AFTER SUPPRESSING THE URGE TO TALK CAT TALK to this adorable electric three-wheeler parked on Lower Fillmore, Miss Jo, a sucker for good design, took a closer look and was seduced by a wow-isn’t-technology-great moment.
It’s not like Miss Jo’s an authority on cars, and anyone who knows her is surely giggling at the thought. Her ride since 1995 has been a Mazda Protege she bought new. It still only has 68,000 miles, so she’s not in the market for a new hooptie and may very well turn the four-door into an art car, like this troll sedan spotted in Polk Gulch.
But when it comes time to trading in her wheels, it will be for something eco-friendly, easy on the wallet, large enough for Jeff’s keyboard and amp and, hopefully, well designed.
Is that too much to ask ?
Pardon Miss Jo’s excitement, but this was the first time she had seen a Lithium-battery-powered NmG, and later learned from its Ohio manufacturer Myers Motors’ website about the car’s 75 mph top highway speed and 60-mile range per charge. It looks like a perfect SF ride since anywhere in the City is a short trip, although Miss Jo would probably hesitate driving it on deathtrap Highway 101 on the Peninsula or across the Golden Gate Bridge during high-wind advisories.
Inside, she thought the NmG ($25,000) resembled a sort of recumbent motorcycle in a cartoon-like body with a pronounced windshield. Enviably, it can park on those teeny stretches of curb between driveways that are too small for compacts and torment anyone in the City trying to park.
There’s no way you could squeeze another person of any size inside and still drive, but if you need passenger room, a two-seater NmG is being produced later this year. In contrast, even the gas-powered, snub-nosed Mercedes Benz/Swatch-designed Smart ForTwo, below, now seems so last century.
Other all-electric cars in the works include the Nissan Leaf, to debut in December ($25,000) with a 100-mile range and produced in Tennessee (and which won’t be widely available for two more years.) Also this year, Chevrolet rolls out its Volt ($40,000), with a 40-mile range per charge and an auxiliary gas engine.
Are any of these in the running for Miss Jo’s heart ? Perhaps, but the price of driving green is still way too high.
One Comment
I like Smart cars and Honda Fits for smaller cars. We are, however, beginning to think Zip cars will be our savior. We cannot afford $300 a month for parking.