Journal: News & Comment

Permalinks to this entry: individual page or in monthly context. For more material from my journal, visit my home page or the archive.

Driving weirdly

The new Honda Civic Hybrid is a major step for hybrid gas-electric low-emission cars. The tech Web site Ars Technica has just reviewed it. If you wonder what it's like to drive one of these new types of automobiles, this might sum it up:

Our other car is a Subaru Outback (great car). When I drive it now my heart sinks a little when I apply the brakes. Nothing happens. The car just stops. The batteries didn?t charge. The car didn?t turn itself off.

For some people, it takes a new hot-rod rocket or monster SUV to make their old cars seem disappointing. For others, neat fuel-saving technology does the same thing. My family will be interested to see where hybrids and other low-emission vehicles are in eight or ten years, when we next need a new one.

 |