Saturday Ramble: the Week

We had rain this week, thank the Lord! Lubbock was drying up and desperately needed the moisture, but it came with high winds and even a few tornadoes in the area. Lots of damage. Many people will be cutting and hauling branches, repairing fences, and figuring out how to fix things or who to call. But the rain was sure nice.

 Yesterday I saw a Model 3 and a Chevy Volt, but...

...the most exciting green car I saw was...

...an older Prius with a DIY solar panel setup. Intriguing. Was it charging the traction pack? The 12 volt accessory battery? Something else? DIY green ingenuity always gets the juices flowing.

No progress on the Huffy klunker this week, but lots of dreaming.

The most exciting cargo bike news this week was the arrival (in my awareness) of the new Mongoose Envoy cargo bike. It comes in at half the price (or less) of a base model Yuba Mundo. Is this the birth of the accessible cargo bike for the masses or just a serious threat to the small manufacturers who've been carrying the torch so long?

In regional news, I was very excited to see an Electrek post about our neighbors to the west:

You go, New Mexico! (Click here for article) Woohoo!

Here in Lubbock, the steadily increasing stream of pedestrian and bullet-based deaths continues. More painful statistics and meaningless death.

At our house, on the other hand, our household grew by one and we are thrilled!

May you be blessed and encouraged, and may we find better paths!

Fossil Free Friday: More Inexpensive and (Somewhat) Local Electric Cars

Earlier this week I published a post on used electric cars and their very low prices: Good News: VERY Affordable Electric Cars. I just pulled up a few quick electric car searches on Ebay to show how little money it takes to bring one home these days.

That post's afterlife has been an interesting thing. It did not really take off  and it's had moderate online traffic.

But it keeps popping up in my immediate circles. I was having dinner with my wife on the first day it was posted. She told me that KB had called her with a lot of questions about the electric Fiats -  a red one had caught her eye.

And I've had three more separate but similar conversations with friends since then. Most of the time, MH posts seem like my own (not-so) dirty little secrets in the real world. But this post has people seriously looking at picking up an electric car.

So, to keep fanning the electric car flames, I decided to do a repeat attempt, but this time on Craigslist. Almost nothing popped up in West Texas, but Dallas and Austin offered up some tempting stuff:

A sample search of Dallas Craigslist "Electric"

The first attempt in Dallas showed an overwhelming number of Fiat 500E's and one Mitsubishi MiEV. So I took a second shot and just searched for Nissan Leafs. An impressive number of those popped up too. (For those of you who are interested, a number of Teslas popped up further down the list - but they were all out of the Mesquite Hugger price range.)

A sample search of Dallas Craigslist "Leaf"

While I was that far east, I decided to hop down I-35 to see what was happening down in Austin. The offerings were a little more diverse:

A sample search of Austin Craigslist "Electric"

A few Fords, a few Teslas, a BMW i3, Smarts, Leafs, Fiats, and an electric Jeep. Some fun stuff down there.

This is the one cool oddball that popped up - an Electric Jeep Wrangler

(with right-hand drive and very tiny pictures)

Inspired by all of this success in finding EV's, I decided to try another search to find an electric car to serve as the Official Mesquite Hugger business car. Here is what I found:

Several sample searches of "Citicar"

Oh well, I didn't find mine, but I hope this helps you find yours so you can (choose all that apply)

• smirk
• laugh
• giggle
• gesture rudely
• moon everyone
• leer
• [insert your own]

every time you pass a (choose all that apply)

• Chevron
• Exxon
• BP
• Fina
• Shell
• Valero
• Citgo
• [insert your own]

station.

May you know the freedom and mirth of not polluting the earth so darn much!

Good News: VERY Affordable Electric Cars

Okay, so you're wanting to make the move to electric, but you're not quite there on the money. I hear you! But there's more hope than most people know. With government and state EV incentives for new EVs, a public that's still pretty hesitant on going electric, and a lot of electric cars coming off of two and three year leases, there are lots of really good deals on used electric cars!

This Leaf is from Ebay too!

Before we go there, though, let's talk about the state of electric cars here in the states. Americans know very little about electric cars, their availability, and how far they've come in the last seven years or so. But don't take my word for it, check out this article from Car and Driver. The good news about these articles (for you) is that the lack of electric car awareness contributes to a lack of demand for electric cars, which also keeps the price down. So, there are bargains to be had.

I know, Talk is cheap, Mesquite Hugger. Put up or shut up!

Well, here they are - a sampling of inexpensive, late-model, and (mostly) low-mileage fully-electric cars on Ebay this week. Since this is a Lubbock-based blog, I did a few of the searches based on location. You may find some better deals closer to your locale.

All four are less than 400 miles from Lubbock!

The consistently best deals to be found are the Fiat 500e's and the Nissan Leafs. Me, I'd prefer the Leaf based on the longer history, the larger number of dealers with EV experience, and the vastly greater cargo and passenger space. But I have to admit, the little Fiats are pretty tempting if you're in the market for cuter than a bug on a rug.

Less than 350 miles from Lubbock

Keep in mind when you're looking at electric car ownership that maintenance costs and fuel costs on EV's are a great deal lower than on fossil-fuel cars. A low-priced car that is extremely inexpensive to operate - now that is truly a bargain and can do very nice things for your personal budget.

Still close to Lubbock - and cheap!

Most of the cars in this post have at least 80 miles of range, which is a lot more than most of us drive per day. For multi-car families they make a great deal of sense. And they're really great if you are interested in doing less damage to the planet. (But not as great as a bike or an electric bike.)

The least expensive electric BMW on Ebay

The BMW i3 is a very impressive car - BMW put a great deal of thought and engineering into building a car extremely well-suited to electric power.

The least expensive Ford Focus Electric on Ebay

It's not rare to find the electric Focus considerably cheaper on the Austin and Dallas Cragslist ads. They generally stay in line with Leaf prices.

The only Mitsubishi MiEV on Ebay

By most accounts, the MiEV is not the greatest of electric cars, but there's something about the funky little machine that keeps me curious. (But not at $8,600)

Smart Leaf Smart

The least expensive Tesla on Ebay.

So, there you have it. a random sampling of electric cars on Ebay this week. All of these are fully electric. If you've been leaning more toward Plug-in hybrids, they are out there too, but they tend to be a little more expensive. Search for the Ford C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi, the Chevy Volt, and Toyota Prius if you are curious.

May you find planet-friendly solutions much more accessible than you ever dreamed, and may you drive (or pedal) cleanly.

PS. If you want to know a little more about all-electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrids, be sure to check out this Mesquite Hugger post from 2015.

Fully Charged Christmas, Sondors, E-BMX, and another ATX Cargo Bargain

We will start with Robert Lewellyn's newest Fully Charged video. Robert does a year-end review that offers some optimism and mirth. Actually, this episode offers lots of good news. Did you hear that? Good news! Watch it already! Yes, good news! (I have really missed good news lately.)

Watch it here!

 

If you haven't clicked that yet, let me remind you that there is a plethora of good news here - and not just cars: bikes, solar, batteries, bio-gas, and one of my new faves - IMBYP! If you are not familiar with Fully Charged, browse the collection of videos on youtube. If you're not familiar with Robert, go find yourself a few episodes of Red Dwarf (after Series II) to watch.

 

 

Sondors News

 

On the local side, Grizz's Sondors bikes have arrived (but they are staying in the box until after Christmas.) I will keep you posted when they do pop out!

 

In other news, they still have several bikes on sale for $500 each, so you can still have a pair of bikes in boxes sitting on your porch for less than $1500. (There are even Thin models for those of you who don't go for that whole monster-truck-bike motif.)

 

In even more news, Sondors announced another model - this one a folding bike. The first run will be available only to those who already own a Sondors bike. They will be available to the general public in 2018. I haven't found details on pricing, but who cares? It's only money!

 

The Sondors Fold Check it out here!

Monster Truck as Folding Bike

(Most of the pics on the website look like computer renderings.)

 

A new Promo Video for the Prodeco Tech/Life EV E-BMX

 

This time with New Yorkers doing tricks!

 

Upside down on an e-bike - Watch it here!

 

If you want one, hurry up - the intro prices are creeping up!

 

Another Cargo Bike Bargain in Austin

Madsen Cycles

 

Madsens usually run a few thousand dollars or more. They are very legit cargo bikes that are especially popular for hauling children about. At $650, this one is a steal -  find it on Austin Craigslist while supplies last. (Our dog pack would love it!) Somebody go buy this thing and put it to good, carbon-free use!

 

There you go - many updates and an uplifting-ish video. May you have a wonderful day and find some good news somewhere in this post!

 

Thanks, friends!

 

A Green Green Car on Ebay! (MH Drool)

 

I know that not all of you read Mesquite Hugger because you want to be a Mesquite Hugger. Some of you read because you (like me) are infatuated with a little wedge-shaped electron burner from Florida called the "Citicar" or the "Comuta Car" depending on when or by whom it was built. Teslas and BMW i8's and such are fine for you normal folk, but some of us have a taste for the rare, the vintage, the slow, and the ugly! (I think there are three of us. So today's post is for us three!)

Love those tiny bumpers!

The Citicar is a significant piece of electric car history. Actually, it was the most successful American electric car in history until the Tesla came along. Not bad for such an unassuming little beast.

All the info

 

The exciting part is that this one looks a bit nicer than most, like it hasn't spent its life being neglected in someone's backyard. And it's green! And it's got some rocking hubcaps! And it just needs batteries! (They all need batteries.)

 

The drawbacks (for me) are that it's half-a-country away (Beaverton, Oregon) and that it costs money. Sure it looks like a reasonable amount of money, but that doesn't put it in the range of a guy who is saving his pennies to try to buy a budget model e-bike. So I am sharing it with you other two people in case you have a bigger budget and you want to give this beauty a loving home.

I could sit close to my lovely wife (if she'd be seen in the beast)

Road trip to Beaverton!

Cool old Ford in the garage too

 

May we all dream of greener options! (And follow through with our dreams.)

World-Famous Scientist, LBK Experts, and a dork at the TTU Museum tomorrow!

One of these three people is speaking at the Texas Tech Museum tomorrow (10/16/2016) at 2pm: (And I am excited about it!)

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and a couple of dorky guys

If you've never heard Dr. H speak, you could be in for a real treat tomorrow, but you have to get yourself over to the Texas Tech Museum (4th and Indiana). It's a bit ironic that Lubbock [where we work so desperately to convince ourselves that we have nothing to worry about or that there is nothing we can do about it] is home to one of the world's most respected and influential climate scientists.  

Dr. Hayhoe and her unsung colleagues at the Texas Tech Climate Sciences Center offer a clear voice of inspiration, wisdom, and hope in an area that offers lots of sound and fury but little else.

The whole event is in support of the Smithsonian/Chicago Museum of Science and Industry Green Revolution exhibit which is now on display at the museum.

All the info you need

Besides the speaker, the reason that I am excited about this event is that it is designed to offer encouragement and support to local people who want to lead greener lives. From 2:30-4 you can visit booths manned womaned peopled by local experts on a number of topics. You can meet the LP&L guy who is the Mother Teresa of LED lighting, you can meet the Tech Recycling people; you can meet our local authorities on xeriscaping, community gardening, water conservation, wind energy, solar power, and so much more. There's even going to be a dorky blogger there talking about electric vehicles and their ability to help us pollute vastly less while saving money and enjoying the ride! (He might also talk a lot about bicycles, give away a few {tiny} Teslas, and give away three self-promoting t-shirts.)

May the dorky blogger see you there and may we all find new ways to make our world a healthier place!

PS. Personal Carbon Reduction makes me so very happy!

National Drive Electric Week Begins: 2 Local Used Electric Vehicles for Sale

[Yep, it's a minipost]

Both ends of the spectrum here:

a 2014 Tesla Model S and...

an "as is" electric bike.

The Tesla is on Amarillo Craigslist and there is no price listed. It's the first Tesla I've seen for sale locally. The Ezip bicycle is on Lubbock Craigslist and says "as is". If it just needs batteries, the $100 price is not bad for a very basic entry level e-bike. (If it needs a rear wheel, I just happen to have one for it.)

Be sure and tell 'em the Mesquite Hugger sent you!

So there you go. I will keep looking to see if anything somewhere between these pops up.

May you find green transport that fits your budget and your needs while making the world a little healthier for us all.

Fossil Free Friday: Random Electric Car Stuff

A day of three faster EV sightings

I keep a count on daily electric car sightings here in Lubbock. So far, I have seen none today, but the day is young and foggy. But last week I had a banner day. In one day I spotted two Teslas (a black Model S and a charcoal Model S) and the white BMW i8. Generally, if I see an electric car, it's a Leaf. Once in a while it's a Volt or one of the PHEV Fords. Yes, I know, it's nothing too exciting, but we take our thrills where we can. (But the EVs are still a vast minority in our gas-powered town. On a more encouraging note, I am seeing a lot more bike riders!)

On the same day and the other hand - 4 white Chevy SUVs outside the little guy's school

Buy this Lectric Leopard photo on Ebay 

One of those things I kind of missed on EBay is another Lectric Leopard, and this one was sad to me. The sad part was how it was marketed. The guy was trying to sell it as a rust-free candidate to be converted back to gasoline power. Oy vey! Such a shame!

Speaking of oddball unconventional EVs on Ebay...

All of these beauties are currently for sale on Ebay.  Guess which five I want!

A great article in prep for National Drive Electric Week:
CleanTechnica: 30 Reasons Your Next Car Should Be Electric - I like 2, 5, 15, 18, and the TMBG video. How about you?

And here's a great article to prep all of you obnoxious Texans for National Drive Electric Week:
Green Car Reports: Why I leased a 2017 Chevy Volt (in Texas) to replace a Volvo

May you experience Reason #2 while helping out with Reason #16, and may you have a great day!

2016 National Drive Electric Week in Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, Odessa-Midland, and Wichita Falls!!!

National Drive Electric Week 2016 is September 10-18.

 

We may need a bigger battery pack! (Click the map to find an event near you.)

 

May we find what we are looking for and may it be healthier for us all!

 

PS - More NDEW news to come, but no events.

Tesla Supercharger in Lubbock, Texas!

Don't you love misleading titles?

It's really exciting to see this Tesla charging station graphic...

 

...until you realize...

 ...that you live here.

 

Have heart - the public charging stations are getting closer. (And there is that one at McGavock Nissan.)

 

May we all get a charge soon!

Mesquite Hugger Disclaimer 1: Electric Cars (and Bikes)

This is not quite an eating crow post, but there will be a little back-stepping. You see, I go on and on about electric cars, bikes, and scooters. And I do think those things are extremely important in the fight to reduce carbon release and widespread environmental poisoning.

But there are definitely cleaner (and cheaper) options. And you do not have to buy an electric car (or bike) to clean up your transportation act.

You are probably thinking to yourself, Well here he goes. He's gonna start rattling on about propane (and propane accessories) or veggie oil or biodiesel or that car I saw on Discovery that runs on Keystone light and apple vinegar...

But it's simpler than that.

• Shoes
• Bicycles
• Carpooling
• Buses
• Trains

My kind of green transportation!

Shoes. It's pretty simple. If it's in walking distance, not much is greener (or healthier) than walking.

The coolest minivan ever!

 

Bicycles. Yep. The plain, old, everyday bicycle is an amazing tool for preventing world damage. Yes, there is a carbon footprint to the manufacture and maintenance of a bike, but it's nothing compared to a car. (You may already have a bike. If so, nothing is greener than the one you already have. If not, lots of well-kept used bikes are out there just begging to be ridden. Buy used or see if anyone around you wants to give one away.) Riding a bike is also great for your heart, your brain, and your physique. Pedal power!

This may be overdoing it on the carpool idea (click here for more fun Beetle stuff)

Carpooling. Imagine you tooling along in your electric car. Then look around and notice all the other drivers around you driving along in their gasmobiles. Four of you in a gas-burner would be much greener than you in your Leaf and three others in their three stinky gas cars. On the other hand, if you were carpooling in a Leaf...you four would be eco-superstars!

Go big, go green, or go home (or take the big green bus home!)

The Bus or the Train. This is just carpooling on a much larger scale. If the goal is releasing less carbon, mass transit is the clear winner when compared to a bunch of people in cars. If everyone had an electric car, the balance might change, but I don't see us there any time soon.

Now that's just creepy!

Sure, not every trip is possible on the options listed, but every single gas-burning trip avoided is a win for us all.

May you think before every trip and find better options!

Fossil Free Friday: Electric Cars Exist - Really!

No fooling!

 

 

The actual car I drove this week. Really! This is no April Fools joke. It does not burn gas!

Earlier this week, I went to do a little presentation about electric cars at a local event. My friend Matt graciously let me borrow his Nissan Leaf. (It's such a pleasure to drive a Leaf - thanks, Matt!)

For me (on a selfish side) taking the Leaf killed my presentation. No one saw my powerpoint slides. No one scanned my QR code to see the big page o' links I put together just for the presentation. I put in a whole lot of work for nothing.

But the Leaf made my point much better than the presentation ever could have.

You see, electric cars thrill me. Every Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Ford Energi, BMW i3, i8, or Tesla I spot makes my heart leap. Mostly, I just see Leafs and Volts. I get this endorphin/adrenaline surge each time I see any of them - yes, I am fully aware that I am an eco-dork. (Maybe I need a t-shirt!) I live and breathe electric vehicles. And I thought that everyone knew about them.

No one in Lubbock knows that electric cars exist.

 

I put a lot of work into this sucker!

But a funny thing happened when I was showing off the Leaf. No one quite knew what it was. When I explained why there was no tailpipe, I got a lot of crazy looks. My favorite question was this: "How does this compare to my friend's [Toyota] Prius?" It took a few sentences to get across the idea that they are not the same animal. Yes, they both use some electric stuff, but only the Leaf burns NO GAS.

No gas tank.
No tailpipe.
No oil to change.
No gas stations where you suck in harmful vapors.
No noise pollution.
Fewer moving parts to wear out.
And you can charge it up in the privacy of your own garage - very cheaply!

 

Lubbock people just weren't ready for it.

I took 8 people for rides in it. They were stunned at the quiet. They were stunned at the quick. They were stunned at the roominess. They were stunned that riding in it was a normal car experience. (To be fair, four of these people who rode in the Leaf knew it was electric - my wife and three guys who put up with my electric obsession over coffee every morning. Thanks for coming, Grizz, Knippa, and Cptn Kirk!)

Look Ma! No gas!

 

May you tell one person today that electric cars are real and can help us heal our world. (If you need help explaining, try starting here.)

 

PS. Yesterday. we finally got to see the Tesla Model 3 and learn details - a huge day in electric car history.

 

Dang, that thing is cool! (Green Car Reports article)