cars

38 posts

QOTD: Memories of Your First Car

firstcarqotdWhether or not you are a car nut, your first car meant a lot to you. Thinking back about it brings forth memories of cruising with your pals, that unfortunate fender bender, and your first run-in with the law.

My first car was an Isuzu Impulse. It was an Italian-designed Japanese hatchback. The cassette deck had a bitchin’ equalizer that lit up like a spaceship at night. Joe Isuzu went on TV and claimed that it was faster than a speeding bullet. I drove it during high school and as the Berlin Wall fell a half a world away, I cruised along the Pacific Coast Highway, listening to Jesus Jones. It had two bumper stickers– Public Enemy and Jerry Brown for President. Continue reading

A Week With An Electric Car

windshieldThe 2008 to 2012 Tesla Roadster was one of the first “mainstream” electric cars sold. The car itself was based on a Toyota-powered Lotus Elise sports car. The cars were built by Lotus in Britain without the engine and transmission and then shipped to California, where they were mated with an electric motor, a control unit, and thousands of little batteries. They were not cheap, as they started at $109,000. And even with a gasoline engine, the tiny car was not practical.

These are my impressions of driving my friend’s 35,000-mile Tesla Roadster for a week:  Continue reading

A Theoretical Tesla Road Trip Timeline

TeslaThis week Tesla is announcing a huge increase in the number of their supercharger stations. These are dedicated charging stations for Tesla owners at key locations along major interstates, like I-5 through the California Central Valley for those driving between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. Tesla wants people to lose their range anxiety and be able to take long trips in their electric cars. Oh, and the charge ups are included in the purchase price of the car. Continue reading

American Households are Increasingly Going Car-free

NBC news reported on a study by CNW Marketing that found that the amount of car-free American households has doubled in the last two decades, meaning that nearly 10% of American households do not have a car.

There are several reasons that the number of car-free households are increasing, from the recession making it difficult for those who wish to own a car to do so, to environmentalism, to technology making shared or public transit more accessible. Increased urbanization (or gentrification) and the revitalization of urban neighborhoods, as well as investment in public transit and cycling infrastructure have made it easier for people to choose to live car-free. Continue reading