Music: Opium/Dreaming – OL
I sure hope enough people are interested in this car. See PDF files here and here. I would love to replace my Prius with one of these in four years. I think it would serve about 80% of my needs and when I need something bigger I’ll just rent it. If you do the math (gas-cost + insurance), you will find that owning a small car, and simply renting something larger only when you need it can make a lot of sense.
Ooooh, I better start saving up now for the “Ottmar’s Prius Auction”! (Just kidding man – well, maybe.)
I wonder if there’s ever been a finance company created solely for the purpose of helping people buy energy efficient vehicles? I think a lot of people like the idea of these cars but when it comes time to buy a new car it’s easy to lose sight when say Ford is going to give you $3000 back and no money down to get into a new Explorer. At that point “cost per mile” and “zero emissions” goes right out the window (for most people).
As far as the environment goes, a lot of people are thinking the hydrogen fuel cell is going to save us in a couple years – and along with that I think there’s the conception that fuel cell cars will be the same size and horsepower as most current cars. I’m not sure about all that, I haven’t really researched it, that’s just what I’ve heard other people say. But like you said in an earlier post “baby steps”.
Anyway, I just think a little pocketbook incentive could go a long way in promoting efficient cars.
Well, the question is not just how often you’d need to rent a bigger car, but over what intervals. Now, I guess it depends, from person to person–hey, I can’t even drive yet, so I don’t know much about this, lol. But some people have families that can’t fit in those tiny (and really cool-looking) cars, and some people might need a bigger car one or two days every week, in which case renting might become a bit of a hassle. It’s a really cool car, though, and if it works out for you or anyone else both logistically and economically, it’s not a bad choice at all!