The Nerf Car: KB, We need to work on our Australian accents!

The Spira Foam Car. You know the one - the really cool idea that sparks laughter and derision at almost every turn. Environmentally friendly, pedestrian friendly, parking friendly, budget friendly, and definitely a conversation starter. And, for me, it looks like a very enjoyable way to pop around town!

 

So, there's a weird phenomena developing around the Spira. If you see it in a video, it's probably being driven by an Australian on North American soil. And my jealousy is leading to a bit of green bitterness - why is it some rico suavé Australian guy? Why not me?

 

If you check out the latest Translogic video (via Autoblog.com), you'll see a very informative and enjoyable video which creates and answers a lot more questions about my new favorite Nerf.

Down-Under Man attacked by Spira!

Check out the story and video here: Australian Drives a Nerf Car in San Diego

Explaining things to the Australian guy while the car plots its attack

A video clip with other people expressing Australian bitterness Australians?!!! Be warned, it's a bit PG13!

The Spira appears on Shark Week!

To be fair and give a little credit, here are my two favorite Australian contributions to the world:

Colin Hay singing "Overkill"

The almighty platypus!

 

  By the way, this is KB, I am not sure if she is green with envy or she has been drinking too many wheat grass shots - either way, we are trying to get her some help!

 

May your world be platypus amazing today!

 

Looking for another reason to like the Spira? Check out their reservation page:

 

Spira - Place an Order

Hooning Around in the Spira4U Nerf Car

(From the video below)

Before you watch the video, you may want to learn what it means to "hoon around":

Wikipedia entry on "hooning"

The nerf car article has been fairly popular around here - about fifteen reads this week, which is pretty good for a blog with a steady readership of 3.25 loyal readers. One reader in particular (Hi KB!) wants to know when I am getting a nerf car - she wants to test drive it. She even facetimed (I love modern verbs!) me this weekend and asked about it. So, this moring I opened green.autoblog.com and saw a headline that promised a video test drive of the Spira4U. I excitedly went to the article, but found no video, snagit all to Midland! So I tried another browser. Still no video. I went to the vaguely trusty smartphone. Still no video.

Spira4U Test Drive - Gizmag

So, I went to youtube and found a Gizmag Spira4u video where I was rewarded to find a journalist from south of the equator hooning around in a nerf car in Detroit. And the video did not make me want one less. Sign me up! Let's take a second mortgage out on the dogs and get a pair of these headed to Texas. KB, get ready for a showdown - it's time to hoon!

May your daily commute be fun, green, and turn you into a Bednarzian hoonigan!

Lubbock Drivers: Could a Nerf Car Save Us?

(All photos from Gizmag.com)

I read the local news sources each morning, and it's astounding how many auto-related deaths we have each week. Pedestrian deaths, roll-overs, single vehicle, multi vehicle. Each morning brings news of more death. And these are not attributed to terrorism, hatred, or disease - this is normal people trying to get from one place to another on a normal day. It is both terrifying and tragic.

Today, I found a news article that offered some small hope - a start-up auto company that is designing a car specifically to reduce traffic fatalities.

Gizmag's Recent Article about the Spira

And they are going about that goal in the same way that Nerf has strived to make play less painful - by covering the body of the vehicle with foam.

Watch it - they might swarm!

 

And this will shock you - but I want one! (Don't tell my poor wife!) You see, I have a history of dragging embarassingly odd and ugly vehicles home because of some intrinsic value that I see clearly enough to be blind to the ugly factor. And to be fair, the Spira is quite ugly. But it has its list of virtues:

• Its safety
• Its cheapness
• Its efficiency
• It can be electric (or gas)
• Its uniqueness
• It's upgradable
• It floats
• It can be tilted up on its butt for parking

How often do you find a car that has a list of virtues like that? (Have you seen past the ugly yet?)

Now, where did I put that fishing pole?

For you electro-dorks like me, here are a few stats:

• electric version $9000
• 70 mile range - upgradable to 140 miles
• 62 mph top speed
•  recharges in 2-4 hours on a standard 110V plug-in

(Honey, we need a taller garage.)

 

For those of you who prefer gasoline:
Get off your lazy mental butts and read the article for yourselves.

May the world in which you live try less hard to kill you.