Bee on Flower wallpaper 1440×900 (17″ widescreen)
Hundreds of Fortwos were shipped out of ports in Maryland, Florida and California and have been arriving at dealers this week. And Smart has been contacting the 30,000 people from all 50 states who plunked down $99 to reserve the tall, round yet tiny two-seater during the past year. The first car was delivered Wednesday to a New York buyer.
Nice looking car with a certain coolness factor because of the modern design. It has most of the amenities available that people want like AC, but as noted in the article gas mileage ( 33 mpg city/41 mpg highway) is a little disappointing for a car that has no cargo room. For comparison the Toyota Prius (45/48) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (40/45). Just as uber large SUVs became fashionable it looks like smaller cars are catching on, GM, Toyota Exploring Ultracheap Car
During the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, top executives from General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. said their companies’ engineers are working on low-cost vehicles similar to Tata’s Nano.
The Nano isn’t sold in the U.S. and Toyota among others don’t think the quality is that great even for $2,500. It is the ultimate minimalist car. Seats, engine and you’re covered from the elements, thats about it. Unlikely to go over well here. Still cars like the Prius and the MINI Cooper (28/37) sell well and offer all the bells and whistles. I’d be willing to give up power windows for an increase in gas mileage, but its pretty miserable driving around in the summer without AC especially for people with children.
US Abandons Jaguar Recovery Effort
The Interior Department has abandoned attempts to craft a recovery plan for the endangered jaguar because too few of the rare cats have been spotted along the Southwest region of New Mexico and Arizona to warrant such action.
Some critics of the decision said Thursday the jaguar is being sacrificed for the government’s new border fence, which is going up along many of the same areas where the cat has crossed into the United States from Mexico.
If the U.S. border areas were designated critical recovery areas for the jaguar, then it would constrain the Homeland Security Department in building the fence, said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity.
“That’s the central issue here,” Suckling said, not the explanation provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. His group has a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Phoenix asking the court to force the wildlife agency to develop a recovery plan.
Most of us, though some are more shrill then others are pro secure borders. Pardon my reaching for a hackneyed comparison, but if we can put space stations in orbit it seems that we could save the jaguar and have secure borders too.
