Green Options

At the LA Auto Show today, I had the privilege of testing the 2009 Mini E electric car on a short drive downtown. It’s zippy off the line and maintains the Mini’s sense of fun and performance, yet it also has a few quirks that may make driving it a bit of a hassle — at least during an initial “mental adjustment” phase.

The new-for-2009 Mini E electric car is undoubtedly one of the most highly-anticipated cars being released next year. Initially the car will only be offered to a select group of 500 people in the Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey metro areas who will be chosen by Mini to provide the exact set of testing conditions Mini engineers want to evaluate.

Much of the attention surrounding the upcoming 2008 LA Auto Show (Nov. 21-30) has been directed at cars like the 2010 Ford Mustang and the 2009 Nissan 370Z. Yet, while glitzy, fast, and heart-poundingly desirable, these types of cars already seem like relics of a different era — a weird and surreal window on the past. To celebrate them feels mostly cheap and material, and does a disservice to the reality of our current world.

Given announcements last Friday that the American auto industry is on the brink of extinction, it seems to me that the more important cars at the show are the ones that, if they’re smart, the American auto industry will quickly turn to as the future of transportation. In honor of these sentiments, it’s only fitting for Gas 2.0 to do a preview of the cars and technologies you care about, and leave the relics to the pros.

I’ll be covering the LA Auto Show during press days on November 19-20, so stay tuned to Gas 2.0 for live coverage. Until then, check out the small taste of what’s to come below.

German car-maker Audi has confirmed that it plans to launch a small electric city car, most likely based on the VW Up! concept (pictured).

Speaking at last weeks Paris Motor Show, Audi management board member, Peter Schwarzenbauer, said, “we will offer a pure electric car.” He also revealed that the electric Audi “will not be based on the A1,” the firm’s premium supermini.

BMW has announced plans to sell all-electric versions of its popular Mini car in the U.S., starting from summer 2009.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mini USA Vice President, Jim McDowell, said that the company is still deciding whether to sell or lease the vehicles. He remained tight-lipped over exactly where in the country the cars will be available, and declined to comment on other aspects, such as range, power, charging time and price.

He also said that speculation that Mini will sell 500 EVs in California next year was premature, since no exact plans have yet been finalised. Mini will apparently make a further announcement later this year, possibly to coincide with the Los Angeles Auto Show.

How would you like to drive an all-electric Mini? An EV Smart Car? A PT Cruiser? With the help of Hybrid Technologies, you can. They’ve taken many familiar vehicles, ripped out their engines, and replaced them with lithium batteries and electric motors.

On the surface it makes great sense and it seems there would be a huge demand for this sort of thing. Electric cars are nearly maintenance free. They don’t need oil changes and they have 90% fewer parts than gas cars. Plus, these EVs look like the normal cars that are already popular with many folks.

Editor’s note: Think a hybrid car is your only option for achieving significant gas savings? Think again: our friends at Low Impact Living point out several alternatives to investing in a new Prius. This post was originally published on Tuesday, May 27, 2008.

When I filled up my car this weekend with $4.09 gas (choke, gasp, sputter), I was sure glad I have a Toyota Prius and won’t have to fill up for another couple of weeks. But I hear from a lot of folks that they think they can’t afford a hybrid and they have to hang on to their sub-20 MPG cars. That got me to thinking about ways to find affordable hybrid options so folks can save money and reduce their contribution to global warming. Here is what I’ve found.

Buy a used hybrid! The Honda Civic Hybrid is probably your most affordable choice, as they are quite a bit cheaper than my beloved Priuses. (What is the plural of Prius? Priuses? Pri-i?) The Civic Hybrid gets 40-45 MPG and is a great all-around commuter car. I searched and found a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid with 49,000 miles for $16,000 in Los Angeles. I found a 2006 model in Kansas City with 52,000 miles for $18,000. The only Toyota Prius I could find in LA for under $20K had 79,000 miles on it! You might also try looking for Ford Escape Hybrids– there seem to be many of those available around the country. You can search for used hybrids in your city by clicking here.