Did you just say Mommy?

Driving iMiev

I got to drive the Mitsubishi iMiev a couple of weeks ago for a mile or so at Green Drive Expo in Richmond. I was much impressed with the car. A four seater that defies space by seeming so small outside but so large inside. Like my beloved Th!nk City, only grown up.

Chuck Squatriglia of Wired Autopia has got an iMiev for a couple of weeks. I'm envious. His story of using the iMiev around Berkeley and San Francisco reminds me why most of the time I wish I still had my Th!nk rather than my RAV4 EV.

But then could I have done what I did yesterday? 88 miles straight up to Sacramento, recharging while attending the PEV Collaborative meeting at the CEC, and then straight back. (For RAV geeks: I arrived at each destination with 20-22% SOC. Drove between 55 and 65mph. This car remains awesome.)

Also worth noting for those contemplating a new EV, the trip literally cost me nothing. I happened to hit the bridge tolls during commute hours in each direction (EVs free), and parking and charging in Sacto was also free. In a Prius, the trip would have cost something over $40.

[Source & Photo: Wired Autopia]

Strikes cause fuel shortages in France

Airlines are being diverted from France as jet fuel supplies dwindle, and French motorists are panic-buying diesel and gasoline for their autos as strikes grip the country. France has already begun dipping into its 30-day strategic reserve of oil. Strikes at oil refineries have entered their second week, with a general strike called for Tuesday.

Strikers are protesting the proposed rise in the retirement age from 60 to 62. According to a poll cited in the New York Times, 71% of the public supports the strikes.

[Source: NY Times]

BP goes electric....a bit

Ecotality has a new, unexpected partner in the rollout of public charging infrastructure for plug-in electric cars. BP. Must have taken BP about three seconds to accept this partnership. They get to put free DC fast chargers at gas stations in the EV Project locations, agreeing to supply electricity to folks who probably would have stayed as far away as possible from a BP gas station.

[Source: NY Times]

Transmission Losses: More Oil Supply Trucks Bombed in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Dozens of tankers carrying fuel to Afghanistan for NATO troops were torched near Quetta in western Pakistan on Wednesday, the third major attack on supplies since Pakistan closed one border crossing to Afghanistan a week ago and the first at the only checkpoint that remained open.

Source: NY Times