Posted by
Shane – April 3, 2009
I never thought this day would come, but I am realizing that a US car maker has actually made a few cars that I don’t hate. Specifically the Ford Edge, Ford Fusion and forthcoming 2011 Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta is getting a lot of buzz right now, and I think it may actually be deserved.
I had long since given up on any US offerings from the “not so big 3″. Up until now they have utterly failed to excite any of my senses. There are a few holdouts from years past, but they aren’t the mass market cars that normal people can afford or that are practical for everyday life. That being said, Ford looks positioned to be rather successful in the coming years as both GM and Chrysler spiral ever downwards towards their inevitable end.
Now all Ford needs to do is embrace clean diesel technology with both of these cars and I may line up to buy one. Unfortunately, Ford doesn’t seem to planning to offer either of these with a fuel-sipping diesel. The european market Fiesta ECOnetic, with the fantastic little diesel engine gets 65 MPG! 65! That easily best the fuel economy of a hybrid drive system like in the Toyota Prius or forthcoming Honda Insight without the environmentally unsound use of NiMH batteries. While the diesel engine equipped Fiesta is certainly no rocket ship (it only has 88 HP), it would get me back and forth to work on 1/2 of a gallon of gasoline!
So, Ford, wake up! Don’t let your middle-America biased, all placating, uninspired market research teams and penny-pinching accountants turn your otherwise exciting products into something resembling your offerings from the past quarter century. Do something bold, be a leader. Offer the American people a car that they don’t know they want! Show them that you are capable of designing a good looking, fun to drive car that is environmentally sound. Market them as vehicles that will decrease American independence on foreign oil and help free us from it’s shackles. Do this and I think you will begin to see more Ford’s on the road than at any time since the Model-T era.
Posted by
Shane – November 7, 2008
We Californians just passed Proposition 1A which provides funding to build a high-speed rail network throughout California! There is some information on the rail system at http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/. I can’t wait for this to happen. I think that the outdated system of freeways and the current lack of viable public transportation is a terrible thing. Finally we can catch up to where we should have been 20 years ago.
Posted by
Shane – September 30, 2008
I just noticed that Google Maps has a nice new Public Transit feature called Google Transit [more information]. This is a very welcome and at the same time depressing feature. Welcome because I am a staunch advocate of public transportation. Depressing because the trip I was just mapping is 28 minutes by car, and 2 hours by public transit. That is unfortunate.
Posted by
Shane – July 11, 2008
The New York Times is reporting that Toyota is planning to stop production of it’s Tundra truck and Sequoia SUV for three months this year to adjust for decreasing demand (Toyota Scales Back Production of Big Vehicles). They have also decided to re-purpose a new plant in Mississippi to manufacture their hybrid Prius instead of trucks.
I think this is a fantastic move for Toyota who, in my opinion, misjudged the market when the revised their truck lineup to make the Tundra and Tacoma trucks larger. This is especially true of the Tacoma, I owned a 2004 Toyota Tacoma and absolutely loved that truck. I thought it was sized perfectly. The new Tacoma is larger, but doesn’t really add any more utility. It seems as though Toyota made the truck larger for the sake of making it larger. I would have preferred that they focused on making the existing truck better, not just bigger.
Posted by
Shane – June 23, 2008
It is really hot in Southern California. The “record breaking heat” kind of hot.
Posted by
Shane – May 23, 2008
Posted by
Shane – April 22, 2008
via: Inhabit
There is a really interesting article on Inhabit about Frasers Broadway. It is a highly sustainable development planned to be built in the middle of Sydney. Hopefully other major cities will follow suite, especially in the south-western US where urban sprawl has obliterated the natural environment.
Posted by
Shane – December 5, 2007
There is an interesting article on Inhabit about a new train from General Electric that is utilizing hybrid technology to decrease fuel consumption and emissions. Trains have had hybrid drives for ages. They all use a diesel engine powering a generator that sends electricity, via large batteries, to the electrical drive motors. The difference with the new technology is that they are using regenerative braking to significantly boost the charge in trains batteries.
Posted by
Shane – November 14, 2007
via: Inhabit
MIT has created a site with a mock-up of a super compact car for use in a city. This is a really interesting concept! As you can see from the picture, the car is super compact when stacked and not too small when flattened out. A quote from MIT’s site
By placing stacks in urban spaces and key points of convergence, the vehicle allows the citizens the flexibility to combine mass transit effectively with individualized mobility.
This would certainly address a key problem associated with the use of mass transit.
