More and more Americans may finally be ready to do something about global warming. That’s the thinking behind DaimlerChrysler’s 2008 release of its Smart mini-car in the United States. The company had shelved an earlier plan to do just that, but a company executive told The New York Times, “Now is the right time to go to the U.S. The world, and the U.S., has changed in the last two years.” That change is also evident in Wichita, where the June 29 screening of Al Gore’s movie about global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” filled up well in advance and left organizers with a 60-person waiting list. “People are gradually starting to think, ‘What can I do?’” said Elizabeth Bishop of the Sierra Club Kansas Chapter.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
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22 Comments
Americans won’t do anything until after Greenland is fully melted.
I need to see this movie. Anyone wanna come with? An impromptu meet up? Bushies and assorted global warming deniers can come too!
Thanks JR, but I’d rather watch paint dry. I’m doing my bit for the environment already.
V.L.R.B!!
Ian, if you wanna’ help the environment, then BUY YO’ MOMMA SOME DEODORANT!!
Those tiny cars are very popular in European cities..where the streets are narrow, traffic is abominable, and parking is very scarce. The IIHS (the crash test bureau run by our friends the insurance industry) will have a fit if these cars start showing up here. The front is a small piece of tin and a windshield.
Great mileage, yes..but those tiny little things would be blown off the road in one of our ‘mildKansas winds.
Actually raptor, we have less trouble with the wind than those big slab-sided SUVs. And those jacked-up trucks are even worse in the wind.
Is this the same car that was in the Pink Panther movie now out on DVD? If it is, it is very small.
Very popular car in Asia as well, for the same reasons raptor notes for Europe plus one more: they get great gas mileage.
As others have noted, gas in most of the ROW is around US$1.20-1.75/L.
Also, they’re a big hit style-wise with many of the female persuasion, at least in Asia.
And yes, they are VERY small.
woops, raptor caught the mileage, sorry!
One of the Doctors at KSRC (29th&Webb) has one. It is something like 8.5′ long and 5′ wide. Pretty small.. but the legroom is good….
It looks like somethink I might be interested in BUT where do I put my kids? I gotta fit 5 or 6 people in any vehicle my family drives for the next 7 – 10 years. (until the oldest gets out of school – then there’s college)I’d love it if they came out with a van or mini-van with great gas milage etc.
Can anybody imagine somebody making a documentary of speeches that W. makes when he’s out of office?
Can you imagine people waiting in line to see it?
This is the same guy that the “liberal” media told us was boring and wooden, who said he had “invented the internet” (which he had never said).
The media gave us Bush, the honest straight-talker we all want to have a beer with.
They’re the ones who stood rapt as Bush was sworn in and mouthed platitudes about the peaceful democratic transfer of power, despite the debacle of Florida and the majority who voted for “boring, wooden” Gore.
And now we’re all stuck with him.
The car is 9′ long, gets 46 mpg city, and around 65 mpg highway.
While I appreciate the idea, I think I’ll stick with my old classic Lincoln that gets 20 mpg. It’s a Tank, lots of room inside, and if you hit me, I probably won’t notice. It was made back when they used real steel in cars. The thing is like driving down the highway in your living room.
XXX,plus it’s nice for date nite;)
The Sierra Club was founded by John Muir, a Scottish emigre to California. He loved the Sierra Nevada Mountains. One can appreciate state Sierra Clubs in the Rocky Mountain, and even Appalachian and Ozark states. But the Sierra Club of Kansas has oxymoron written all over it. ;)
I traveled to Italy in 2000 and 2002. I saw the SMART cars everywhere in the large cities, e.g., Rome, Bologna, Florence, Parma, etc. I never saw one on the Italian highways, and I don’t believe they can really travel at highway speeds in any case, but then they are so light you wouldn’t want to risk a collision at a highway speed anyway.
I thought of them as a great alternative to riding to work on a scooter on a rainy day. If you have been to Rome, you see a lot of men in suits and women in expensive dresses commuting (all wearing helmets) to work on scooters, which is good on a normal sunny day (which is typical). I don’t believe any of the Italian SMART car owners had global warming in mind in their purchase, but rather, they were just city commuters that just had wanted to get around cheaply in an all weather vehicle. The most funny part is how they park on the street. Parallel parking does not exist with a SMART car, they just back up against the curb, since the SMART is about as long as a conventional car is as wide. Anyway, these cars might not be marketable in Wichita (or in Texas where lower gas mileage gets the bragging rights, except in Austin) but they might work well with city commuters in large densely populated cities. I’ll let the market decide on that issue.
Julie, you’d be surprised. I have yet to meet a lady that didn’t like being picked up and driven around in the Lincoln. It looks like a Limo.(And you don’t have to go for the back seat, lol)
Watched “Inconvenient Truth” last night and was impressed. It brought home how many rationalizations folks have until the final event when it hits home and they can no longer hold the truth at bay.
The Sierra Club is right. We can’t wait for the federal government to take action; they’re out of the loop on this issue. It will take action by individuals and local governments who are less affected by the big lobbies.I only hope that there is enough critical mass of these “awakened” folks in time to really make the difference.
Hubby and I came home and made up a list of things we can do to reduce our energy consumption.
The time to start is NOW!
Good post Liz. Haven’t seen you posted here before. Welcome to the forum!
This and that, before this headache sends me to bed…
So how does everybody like the newest leap in the price of gas?
Italians are well-known for their scooters, right KFG? They’re seen scootering around the city, waving and calling “Ciao!” (Thank you, Eddie!)
I’d buy one of those ugly/cute little cars. I like the Mini Coopers, but the sticker price…
XXX, I’m sure your Lincoln is wonderful, but probably my favorite of the cars I’ve owned was a Geo Metro. Great gas mileage and easy to drive. We even took a road trip to Memphis in it in intolerable weather. The only problem was, repairs were astronomical. 3 times what most American made cars were. Geo’s were/are Chevy, but at the time, the parts were from all over the world, hence the name Geo. Still, I drove the h3ll out of it and wish I had another.
RD, you need to talk to Walker. He drove a Geo when I first met him (way back at the beginning of history).
I like the idea of small, gas sipping cars in theory, and when the Lincoln goes to that “Great Salvage Yard in the Sky”, I’ll probably try a compact. But I sure like having all that room to spread out, especially on the highway. And I like the safety of having all that steel around me.
RD,Ya, I loved my GEO. Bought it new in ‘94, drove it from San Diego to Wichita twice and averaged better than 55 mpg. Replaced the clutch and timing belt once. That was it. Great car.