I'll get technical about the Leaf and talk "geek" as this blog progresses , but also expect some mundane observations from a not very politically correct dude.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

New Cars Suck & Why We Didn't Get a Chevy Volt

I have to pinch myself - Did we really get an electric vehicle? I've wanted to be free from the petroleum cartel for years. "Tell President Obama he can get out of Iraq and Afghanistan - I'm not buying anymore oil." I have to admit it is very cool to own a Nissan Leaf. The first mass-produced all electric vehicle.

I want to think Yoli and I have always had cool quirky cult vehicles.  For some people cars are just like appliances - like a toaster - it just has to work. If it stops working you throw it away. Just fill it up with gasoline and go. No emotional attachment. It's just an appliance.


I guess I've always liked cars with - je ne sais quoi - you know, character, mystique, unique design. To the "appliance driver" this might seem frivolous. To them a car is just a utilitarian mode of transportation. A necessary expense.


I also like old things. Things that have history. Things that come with a story. I've always loved older cars - never liked new ones. Not because new ones are expensive, but because new cars have no character. The last time I bought a new car was in 1979. 


When Yoli and I started dating, back in the middle paleolithic era, (gas was $0.93 a gallon) she was driving "Mildred," her 1971 Chevy Chevelle. Too many parking tickets later the city of SF towed her car and demanded too much money for its return. Sorry Mildred we'll see you in heaven. 


Yoli needed some wheels so I gave her a little Italian Fiat 128 I had. Her first 4 speed. I had been driving an old 1970 Renault which I smashed up just before I met her. 


Yoli driving my 1961 Corvair
It didn't take long for the Fiat to give up. By then I had a 1961 Corvair. We actually had a collection of Corvairs. Not Corvettes, Corvairs. The cars that were deemed "unsafe at any speed" by Ralph Nader. Corvair: The American Porsche. Aluminum air-cooled rear engine. Fucking unconventional for an American car. First uni-body construction. An amazing feat of engineering; way ahead of its time.

I bought Yoli a gorgeous metallic blue 1964 two-door coupe, and bought a 1965 coupe we gave away to Yoli's sister Leti when she lived in La La Land, and my 4 door 1961 Corvair.


We've had an old Toyota Land-cruiser and a couple of Suburbans (when we started having children) a 1980 Mercedes 300D that ran on vegetable-oil and the last diesel station-wagon built by Mercedes Benz imported to the USA; a 1987 300TD, which we just sold to a lovely couple who, believe it or not, also own a Nissan Leaf. 


We have had our share of old cars and SUVs and for the longest time we've been wanting to convert an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicle to electric. We even went as far as buying a "bitch bucket" (VW Cabriolet) as a donor vehicle. We never had the cash or the time to do it. 


Chevy Volt
When GM announced there entry into the EV(electric vehicle) market Yoli and I got excited. Yes, it's new, but very exciting. The Chevy Volt 
would provide 40 miles of battery range and would come with an ICE that would extend the range past 40 miles. There was only one problem. It was a four-seater. We need five seats, and I'd rather not have to buy any gas at all.


Enter Nissan. Nissan took a little longer to announce their EV but they would get it into production around the same time as the Volt. It would have 100 mile range, and it would have five seats. The Nissan Leaf would be the first mass-produced all electric vehicle in recorded history, so says Nissan.


I plunked down my $99 and reserved one on the spot.


So getting a Nissan Leaf was a no brainer, just like going to see Prince at the HP Pavilion on Saturday for $37. What does Prince have to do with all this? Nothing - I'm just name dropping.





2 comments:

  1. Should have got a purple one!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Btw...

    At 10 a.m. Coulomb Technologies and the Port of Oakland will unveil eight new "Chargepoint" electric vehicle charging stations at Oakland International Airport.

    You can add this to your list of Bay Area Charging Stations.

    ReplyDelete

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