Transportation

In late January I started to get the itch. New Car Fever is what I call it. I found out an all new Pontiac Vibe was going to be out soon. I currently drive a 2003 AWD Vibe. This has been the best car I have ever owned. I attribute this to the fact it is really, as I call it, a Toyota in Pontiac's clothing. I have owned it 5 years in March, and other than throwing new tires on it, and having a buzzy speaker replaced, it has been absolutely trouble free. Not even requiring brake work - a miracle for anything with a GM badge on it....

So why get rid of a car that has been this good? Good question. Still don't have a good answer, other than upgrading, or moving on before I start to put $$ into it. The new Vibe has a lot of great standard safety features - 6 airbags, 4 wheel ABS disc brakes, stability control, traction control, and active head restraints. Before gas prices really started to skyrocket again recently, I was certain I wanted to get a new Vibe with the larger 2.4 engine in it (One of my few complaints about my existing Vibe is it is a bit underpowered).... but gas mileage is becoming a premium. So I am on the fence. I am guessing that the 2.4 will do about the same as my current AWD, but I would like to upgrade the mileage too. Guess I will need to choose between power and efficiency. They rate the 2.4 with an automatic (I wish I could drive a stick, but never did learn) at 21/29. My AWD is 22/29 with the new ratings. Most of my driving is city, so I would be closer to the 21.... which makes me cringe....

So I have considered a few other cars - the Corolla for one (27/35 on mileage I think), but my brother test drove one and he said it felt cramped and was noisy... A little disturbing as the Vibe is based on the Corolla....

I also spent quite a bit of time looking at motor scooters (I don't mean the skateboards with handles that kids use, I mean things like Vespas). Besides the fact I would probably kill myself on it, the biggest obstacle is it requires a motorcycle license if it can go over 30. A few manufacturers have models with some type of restriction on the exhaust to prevent speeds over 30, but they are few, and expensive.... but the prospect of 80+ MPG is very alluring....

In doing all this research I found out that electric bicycles are not legal in NYS. There is legislation stalled in the state senate to legalize these vehicles and classify them as bicycles, not motor vehicles. Why they haven't passed this, I have no idea. I think a lot of people would potentially use these for short commutes as the price of gas skyrockets.....

Anyway, this is sort of a ramble, but the other thing I was thinking is that it seems that 80% of the cars on the road at any given time have only 1 occupant. So why aren't we driving 1 seater cars? Why aren't these produced? Well, you could say they are called motorcycles, but I am thinking of something enclosed with 4 wheels. They would certainly get greater mileage than any 4 seater on the road. Safety is the biggest obstacle. As long as semi-trucks and huge SUVs are on the same roads, I don't suppose we would see something like this.... We would need to radically change our roadway infrastructure to support this, but I can't help but think this is a worthy undertaking....