I'm wondering what our overseas overlords have in mind for us. By that I mean Saudi Arabia, of course, in consultation with Iran and with a tip of the fedora to Russia.

Please build more electric/hybrid cars, continue researching renewables such as wind and solar, exploit clean coal, utilize natural gas, and build us some French-style, super-clean nuclear-power plants.

Oh, and . . . what was that other thing? Right: drill, Baby. Drill. Especially here in SoCal. We gots us the building permits, the pipelines, and everything. Just create a ruckus so the enviro-extremists aren't looking for a year or two, and we'll have your petrol right here. Hangin'.

A commenter at Gail's post informs me that electric cars are expensive. Maybe—but they are getting less so. Meanwhile, there are plenty of gas-sipping alternatives, including a lot of cute offerings from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda—as well as the bitchin' Mini, and the kinky, fabulous Smart Car, which is shockingly inexpensive and downright adorable.

These aren't hybrids, but they get gas mileage that is as good as or better than my old VW bug did. (With better safety, superior handling, more power, etc.)

And if you really do need hauling space or the comfort of a sedan, there are plenty of hybrid SUVs and sedans (e.g., the Camry).

Of course, now that I live in a condo development, all the plug-in cars are a lot less sexy to me: I'd either need a huge extension cord that would go down three stories, or I'd need to cut a deal with the HOA and charge directly from their garage—paying an additional electric bill based on their estimate of how much extra electricity we were using. Sounds a bit icky, at least from the perspective of a possible pioneer: I'd rather deal with a hybrid that had a battery.

Or (my favorite) a flex-fuel vehicle.

Or (my other favorite) one of those Mercedes that runs on biodiesel, or French-fry oil. Free fuel might well be worth living with a car that smells like a fast-food joint.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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