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What could be cooler than a TARDIS cake?
Jun. 3rd, 2013 09:21 pmHow about one of these?
We haven't bought a new car in over ten years. Mine, bought off about a year and change of rental life, had 16,000 miles on the odometer when we got it and close to 160K on it now. Eleanor started hearing good things about Smart Cars sometime during our refi escapades; we held off, lest the inquiries or payment gum things up, and today was the day to check one out.
She was assigned a decent, down-to-earth and generally fun saleswoman named Kelli- who talked to her except in response to questions I had. Their fully electric version is almost brand-new to market; it's distinguishable from the hybrid, at least from the outside, mainly by the two deelybopper-like stalks on the dashboard which contain the charging meters. It has a traditional looking gas cap, but that contains the business end of the regular-looking three-prong AC plug, which you can use to charge it, gradually, through a standard 110 line, but which they recommend be connected to a 220-240 volt dedicated port. Even assuming standard kilowatt charges (which you won't always incur- many spots, including their dealership and AAA, let you use them for free), the MPG equivalent of this thing is well over 100 miles to the "gallon."
But it's so small! Yeah, if you're disposing bodies in the back seat, it is, but we both took a nice long drive out Main to within a few miles of the Genesee County line, and the leg and headroom were actually better than in Eleanor's bigass current truck. The handling was smooth, the acceleration strong, and when you're coasting or braking, you're actually adding to the battery charge. We came back hooked; the only question was whether Mercedes Benz Motor Finance would hook back.
Since I still have a pending loan application for Emily's final year of RIT, we agreed this lease would go in Eleanor's name. Her Wegmans income isn't what it was the last time she qualified for a car loan, but. First, we're only financing a portion of the car's useful life, at least for now; also, they significantly reduced the amount financed when her truck trade-in came in better than I would have hoped. For at least the rest of this year, the monthly payment on the car itself plus the battery lease will be less than the amount of 2013 income tax we save on account of a front-loaded tax credit for acquiring it.
The day went on, and just as the kids were heading out to celebrate Cameron's 21st birthday with his family, the call came in: Eleanor was approved:) The chosen car is in Germany as we speak, awaiting transport to Baltimore. (First, I cracked, it would probably need to take a few days on the way to invade Poland;) It should be here by month end, by which time we should have the 220-ish line in place for its at-home charging.
We'll have three years to get to know the little guy (Eleanor's already christened him Ignatz) before choosing to buy it off lease for roughly half the current retail price. There's a 30,000 mileage cap, but she's only put 55,000 miles on the truck in over a dozen years, so I doubt that will be much of an issue.
It's smartphone/tablet ready for music and charging-station apps. It's got most of the necessary electric toys. And damn is it QUIET unless you're cranking the AC or heat; there's even a remote-starter app that allows you to plug it in while out, and have the car heat up or cool off while at a power station, enabling that load to not be passed to the battery.
It's a whole new world, and after an average of a decade apiece in late 20th century forms of transport, it'll be cool to be at the forefront of a movement for a change. And, yes, it is bigger than it looks on the inside:)
We haven't bought a new car in over ten years. Mine, bought off about a year and change of rental life, had 16,000 miles on the odometer when we got it and close to 160K on it now. Eleanor started hearing good things about Smart Cars sometime during our refi escapades; we held off, lest the inquiries or payment gum things up, and today was the day to check one out.
She was assigned a decent, down-to-earth and generally fun saleswoman named Kelli- who talked to her except in response to questions I had. Their fully electric version is almost brand-new to market; it's distinguishable from the hybrid, at least from the outside, mainly by the two deelybopper-like stalks on the dashboard which contain the charging meters. It has a traditional looking gas cap, but that contains the business end of the regular-looking three-prong AC plug, which you can use to charge it, gradually, through a standard 110 line, but which they recommend be connected to a 220-240 volt dedicated port. Even assuming standard kilowatt charges (which you won't always incur- many spots, including their dealership and AAA, let you use them for free), the MPG equivalent of this thing is well over 100 miles to the "gallon."
But it's so small! Yeah, if you're disposing bodies in the back seat, it is, but we both took a nice long drive out Main to within a few miles of the Genesee County line, and the leg and headroom were actually better than in Eleanor's bigass current truck. The handling was smooth, the acceleration strong, and when you're coasting or braking, you're actually adding to the battery charge. We came back hooked; the only question was whether Mercedes Benz Motor Finance would hook back.
Since I still have a pending loan application for Emily's final year of RIT, we agreed this lease would go in Eleanor's name. Her Wegmans income isn't what it was the last time she qualified for a car loan, but. First, we're only financing a portion of the car's useful life, at least for now; also, they significantly reduced the amount financed when her truck trade-in came in better than I would have hoped. For at least the rest of this year, the monthly payment on the car itself plus the battery lease will be less than the amount of 2013 income tax we save on account of a front-loaded tax credit for acquiring it.
The day went on, and just as the kids were heading out to celebrate Cameron's 21st birthday with his family, the call came in: Eleanor was approved:) The chosen car is in Germany as we speak, awaiting transport to Baltimore. (First, I cracked, it would probably need to take a few days on the way to invade Poland;) It should be here by month end, by which time we should have the 220-ish line in place for its at-home charging.
We'll have three years to get to know the little guy (Eleanor's already christened him Ignatz) before choosing to buy it off lease for roughly half the current retail price. There's a 30,000 mileage cap, but she's only put 55,000 miles on the truck in over a dozen years, so I doubt that will be much of an issue.
It's smartphone/tablet ready for music and charging-station apps. It's got most of the necessary electric toys. And damn is it QUIET unless you're cranking the AC or heat; there's even a remote-starter app that allows you to plug it in while out, and have the car heat up or cool off while at a power station, enabling that load to not be passed to the battery.
It's a whole new world, and after an average of a decade apiece in late 20th century forms of transport, it'll be cool to be at the forefront of a movement for a change. And, yes, it is bigger than it looks on the inside:)