in terms of a mode of transportation, i much like the subway and diesel trains of los angeles. the red line, blue line, gree nline, gold line, orange line, and metrolink run on time and on target. they are highly reliable reproducible forms of transportation. i know within a factor of 8 minutes when i’ll arrive at wardlow station in long beach, pasadena convention center, or los angeles convention center. how to get to the subway station is another matter. if the subway takes 20 minutes, getting to the subway station may take 60 to 80 minutes, which blows any advantage of the subway.
as much as i assumed by now i could easily buy a solar powered car (all electric) by 2005/2006, this dream of mine cannot be realized in the USA. in japan and in europe i could get something, but americans love their SUV’s and SUT’s. that’s all the big three auto makers offer in north america. so now i am considering a city car with these minimum features:
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automatic transmission
air conditioning
driver and passenger front airbags
driver and front passenger seat-mounted side impact airbags
overhead front and rear side curtain airbags
driver knee airbag
electronic stability control
traction control (TRAC)
anti-lock brakes (ABS)
electronic brake-force distribution (EBD)
tire pressure monitor system
daytime running lights (DRL)
front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters
driver and passenger 3-point seatbelts
anti-theft system with engine immobilizer
fuel economy above EPA 35 MPG
under 7 tons annual greenhouse gas emissions
the only cars that i know of the meet most of these requirements:
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MINI cooper
scion xB
scion xA
scion xC
honda civic
toyota corolla
chevrolet cobalt
saturn ion
nissan sentra
honda insight
toyota prius
mazda 3