Are fu^%$g kidding me! 2015! What is wrong with these people? When Exxon makes $45 BILLIONS profit, when the government makes BILLIONS in gas taxes, when Saudi Arabia has a TRILLION dollar worth of investment and pretty much own the White House you realize that's impossible to fight the oil industry, even for Barack Obama.
@drkick: People are not going to get hybrid cars out of the goodness of their hearts. It needs to make financial sense for them. Gas in the US is still cheap, and hybrid technology is expensive.
@Jrsy Devil's Food Cake®: Unless that coal miner's daughter happens to actually be Loretta Lynn, then it probably has no real impact on you one way or the other.
@Margatron: Electrical infrastructure is money well spent, considering how much we lose just intransit on our grid.
Renewable resources, however, are all nice and dandy, but are not in any shape to form the backbone of our power system. It's amazing how much nuclear power would be the ideal solution to this, yet so many people think that this technology in the US is like Chernobyl.
I think what amazes me most is how much bad information seems to run so much of the public opinion and big government decisions, especially when the good information is so available, it's just not being rammed down the public's throat like the bad information is.
@closhedbb: While there is a sizable chunk of people that believe that type of stuff about nuclear power pretending that it doesn't have it's own problems is dishonest. There is still a real problem with waste in that no one wants it around and second that nuclear power plants don't really make money without government subsidy. The cost of building and maintaining one is astronomic. I'm not saying that they cannot be a good answer but they are not there yet.
Slap me down in the 'looks great' column, however I am concerned that the model they are using is not appropriately dressed for the climate we have in Seattle. The thought of using a vehicle to commute that gets 140mpg sounds like a fantastic alternative on days I am too lazy to ride my bike.
Damn, I don't understand the hate on this from the author (PS, please don't ban me).
I would TOTALLY sell my family members to purchase this trike if/when it becomes available. The social stigma in the USA against scooters or trikes is so confounding and really does nothing to move the social consciousness towards more efficient and environmentally sound forms of transportation.
@TendoMentis: I've never seen anyone get banned here for disagreeing with anyone, including "the management" as long as it's well reasoned, and not full of curse words.
As for the social stigma, I think there's a reason for that; the USA practically invented motorcycle culture, and it's taken solid root here. And that culture is heavily tied to "freedom" and being able to take the same vehicle that you use to get to work and go on a 3000 mile search for yourself. And you just can't do that on a scooter.
Speaking of which, anyone else watching Sons of Anarchy? Fantastic show.
I'm guessing the author doesn't know much about motorcycles or scooters. These MP3s are getting solid reviews in moto rags that typically wouldn't look twice at a scooter. They've got a radical front end that lets the scoot lean deeply into turns while still benefitting from two tires worth of contact patch.
The current ICE-only 500 looks better than the 400, which this hybrid appears to be based on, but they both look fine in person. As an avowed two-wheeler, I'd consider a plug-in version of this as a commuter... it would let me ride in the snow, which is currently the only thing that makes me park my bike.
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Break up big oil and break up the banks introduce new regulatory legislation and beef up the agencies that provide the oversight.
What is so difficult about that?
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Renewable resources, however, are all nice and dandy, but are not in any shape to form the backbone of our power system. It's amazing how much nuclear power would be the ideal solution to this, yet so many people think that this technology in the US is like Chernobyl.
I think what amazes me most is how much bad information seems to run so much of the public opinion and big government decisions, especially when the good information is so available, it's just not being rammed down the public's throat like the bad information is.
03/20/09
03/20/09
[skeptoid.com]
[skeptoid.com]
03/20/09
11/11/08
11/11/08
I would TOTALLY sell my family members to purchase this trike if/when it becomes available. The social stigma in the USA against scooters or trikes is so confounding and really does nothing to move the social consciousness towards more efficient and environmentally sound forms of transportation.
11/11/08
As for the social stigma, I think there's a reason for that; the USA practically invented motorcycle culture, and it's taken solid root here. And that culture is heavily tied to "freedom" and being able to take the same vehicle that you use to get to work and go on a 3000 mile search for yourself. And you just can't do that on a scooter.
Speaking of which, anyone else watching Sons of Anarchy? Fantastic show.
11/11/08
Some people ride to get from point A to point B
Some people ride to get away from point A
Scooters almost always fall in the former category.
11/11/08
11/11/08
The current ICE-only 500 looks better than the 400, which this hybrid appears to be based on, but they both look fine in person. As an avowed two-wheeler, I'd consider a plug-in version of this as a commuter... it would let me ride in the snow, which is currently the only thing that makes me park my bike.
11/11/08
Also, they look pretty good in real life. So quit being a jerk.