While the hybrid Prius has been my ideal choice for a future car, Prius has been officially replaced by the Smart car. I’m completely hooked and let me tell you why.

1. 60 mpg (miles per gallon)…nice! PLUS, they are developing hybrid and electric models to go along with the small, efficient design so don’t be surprised to hear about an unprecedented 100 mpg in the future.

2. Perfect for commuting to work and moderate shopping trips to the grocery store, etc. (trunk holds “approx. 8 gallons of milk”….plus there’s always the passenger side if you are riding solo)

3. Incredibly efficient for parking and city driving (the car is a mere 9 feet long!)

4. Price range for the brand will be $12,000 to $20,000

5. Yes, it’s safe. 4 of 5 stars on Europe’s car safety rating system. This is very impressive considering the weight and size of these cars. The brilliance of the design is that almost all of the strength of the car’s frame is focused to form a cage around the driver and passenger.

To compare how your current car performs in European tests (if it’s sold in Europe), click here for the section “How Safe Is Your Car?” The Smart car results are in the Supermini category on the sidebar.

6. Built for people up to 6′ 5” (At 6′ 2” myself, I was relieved to hear this)

7. The Smart brand started as a joint venture between the Swatch watch company and Mercedes-Benz, so you can count on a quality product.

8. 60 mpg

8. Oh, did I mention the fuel mileage on these cool little cars?…..60 mpg!!!

For more info, check out the United States portal for smart cars. http://www.smartusa.com/

For international readers, head to http://www.smart.com/

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

This is a documentary about General Motors and their EV1 electric cars they introduced in the mid-1990s. I haven’t seen the movie, but I did see an interview of the director on the Daily Show and it sounds like the movie is pretty harsh on GM and the oil companies.

I was curious to see if GM had any response to this movie. Thanks to the Wikipedia entry on this movie, I did find an interesting rebuttal to the movie written by GM on their website called Who Ignored The Facts About the Electric Car?

Given the cheap price of gas when the EV1 was introduced, I think it’s correct of GM to say that the general public had a very large part in “killing the electric car” due to the price and the driving range. However, I think it’s really strange and foolish that GM refused to let the EV1 test drivers buy out their leases and then proceeded to destroy all of these cars. The times and gas prices have changed and a lot more people would be interested in these cars, so GM’s decisions (regardless of motive) were incredibly short-sighted. For example, an EV1 would be perfect for me because I live pretty close to my job and frequent destinations like the grocery store.

Here’s the trailer.

Here’s the website for the movie.

I just skimmed over some of the material on this website, but it looks like they have some interesting documentation about the guilty parties involved the in the murder of the electric car.

I’m very curious to hear about who may or may not have blood on their hands.

Why?

I wish I could have one of these cars!

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew