Friday, September 11, 2009

E-MACHINES

This is my E-GO Cycle. Its basically a battery operated scooter. It takes you shopping and to the library and back. It has a range of 48 miles with the extra battery. It's highway legal if you register it. Quite a nifty machine.
My main transportation is a 2001 Prius. I bought the first one in the state. My dealership ordered it on-line at midnight for delivery to their shop July 11th of 2000. The first Prius' came from Japan and you had to buy them sight unseen. No test drive. You could choose from three colors with no guarantee you'd get what you chose. No choice of what was in them, either.
You had to be pretty sure you wanted one. I got my picture in the Modesto Bee and a couple gifts from Toyota. But, the biggest gift has been all these years of great mileage.
Living in the foothills, my average mileage is 45.6 in the winter and 47.2 in the summer. If I stay in the valley, I've gotten 52 miles per gallon out of a tank of gas.
Not bad, sonny!
Of course, my Prius is a hybrid. You still have to buy gas and have oil changes and belts.
I also owned a 1994 Chevy Pick-up plug in electric. It was fun to drive and show off. I tried loading pictures from my old Mac and couldn't get them to transfer properly. It had 24 batteries under the pick-up bed. It came from McClellan Air Force Base and was a government experiment. The engine was made by Hughes Aircraft and looked like an airplane engine. Everyone loved it. Such fun. I'm sorry I sold it, but I didn't have garage space to keep it and the batteries, supposedly good for 8 years, were still going after 13. Those last couple years, it wouldn't make it uphill and my range became extremely limited. Even so, a classic with all the original decals on it.
I'm a devoted greenie and I know a lot of people doubt that electric cars are the wave of the future, and green technology won't work, I'd like to pass on a note from rachel@greenoptions.com and Karen Pease from gas2.org/. Its all about the new generation of green cars and fuels. Also, a story on their site about Jay Leno's new show on NBC. He will be putting guests in an electric car.
So, why did I buy a Terra that gets about 7.1 miles to the gallon?
OUCH!
I'm still in a daze.
And, the super expensive rig I was drooling over, tango, to answer your question, is a Road Trek. Oh my. If only it were green, I'd snap one up in a minute and sell the new gas hog.
When will manufacturers make a green motor home, like a turbo diesel or something?

2 comments:

Tango's Going Ons said...

Nice...thanks for the links,Mary. :)

Love the scooter :)

I'm full timing in a travel trailer and it has to be the un-greenest home I've ever lived in. Right now, this time of year I am busy trying to keep the warmth in and the cold out for when winter hits.

7.1 mpg ... that's got to hurt. :(

squawmama said...

Mary... That really looks like a fun ride... and a great way to get around the area when traveling. We are in the middle of the woods so I do not have great internet... Will try to check in on you when I can... Have Fun & Travel Safe!
Donna