hey its fun to dream right?  I know what you're thinking, and no Back to the Future's Mr. Fusion is not on the list.  But one of these ideas is actually used in the movie. 

To tip my hand a little, there are a couple I really like, but I'm having some trouble figuring out which one I prefer the most: dead cats or dirty diapers.  I don't like cats per se, though it is a stretch to say that I want them dead, but still...if I come across a dead feline, and I can use it to get me from point A to point B, then what's the problem?  Of course my question then becomes, "how does one get the cat into the gas tank?"  Obviously the options are not pleasant, and as such this idea does not appeal to me the most.  Dirty diapers, on the other hand, seem to be a better option simply because we have so many.  I could be the equivalent of an oil tycoon if scientists in their labs could only figure out how to cram those soaked and soiled diapers into the gas tanks of the world.  I would be a power broker in the worldwide dirty diaper market, throwing my weight around in politics, funding small revolutions, or providing clean drinking water to impoverished countries in exchange for large tracts of land on which to build more dirty diaper factories (which would look just like my house).  And who's to say that the dirty diaper smell won't become moderately appealing to some folks, like the gasoline smell we are all so familiar with?   Anyways, you've done the hard work of reading this far.  Now for the payoff (not in dirty diapers).

Green Car is a webite that aims to be a "source for information on electric cars, hybrids and more."  This is an extremely helpful web site, especially for someone like me, who has not really kept up with environmental issues but at the same time knows that using too much gas is really bad.  To follow are some of the highlights, but before I get to those, I want to point out one extreme negative: there are so many ads that I initially can't distinguish them from the actual content.  I realize folks gotta make that cash, but come one.  How about some restraint?  Other than that though, this website is a great find.  The highlights are divided into their respective pages.  

Find a Car

Maybe you are overwhelmed by the flood of hybrids coming onto the market and don't even know where to start looking.  Maybe all of the political and ethical issues surrounding hybrids and the environment have sort of turned you into a binge gasoline user out of spite, and so you never even bothered to find out about them.  Now you can get some real information without commiting to worship mother earth!  You can search by make, model, type (small car, midsize car, suv, etc), year, fuel economy and EPA rating.  The results returned tell you the mpg (city, highway, combined), along with the EPA rating.  

Technology

"The desire to lessen environmental impacts and reduce oil dependence is spurring interest in alternative fuels and green technologies."  This is what it says at the top of the screen, and of course this is true.  But maybe you've heard all kinds of conflicting information about these different alternative fuels.  Do they really work?  And what's more, how on earth would you ever know amidst the slew of Hybrid cars currently on the market which cars were what?  Most of us just throw things like "green" and "hybrid" and "electric car" into the same utility junk drawer, but here each type is adequately explained.  Finally, what is best about this page is that clicking on each fuel type will also bring up a list of the cars that utilize each.  Now we can finally organize our green junk drawer!  

Fueling Stations

"Use our alternative fueling station locator to find stations offering biodiesel, compressed natural gas, electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas."  If you've ever used a "storefinder" on a website, this will be familiar to you.  First you select your fuel type (listed above), enter the city, state, or zip, and select a radius within which to show the results.  Now you can find that hippy fuel you've been lookin for with ease, although if you live in certain areas you may have to expand your search quite a bit.  For example, there was only a UHAUL within 5 miles of my zipcode.  Suffice it to say, the alternative fuel scene is still in its infancy, as indicated by the word "alternative."  

So go to www.greencar.com and get your surf on!  This site is informative with lots of content (much more than in this review), and as any good website should do, provides a jumping off point for exploring many different avenues (alternative fuel research, car buying, gas station finding, etc).  

As it turns out, Americans are interested in buying hybrid cars, but environment isn't the main reason why.  In fact, according to this article, "reducing our impact on the environment comes third among reasons why the US should be a leader in hybrid cars (with 64%). First is "reducing the nation's reliance on foreign oil (81%)" and second is "creating jobs (67%)".  This is not surprising.  Americans are pragmatic, and I would say that the idea of "healing Mother Earth" is a bit foreign to most us.  In our way of thinking, if we can immediately see the benefit, then its the right thing to do.  Most don't understand the philosophical underpinnings of environmentalism.  For those who see the environment through moral or ethical lenses, such pragmatism, while maybe not as noble sounding as they might prefer, actually moves the agenda along in some way.  Just not as far and for the same reasons as they want.  Either way the air is cleaner and we increase in peace and prosperity.  Not a bad gig! 

You know that strange looking vehicle that Paul Blart: Mall Cop drove around at work?  That's called a Segway.  Now, imagine one of those, but for sitting instead of standing, and going up to 35mph.  Slap a shield on the front of it and a little steering wheel, and what you have is something pretty close Segway's P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility).  Project P.U.M.A. is Segway and GM's latest attempt to bring about "the shift that is needed for the future of transportation."  More from the site: "It values less over more; taking up less space, using less energy, produced more efficiently with fewer parts, creating fewer emissions during production and operation, all while offering more enjoyment, productivity, and connectivity."  The design appears to defy reason and logic, but a look at this video clip shows that it does just fine in staying balanced.  Sounds like a great idea for use in Urban areas, and if the above is true then it could be a viable solution for the future.  Of course that would mean an immense culture shift, especially in America, where a. many areas are spread out, and b. we Yankees value our powerful vehicles too much.   See Topgear's article on it here.  

I don't quite know what to make of this car, but its pretty neat.  The "(O)LED technology as both driver-configurable exterior lighting units and as a television screen-like safety feature that alerts those behind of road conditions."  It seems that flashing messages on cars right in front of you would present more of a road hazard, especially when you have 50 of them flashing different messages on the interstate.  However, "it does have us thinking in new ways about vehicle safety and car-to-car communications."  See the entire article here.  

What do you get when you mix $300k, really smart MIT geeks (geeks who will run the world by the way), and an energy crisis?  The answer is...Eleanor?  Really?  At first glance, the picture to the left looks like something from the set of Star Wars Episode IV (for those not in the know, thats the orignal one).  "These aren't the droids you're looking for."  More like, "this isn't the car you're looking for."  But we aren't paying geeks to be great marketers.  In reality, this group of MIT is entering Eleanor into the upcoming World Solar Challenge in Australia, which "traverses the some 3,000 kilometers between Darwin and Adelaide."  Now I know what you're thinking, and no all of those students are not going to be driving Eleanor at the same time.  As it turns out, says MIT sophomore and SEVT team captain Michael Roberts, "while the technology for a solar car may not be practical, the underlying electrical system is similar to that being developed by major companies like GM or Ford.”  It will be interesting to see what comes of it.  Read the entire article here. 

If you haven't been paying close attention, Ford has been working hard to change their image and their focus to meet the demands of a new world and a new market.  They have done this by releasing a handful of fuel efficient vehicles under the moniker ECOnetic.  In particular, this includes the Ka, Focus, and now the Fiesta, which have a combined 65.6mpg.  It is currently only available in Europe, particularly in the UK.  I wonder why it hasn't taken root here in the US.  Hello Dearborn? 

Its hard to imagine from our petroleum based culture that someone could actually speak these words and be serious about it.  We plug toasters in, not cars.  But times they are a' changin.  The question is, are the new times going to be affordable?  David Kwan writes a helpful article exploring the viability of BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) and NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle). 

This looks like an interesting read.  According to the editorial review, author Tom McCarthy "presents the first environmental history of the automobile that shows how consumer desire (and manufacturer decisions) created impacts across the product lifecycle—from raw material extraction to manufacturing to consumer use to disposal."  Buy the book and read the review here.  I'd be interested to your take on it.  Post a reply and let me know your thoughts!

It appears there will be options for those of us who don't want to buy gas.  Introducing two very different electric cars, the Aptera 2e (note: not the same thing as the Apple 2e) and the Tesla Roadster from Tesla Motors.  (See another article on this blog comparing the Tesla to the Volt).  Aside from the fact that the 2e looks like a car from one of those futuristic sci fi movies that try too hard to look futuristic, and Tesla being the same name as the 80's rock n' roll outfit (who appear to be making a comeback by the way), there seems to be quite an interest surrounding these cars in light of the current economic crisis.  But are they practical?  I mean, sure they are efficient as far as what it takes to run them, but being a father of 3, I don't need a 2 seater that goes 0-60 in 3.9 seconds that I can pick up and carry on my back, or a reverse three wheeler from the Jetsons (unless it is mounted with gatling guns).  Give me a freakin old school suburban that runs on electricity.  You know the one.  With the sharp angles and room enough to stuff a family of 14 in.  Not necessarily like this one, but not too far from it either.