Yeah, but you should see the other guy

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Out: Crumple zones, sound engineering

In: Brute force

People who invest in hybrid cars are significantly less likely to be injured in an accident because heavy batteries under the hood make the vehicles safer than a traditional car, an insurance industry study found.

The average hybrid is 10 percent heavier than a traditional car of the same size, and the extra heft reduces the odds of being hurt in a crash by 25 percent, the report says.

"Saving at the pump no longer means you have to skimp on crash protection," said Matt Moore, vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute and author of the report.

The first generations of hybrids generally were smaller, lighter vehicles than those produced more recently. With manufacturers increasingly converting a portion of some traditionally powered car models to hybrids, the hybrid versions are heavier.

For example, a Honda Accord takes on about 480 pounds when transformed into a hybrid.

Now, ain't that a turn?

Wasn't it just like, yesterday, that over-sized/over-weight SUVs were the scorched Earth bullies of the highway? And wasn't the fact these larger SUVs provided an inherent safety advantage an unspoken selling point with families in the market for the modern day station wagon?

The moral preening and hand-wringing is entirely absent, however, when it is applied to these front-end biased hybrid battering rams and the Newton's 3rd law damage they are inflicting on other cars and drivers out on the highway.


More evidence of the selective logic that is applied when bowing before the altar of green technology.

Saturday at the auto show

Saturday we spun on down to the San Diego Auto Show which was being held at the convention center. With the opportunity to check out some cool wheels we were also very interested to see how our tax dollars were being spent, particularly at the General Motors displays.

Long story short, heavy on the Camaro, Corvette and their SUVs.

Here’s a nice look at the Camaro at one of GM’s central displays.




And here’s the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid.

You know, for $54,000, we better be getting more that 22 highway and 21 city.
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It gets better.

For a mere $59,000, you can roll off the lot in an ethanol-burning Tahoe getting 21 highway and 15 in the city.


And while we’re on a green theme, here’s the Fisker, available in the fall of this year. Fisker you will recall is an automotive company backed by Al Gore which received a $529 million U.S. government loan to manufacture in Finland this little hybrid gem upon which you are affixing your gaze.

Copy price: $89,000.

Hey, no one said going green was going to be cheap. Or ethical. Or sensical.






Jeep had a cool little obstacle course set up.





The man on the left is off-road legend and El Cajon native, Ivan “Iron Man” Stewart. The guy just emanates a rugged, western dudesmanship. People young and old alike were coming up to Stewart, chatting, taking pictures with him and getting his autograph.

Cars from the masses for the masses?

(Scheduled post... such are the perils of being on the road and posting on something that has been covered elsewhere. Oh, well. Enjoy.)

A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000.

The award this week to California startup Fisker Automotive Inc. follows a $465 million government loan to Tesla Motors Inc., purveyors of a $109,000 British-built electric Roadster. Tesla is a California startup focusing on all-electric vehicles, with a number of celebrity endorsements that is backed by investors that have contributed to Democratic campaigns.

The awards to Fisker and Tesla have prompted concern from companies that have had their bids for loans rejected, and criticism from groups that question why vehicles aimed at the wealthiest customers are getting loans subsidized by taxpayers.

We’re not really sure what all the yapping would be about. Hasn’t the Environmental-Industrial complex pretty much established their bona fides in spending your money on the politically-favored/connected on technology that is not yet ready for prime-market time all for the benefit of the well-heeled’s self-esteem?

Matt Rogers, who oversees the department's loan programs as a senior adviser to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, said Fisker was awarded the loan after a "detailed technical review" that concluded the company could eventually deliver a highly fuel-efficient hybrid car to a mass audience. Fisker said most of its DOE loan will be used to finance U.S. production of a $40,000 family sedan that has yet to be designed.

It’s not entirely clear to us that $40,000/unit falls under the mass audience category but who the hell cares about the masses when one of the main beneficiaries of your largesse has dutifully signed up.

The Karma will target an exclusive audience -- Gore was one of the first to sign up for one. Mr. Fisker says all new technology starts out being expensive. He pointed to flat-screen televisions that once started at $25,000 but are now affordable to the mass market.

Way to dig deep, Al! And what are these flat-screens they speak of? Its damn-near miraculous that these T.V.s have dropped in price by order of magnitude in just the 10 or so years since they have been commercially available. Seriously, how was that possible?

Read more about the joys of crony subsidization, picking winners and losers and the self-congratulatory joys of Big Green, here.

This Vehicle Powered by Recycled Sanctimony

Spied this afternoon outside the Joan Kroc center. (click to enlarge)

UPDATE #1: Commentor 'Dawg passes along article here that suggests we were perhaps taking some chances with our safety with our nosy behaviour.

P.S. This artcle may have been sent to us previously via email or perhaps we saw it somewhere else on the interwebs, perhaps even in the Theocracy because it has a distinctly familiar feel. Let us know if were failing to give due credit and we will rectify the matter right quick.