[image from Sundance’s The Green]
Walk down a residential block in Santa Monica, and you’ll likely see a Prius. If a Prius is then the sensible, mid-range hybrid car (even if it’s still rather expensive), the “Drive” episode of Sundance’s 14-week series called The Green focuses on the polar ends: High-end luxury, and bare bones affordability.
On the top end, we see Tesla Motors, whose electric sports car can go from zero to 60 in about 4 seconds. At $92,000, it isn’t exactly a steal, but people’ve lined up to buy them — sight unseen. Somewhat more practical’s the Lexus hybrid (a big sponsor of The Green) mentioned in the same vein as the Tesla: Making green cars sexy to the consumer by selling luxury and power.
On the other end of the scale’s No More Gas (NmG) electric cars from Myers Motors (left). These cute tiny cars come in funky, toy-like bright colors, run on 3 wheels, get 25 to 30 miles on 6-8 hour charge, and cost under $25,000. Pointing out that people usually go short distances, often drive alone, and simply just don’t use most of features cars generally offer, the NmG people offer a stripped-down transportation model that look super easy to park.
I’m more enamored by the NmG than the Tesla. When’s the last time you’ve actually needed to go from zero to 60 in 4 seconds? Is this something you’d ever be able to do, considering the traffic in LA? The Tesla’s features are sort of cool in an abstract sense — but even for its owners, its high-priced features will be more imagined about than actually used. I’m all for an active fantasy life, but if fantasizing’s what it’s really gonna be, I may’s well imagine it at a quarter the price….
“Drive” airs on the Sundance channel Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 22, at 9 pm. Don’t have cable? You can download the episodes via iTunes.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:02 am
It’s good to see that people are getting behind greener cars, because we surely cannot count on this administration to do right by us. The automobile industry has ruined cities like Los Angeles and Miami. Maybe we can turn things around. I own a Honda Civic Hybrid that gets 45mpg. It’s nicer than most cars and the emissions are far lower. I also own an all electric Emax scooter for around town. There is no reason any more to drive a gas guzzler, or even an all gasoline vehicle.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:21 am
Hopefully, we can continue to move in this direction at a swift pace. Read the NY Times article on NYC cabs all going hybrid. Very promising: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Green-Taxis.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
May 22nd, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Has the NmG gone through any crash testing? If not, I will wait for the Tesla.