You are currently browsing the Rob’s RAVolt! weblog archives for the day December 19, 2007.
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Archive for December 19, 2007
Smart as a glider? Not so smart at 2x$.
December 19, 2007 by Rob.
A friend sent me a link to this MSN blog entry about confusingly miss-named Hybrid Technology. They are a North Carolina EV conversion company using Smart Cars as the gilder. According to the post, the re-assembled EV costs twice ($35k) the ICE version.
I agree that it’s HUGELY SEXY to drive an EV and the Smart is exotic looking enough to capture vanity buyers; however, I’m not convinced that it’s a good investment to convert one of the most fuel efficient ICEs. This would purely be a vanity buy.
You’d have my attention if they can do it at a cost that competes (or beats) with Smart’s ICE version.
Posted in Electric Vehicles, EV News, EV Tech | 1 Comment »
Marking RAVolt’s solstice anniversary
December 19, 2007 by Rob.
For our family, attending our friend’s solstice party is one of the highlights of the holiday season. The party is a whimsical nod to the original pagan holiday that, according to some, is the reason for placing another increasingly secular religious holiday at this time of year. Anyway, the party is fun and we have a good time.
The symbolic highlight of the evening is a bonfire in which we burn an offering to symbolize something that we want to change in the coming year. Last year I threw in the engine maintenance pages from the RAV4’s repair manual. It was a fitting way to start the project and is still a very powerful memory for me.
I have no idea what I’m going to offer/ask this year…maybe a picture of the damn sexy Pontiac Solstice would do!
Posted in Storyline | 1 Comment »
Lonely cars and loose wires
December 19, 2007 by Rob.
I took advantage of the warm weather to spend some quality time with the RAVolt. Clearly the RAVolt was feeling neglected because we had a bit of a Christine moment.
On the way home from getting my trilunar haircut, the brakes turned to bricks. That’s normal when the vacuum pump is not working: normal maybe, but definitely unwelcome. The brakes still “work” as long as there is no one in front of you and you’re going up hill. I pulled over quickly and discovered a loose wire. Luckily, I was just cruising the neighborhood.
Lessons learned:
- Avoid force the wrong age wire into a screw terminal
- Include routine “pull test” for wire fitting.
Posted in Safety, Daily Use, Storyline | 1 Comment »