Saturday, September 20, 2008

Shocking Evidence


After finishing up my grocery shopping in the Los Angeles area I was walking back to my SUV, which was parked in the back of the garage. Reason being because most parking garages have the new NO SUV parking spots. Passing the front row of spots i noticed something different that was not your typical handicap front row convenience. There was a sign for electric car parking and next to the sign were two generators. This is the first time I have seen parking that was in favor for electric hybrid cars. I find this idea to be somewhat revolutionary for pushing consumers to purchase hybrid cars through the idea of small luxuries. This idea is also applied to hybrid cars having the perk to drive in carpool lanes, which proves to be very luxurious during heavy traffic. Although the idea is innovative and green, its application is a little nonsense at this current moment. The bulk of hybrid cars that are in production as of today, run on a gas electric platform, where the batteries get charged by the gasoline engine powering the car, which does not need to be plugged in. Therefore the idea of these spots is mostly for the perk. The truth of the matter is that although hybrid cars at this present moment give you more miles per gallon, they do not necessarily give you more miles per dollar. Do to hybrid cars being limited in supply and the newest technology, the hybrid car market has a very high premium that could take the average driver up to 14 years to break even. On the other hand, the luxury of less time at the pump, quicker highway commutes, and now front row parking spots, seems to be desirable as I drag along to the back of the garage.