Shoe by Gary Brookins and Susie MacNelly for December 11, 2009

but what a work of art. quite the sculpture he has there, especially on the days when it isn’t mobile.

Is that a 1958 Desoto?

It’s a ‘58 Dudsoto and it adds less polution than the hybrid. After all, it spends all it’s time in the shop.

Hybrids have no fins.

Is it a Desoto or a Chrysler? I like it either way! Don’t get rid of it Shoe.

I don’t know if that joke’s been used before (it probably has) - I only know that I LOVE it! :))

Only part lemon????

If a hybrid is part electric which has its batteries charged from 110 or 220 VAC, where does that come from? Hydroelectric or nuclear? If not, it’s from coal- or gas-fired plants? So how does that cut down on pollution?

It’s a ‘59 DeSoto. The base of the fin under the tail lights was different on the ‘58. The interface between the bumper and the fins. Also that sort of check mark trim strip along the side of the car and the fins was much different on the ‘58.

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-1950-1959/1959-Desoto-Firedome-2dr-ma-2.jpg

WOW! Big chief… I remember the DeSoto as being a pretty car, it also had an upscale interior too..

It only cost a fin or two

I heard an interesting thing about electric cars. The nickel for the battery is mined in Canada, not a clean process at all, and sent to China. In China it is processed and made into a battery, again not a clean process, and sent to Japan. The battery is placed in the car and shipped to a dealer in the U.S. By the time the car, with green electric battery, gets to the United States the carbon footprint from mining, manufacturing and shipping is so huge that driving the allegedly clean, green car will never make up for it. And every 40 miles you have to plug the @#$%^* thing in and recharge it. I could cross the U.S. quicker in a Conestoga wagon pulled by oxen and leave less carbon footprint than the electric car.

Hey, ben_david!

The electricity for the totally electric car can come from wind or solar. Even if it comes from coal or gas powered electric power plants, it’s better than petroleum from the mid-east.

If it is a “hybrid” car, it doesn’t get plugged in at all. The electricity comes from the energy usually lost when braking. That is why hybrid cars get better miles per gallon in city driving than on the open road. I’ve had a hybrid 4-wheel drive Ford Escape for a couple of years, and it’s great! It runs on gasoline and gets >30 mpg locally and 26 mpg on long distance highway driving.

The electric motor kicks in to assist on starts and hill climbs and and when the battery is sufficiently charged, the gasoline engine shuts off.

Kinda like the old “belchfire8”.

Good morning, jrbj.

Some of the things you have heard about electric cars are indeed true, but don’t you realize that the components of a “regular” car go through a similar, complex international route? Don’t compare an electric car to an ox team, compare it to a regular car.

Also, an electric car will have a longer range than 40 miles. I think you are thinking about a PIH40 hybrid. These are not yet on the market, but they have both a small gasoline engine and an electric motor. They run for 40 miles on the battery and then switch to the gasoline engine, running then like currently available hybrids. The difference is that you can charge them at home from your household current. That means if you go less than 40 miles, it is totally on electricity and you use NO gasoline. I plan to replace my hybrid Ford Escape with a PIH 40 as soon as one becomes available because most of my driving is less than 40 miles per trip. I will use a solar panel to charge it. That means unless I go on a long trip, I’ll use no gasoline, just free electricity.

I think that’s 2 parts lemon and 1 part dinosaur.

B-david,Big Chief, jrbj, N’ epati IT’S A CARTOON … laugh at it and leave it alone!

400 HP of DEtriot muscle

To quote Tim Allen (AR AR AR AR AR)

Ah, the beloved Lemonosaur V8 Sedan from Beltchfire Motor Co. I used to love to read Grin-N-Bear it! Is it available on line too?

Fishstix, jrbj - HEARTILY CONCUR!

BigChief - Many thanx for the insightful, wonderful information.

FUNG1 (or is it fungi?) - If you don’t like the comments, DON’T READ THEM! We still have freedom of speech in this country despite what the Obamanation Social Nazis are trying to do to eliminate the rights of the Right.

treBSdrawkcaB

“Grin & Bear It” is available on line at the Seattle-Post Intelligencer.

I drive a Prius and I love it. Of all the hybrids I test drove, it has the best combination of acceleration pick-up and fuel economy. I get around 45 mpg.

The recent Tesla all-electric uses lithium-ion batteries, and there’s some work going on now on sodium-ion batteries, which should be cheaper since sodium is so much more abundant on Earth.

Run it (say to work or shop, less than 25 miles a day for most of us), charge on PV or wind power, and you have a much better combo. Better sooner than later!

We all drive in a yellow dinosaur, A yellow dinosaur, A yellow dinosaur…

AMEN, FishStix, AMEN!!!

I ride a bus that is full every day. Of course I have to wait a bit to go home. You hybrid drivers are too impatient to wait for a bus. What do you need to get home for, to watch TV?

Lewreader When I lived in Montreal, I didn’t need a car. However, when I relocated to Edmonton, Dallas and finally League City, TX, a car became a necessity, unfortunatey. In the long run, the purchase, care & maintenance and gas far outweigh the cost of taking P.T.

Like any other emergent technology, electric cars are not as efficient yet as they could be. But now that they’re starting to be popular, expect them to improve by leaps and bounds.

Your prediction is 13 years old. They have improved, but still need some work. Hoping that happens before another 13 years have passed.