About this blog
Quick: what do your think of when someone says "Eco-friendly Car"?
The words "Hybrid" and "EV" (for electric vehicle) quickly come to mind. Sure, those are fairly eco-friendly - although an EV is only as clean as the electricity provider you plug it into. Trouble is: many EVs and hybrid cars are so expensive.
There are many good reasons to shop for a car with better fuel economy: conserving energy, reducing our use of fossil fuels, AND saving money.
The good news: Gas sippers don't have to be more expensive to buy. You might go for a smaller car. Or you might go with a larger model for its space, but outfitted with a smaller or smarter engine. Smaller cars, and smaller-engined cars, are cheaper to buy, and cheaper to run.
Carmakers have plenty of gas sippers in their lineup, but they don't sell them in the US: they tend to toss us their largest models, with the guzzliest engines made with yesterday's technology. Thanks, guys.
But already, smaller cars are starting to appear on US roads. The new CAFE standards, setting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, call for the average car to reach a fuel efficiency of 54.5mpg by 2025, with the average fleet mileage rising by a few percent per year starting in 2012. I repeat: This change does not necessarily have to lead to cars that are more expensive to buy.
Come travel the internet with me, looking for fuel efficient cars - not all EVs or hybrids - with the latest technology, sold all around the planet except the US. So that when you visit your car dealer, and request the model(s) you want to buy, nobody can tell you, "Ma'am, they don't make them like that". As the consumer, we have the final word; it's our opinion that counts.
About CelloMom
CelloMom is, like many other moms, taking care of the needs of a family - in our case, two adults, two children, and two cellos (since I have started taking lessons myself). To tell the truth, my favourite mode of transportation is my trusty bike: it makes you so happy to ride it. But you've got to accept the realities of living in a smallish town in the US, which is not practically possible without the use of a car. Not, that is, if you're trying to keep the cellos dry on the way to your lessons.
I prefers small, fuel efficient cars because they are friendlier on the planet and cheaper to own, thereby satisfying both my green leanings and my stingy streak. As the designated family driver, I've driven variously-sized cars, ranging from a Fiat 500 to a Ford Econoline, on three continents and on either side of the road as locally required. It is still one of my dreams to drive a trailer-truck across one of those continents - but maybe that's for another blog.
Incorrigibly curious, I go to some lengths to find out what makes things tick. I believe that seeing outside the box promotes thinking outside the box, and I invite you to peek over the walls with me (see the "Why This Blog" entry). Who knows, perhaps if we all lean against the box, its walls might move.
Contact CelloMom
CelloMom can be reached at cellomomcars (apetail) gmail (point) com.
(Sorry to be cryptic, we're all doing our thing to avoid spam mail: "apetail" is what the Dutch call the at-sign).
