Well now you no longer have to curse under your breath about how you wish you had the guts to put a crowbar through their windshield.  You can let your anger out in a creative and hilarious way with Parking Tickets.

Parking Tickets is a package of 20 creative pull-out cards that you can leave on your enemies windshield depending on what parking offense they have committed.  The benefits of these cards are:

A. They help you avoid confrontation.

B. They make the offender feel like a total tool-box.  Because let’s be honest… word’s hurt… and sometimes they hurt a lot more than a rock through the driver side window.

The cards have some pretty creative inspirational quotes for the parking-challenged such as:

• “I used to park like this, then I turned 6″
• “Your car isn’t nice enough for two spots”
• “Maybe a GPS system could’ve helped you find the middle of this parking spot”
• “Did you park like this or was there an earthquake?”

You can see some more examples of the cards here, and I recommend you do because they are quite funny.

The company that makes the Parking Ticket booklets is called Shinebox Print and they cost $6.95US plus shipping and handling for a 20-pack.  But $6.95 is cheap compared to how much it costs for a lawyer to get you off on your vehicular assault charges.

Cheers!

jordenf

You see these new hybrid and electric vehicles don’t make any noise.  If you have ever gone for a ride in a hybrid or  ZEV you will know what I’m talking about, they make no sound at all.  It’s as if they haven’t even been turned on yet.  Well for people who depend on sound alone to decide whether it’s safe or not to cross the street this has become a bit of a problem.

To fix this problem the folks at Nissan were originally going to give the Leaf an artificial sound that would simulate a regular car engine.  But I guess when you can make a vehicle sound like anything you want a regular old car engine is kind of boring, and apparently Nissan noise and vibration expert Toshiyuki Tabata agrees:

We decided that if we’re going to do this, if we have to make sound, then we’re going to make it beautiful and futuristic. We wanted something a bit different, something closer to the world of art.

So Nissan decided to make the Leaf sound like a Police spinner from Blade Runner (see video below).

The sound will start as soon as the car is turned on and then it will switch off automatically around the 20kmh mark when the tire noise is loud enough for pedestrians to hear.  Now Nissan isn’t the first company to use this technique, Fisker Karma decided that their $80,000 electric car would replicate the sound of a jet engine and a Formula One car.  Yikes! Wouldn’t want to live next to that guy.

Cheers!

jordenf

If you would like to see some more pictures of the Nissan Leaf you can do so on my Flickr Feed.

The Nissan Leaf will be released in 2011 and will have a max speed of 90 miles per hour and will roughly go around 100 miles on a full charge (so this is obviously a commuting car).  It is geared towards families as it’s tag line is:  “5 passengers, 5 doors”.  And as you can see by the photo above and the few on my Flick Feed it looks fairly “normal” which is kind of nice as it will have a broad appeal.  Now the kicker in all of this is the price… Nissan states that it is only going to cost about the same as a regular compact vehicle.  My complaint with hybrid vehicles has always been that they are too expensive for young people (the people who actually care about the environment) to buy them.  Well not anymore.

Nissan of course is still working on their wireless charging stations so that eventually you wont have to plug your car in, but drive over a panel that will charge the car instead.  And down the road we may even see special highway lanes that will charge your Nissan Leaf as you drive!

This is a step in the right direction and it will be interesting to see how many of these cars are purchased  If you want to keep tabs on the Nissan Leaf or ask any questions about the technology you can follow the vehicle @NissanEVs on Twitter.  Nissan has yet to release info on how it can get a car to tweet.

Cheers!

jordenf

If you enjoyed this post you may also like the articles I have written on Electric Car Chargers, Solar Forests, or E-Bikes.  You can also find any other eco-related posts by clicking the link or by searching the categories on the right side of my page.

So in a sense you are pretty much mother or father nature.  During the summer you like to be at one with the environment, no Disneyland for you and the kids, you want to be next to the trees, the soil, to the animals, living off the land in the wilderness… only one problem… you freakin’ hate camping.

Well I have a solution for you Father Freetrade and Mother Must-Be-Organic… it’s called the Camper Bike.  This bad-boy was created by Boston artist Kevin Cyr and is a half-sized RV that is mounted on the back of a modified tricycle.  It’s human powered and completely emission free but you might need to take the back roads when finding your wooded oasis because it looks like it would be really hard to get up to 100km per hour on the freeway with a camper on your back.

On the inside (which unfortunately I can’t find any pictures of) it has small but efficient appliances, some storage, and of course a place to sleep.  You’ll still have to pee in the woods though because is doesn’t have a septic tank.

Cyr created the camper bike as a work of art for his photographs and they make an appearance in many of his paintings as well.  Even though it is meant as an art piece it is fully functioning and will go anywhere you can pedal it… which probably isn’t that far, but even if you did get cooking on that thing think of how hard it would be to stop without the whole thing toppling over on you… hold onto your hat!

Here is a link to the original article on Inhabitat and I have also posted some more photographs of the Camper Bike on my Flickr feed.

Cheers!

jordenf

Well architect Neville Mars has figured out a pretty awesome way to combat the heat while charging your electric car.  He has created tall tree trunks that will stand in parking lots, on top of these tree trunks will be branches with photovoltaic leaves on them.  Those leaves will absorb the sun and turn it into energy that you will use to recharge your EV (electric vehicle) by plugging it into the base of the tree trunks while you run your errands.

The other cool thing is that the solar forest moves with the sun to shade your car while it’s parked, so when you hop back in after getting your groceries your ice-cream wont melt right away.  I’ve posted a video below of the new technology (hopefully Mars doesn’t do that whole copyright thing and have it removed).

I guess it only makes sense after we tore down the trees to put up these parking lots (sounds like a Joni Mitchell song to me) that we put some trees back up!  Also if you want to see some more pictures or want some more info on these parking lot forests you can visit one of my favourite sites Inhabitat which is a great source for everything eco.  If you are interested in Electric Vehicles read my earlier posts on the i MiEV, e-bikes and Nissan’s ZEV.

Cheers!

jordenf

Nissan has developed a revolutionary plug-free technology that it claims will make charging electric cars easier and faster. The wireless charging system is based on the concept of inductive charging, the same electromagnetic field technology used to charge an electric toothbrush. Nissan has scaled it up for use in their Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) electric car, which can charge in a compatible parking bay without the need for wires. Today’s electric car owners, by contrast, have to carry a mains plug aboard to recharge.

So this basically means that when you park your ZEV into an appropriate parking stall the car will automatically start charging for you.  Just goes to show how quickly technology changes as it was only about 2 weeks ago I was writing about plug-in electric charging stations being installed in Vancouver and now in 5-10 years those may be obsolete.  Nissan also figures that if they can install these charging plates in a parking stall why can’t they implant a bunch of them on the freeway as well?

The plan by Nissan is to have designated EV (electric vehicle) or ZEV (zero emission vehicle) lanes which will have a series of plates in them that would allow your vehicle to charge while you drive… in theory as long as you are on a designated charging lane you could technically drive non-stop, with zero emissions, for as long as you wanted.  I bet the oil lobbyists are excited about this!

The Nissan ZEV will be a five-seater family-sized car with a top speed of 90mph.  It will go on sale in 2010 in the USA and Japan and then in most markets in 2012.  I have yet to see a picture of it but Redmer van der Meer, Nissan’s European electric vehicle product manager, says it won’t be a weird shaped egg or anything and it will be built in a way so that when new improved batteries are developed they can easily be retro-fitted.  Sweet!  The ZEV is expected to be unveiled on August 2nd, in Yokohama, Japan.

Cheers!

jordenf

Read my original post below.

So I was reading an interesting article this morning in the Vancouver Sun by Joanne Lee-Young on electric car chargers in Vancouver.  Apparently Vancouver council is trying to make it mandatory for new residential condo developments to have 10 percent of their parking spots include electrical outlets for vehicles.  A neat concept that would put Vancouver ahead of the rest of Canada in this step forward to create a greener city.

So basically how it would work is each new condo building constructed would have to include a power charging kiosk for 10 percent of the parking stalls.  Mayor Gregor Robertson says that the city of Vancouver would also install public charging kiosks in some of their EasyPark lots and eventually have a few on-street stations as well.

The current problem is that the developer’s representative UDI (Urban Development Institute) is saying that 5 percent of the parking stalls would be more reasonable than 10 because currently at the time of this blog their are fewer than 10 EV – Electric Vehicle’s in the city… also their is concern over BC Hydro being able to supply the extra energy to these stations.   But I guess Vancouver council’s thinking is that the more spots available for these cars the easier it will be to get around in one, which will encourage people to purchase them when they do become available in Canada in the near future.  Because lets be honest, no one is going to buy a car if they cant power it up easily.

i MiEV - 120 km on a single charge costing about $2-$4

The City of Vancouver and BC Hydro signed an agreement with Mitsubishi a few months back agreeing to use its new i MiEV electric vehicle as test run models for their fleet.  But even with the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro cruising around in these EV’s it hardly seems necessary to have 10 percent of parking stalls in condo developments “power ready” for these vehicles.  But that being said the times are changing and according to Don Chander, the past president of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, there are 18 major automakers currently developing EV’s, so the need for 10 percent of parking stalls to have charging stations may be here before we know it.

Cheers!

jordenf

If you enjoyed this post and are interested in electric and green transportation you may want to check out my post on e-bikes or on Nissan’s plan to have a wireless rechargeable car.

The marketing campaign for it I think is fantastic.  Rather than calling it a vehicle they call it a “mobile device” and treat it as if it is a computer of some sort.  You don’t just get into the Cube you “login” to it (see commercial below).  What I love about the exterior is that it’s not symmetrical, the back window wraps around one side… and as the Nissan website says “symmetry is so last year.” I’m also a big fan of the boxy look as well as the grill on the front.

So not only is the outside esthetically pleasing to me but the inside is no slouch either.  It has tiered seating, 50 cubic feet ofstorage, room for 7, and a totally customizable dashboard and custom coloured lights.  It comes with Rockford Fosgate subs and of course a place for your iPod.  Each part of the interior is inspired by nature; you will see rain drops in the cup holders and on the ceiling and the gauges are inspired after the moon and the earth.  Under the hood it has a 122-hp, 1.8-L, 4-cylinder engine, and it comes in manual or CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)… so you wont be taking a Ferrari or probably even a Hyundai off the line but it will be good on gas. But really I’m more geeked about the look of it and the customizable options… but as a guy who knows nothing about cars but enjoys shiny things and writing blogs I think I might be first in line to get one of these things.

Cheers!

jordenf

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The e-bike looks like a scooter and acts like a scooter except it has a rechargeable electric motor in it, rather than a gas engine and also has options to put pedals in it if you want to kick it old school and move your legs for a little… what do you call it?… oh yeah, Exercise!  Also using the pedals will recharge your battery so you can slack off later.  Not only is it better for the environment than a regular scooter would be but get this, in Canada and the US you don’t have to register it, have a license to drive it, or purchase insurance for it… which makes it probably the cheapest vehicle you will ever be able to own.  You just plug it in to any electrical outlet and recharge at night.  And with more and more downtown condos like Concord Pacific’s Cosmo coming with recharge stations it will be even more convenient for the downtown e-biker, or electric car owner.

Phantom 3000 - E-Bike Town

The other great thing about it is you wont have to pay big bucks for parking anymore, because of its size and status as a “bicycle” you can pull it up onto the curb and park it in a regular bike rack (you are probably going to want to lock this one up though).  So for you downtowner’s this is a great option for a quick commute to work, or up to the store to get some groceries (they do come with containers to carry stuff in), they also come in handy if you are in a Len music video… oh did I mention they do 50km/hour on a full charge? Hold onto your hat!

Now there are a couple of drawbacks.  First off the battery will only last for about 3 years (a replacement batter will run you around $300, but weigh that against not paying for gas or insurance and it’s still a no brainer).  They also don’t do to well in a torrential downpour because of all the exposed electronic components… however you wouldn’t really want to be out on the road on a bike in the rain anyways.  You also do need to wear a helmet as it is the law (at least in Canada) and you have to be over 16 to drive one, but like I said earlier you do not require a license.

So if you are looking for an alternative option for your daily commute an e-bike may be the smart way to go and they will run you anywhere from $1,100 – $2,500!

Ol Skool - E-Bike Town

If you are in the Vancouver area you can purchase them through E-Bike Town or from E-Ride.  If you check out their websites you can see some of the different models available…  some resemble motorcycles some look like old school European bikes… and if you visit their showrooms (or hunt around online for any other e-bike retailer) you’ll find that the styles and colours are endless.

Cheers!

jordenf