Gas boycott days, a sham

I've heard that filling up in the morning really does work.

Also, you can buy gas from companies that don't use forgein oil. I saw it online somewhere. I'll try to find that list. I want to say it was the smaller gas companies.

Pssst - don't bother.  That list is a myth.

There's also little if any benefit from getting your gas in the morning or from pumping the gas at a slower rate.

Since I drive a Hybrid, I boycott buying gas for 2 weeks at a time, average tank milage about 455 miles.  Then when I do buy gas it's usualy 10 gal or less.  So if people really wanted to hurt "BIG OIL" companies the best way would be to have more Hybrids on the road. Or better yet... when the upcomming electric cars start hitting the market buy one of them and boycott the gas companies FOREVER.  Just my thoughts on gas boycotts that never work.

Okay, who cloned me?  Fess up.

Aw no electric moped?

Mopeds are safe, I wouldn't worry about it.  They don't really go fast enough to get into any serious danger.

I'll be pulling for you OrganicGal, hah. I was in Thailand a few years ago and rented scooters over there...talk about a harrowing experience. I was nervous and totally unfamiliar with driving on the other side of the road.

Anyway, good luck!

That's actually not true.  Electric vehicles (including mopeds) have more 'zip' than equivalent gasoline powered cars, because electric motors reach peak torque immediately whereas combustion engines have to rev up.  Thus electric vehicles accelerate more rapidly.

As for top speed, that just depends on the motor.  My iMoto2 only has a top speed of 20 mph, but that's just because it only has an 800W motor.  The Zapino has a top speed of 30 mph, but that's just because it's electronically limited (so it can qualify as a moped under California laws).  With its 3000W motor, a Zapino can accelerate so fast that you can barely hold on, and could go much faster if its top speed were not electronically limited.

As another example, the RMartin EVD also has a 3000W motor but top speed isn't electronically limited, and it can go up to 50 mph.  It will also accelerate fast enough to give you whiplash if you want it to.  As tybreaker said in his review of the EVD:

"it took me a good dozen stops and starts to finally not feel like I was going to get thrown off the back of the bike.

The acceleration is pretty amazing on city streets - I easily kept up with cars from traffic light to traffic light."

Well like I was saying, if the issue is top speed there are electric mopeds that can go over 45 mph.  Maybe a gas moped is a better choice for organicgal for some reason, but I'm just saying there are electric options available as well.

Boycotting gas on "Boycott Monday", or whatever, is kinda silly.  All of us drive a car need gas when we need gas... So if we don't buy gas one specific day, that just means more of us will be buying gas the very next day - so really no big deal. 

Plus boycotting a specific brand or certain days really only affects the actualy gas station owners, not the main company. 

Now cancelling their credit cards (ie: Chevron, Mobile, etc.) has a bigger effect - unless you always pay your full balance (like me).  If you have roll-over gas debt, you are paying interest - which is kinda salt-in-the-wound to gas prices on you - and the main oil company benefits from that...

Much better than a gas boycott day-

CAR-LESS DAYS!

Take one day off of driving per week.  Carpool, ride the bus, bike, walk, work from home...

And while hybrids are good and all, remember that there are conventional vehicles that get equally good mileage, like the Geo Metro.  And a used car that gets decent mileage may be more environmentally friendly than a hybrid.

Maybe think about holding off on buying your hybrid for a few more years, and see where fuel economy standards are then? 

Yeah the only one I'm aware of is that RMartin EVD because usually electric mopeds are limited to 30 mph (that's the top speed to qualify as a moped, at least in California, I believe).  You can buy one online (or your local dealer can) and get it shipped to you though.  In fact on their website they specifically address your concern:

"This is a big enough bike that you will be seen in traffic and won't risk being under-powered like so many of the electric scooters that barely reach 30 mph." 

Considering that it can go nearly as fast and far as the Vectrix and costs about one-third as much, that's pretty impressive.  Something I'd look into if I were in your position.

To be fair, the reason some older cars like the Geo Metro got comparable fuel efficiency to today's hybrids was that they were lighter and had fewer features.  As a consequence, they're also less safe (i.e. lacking airbags).

However, at this point it probably is advisable to wait a few years before buying a hybrid.  2010 is touted as the year to buy a new car because the Chevy Volt, plug-in Prius, and several affordable highway speed EVs are supposed to be available by then.

Well there's a little bit of conflicting information because the RMartin website says the EVD can go up to 50 mph.  Sounds like a really cool moped to me, I just wish I could ride one!  Unfortunately they're based in Austin TX, and I'm having trouble finding a list of their dealerships.

Their website is definitely a bit confusing.  While it does say in some places the top speed for the EVD is 50 MPH, lower on the page it says the top speed for the EVD+ is 40-45.  While those are two different models...it seems a little counterintuitive for the "plus" model to be slower.

I think it's because the EVD+ is geared toward climbing, whereas the EVD is geared toward flatter terrain.  I'm not sure exactly how they do the gearing such that it's better for climbing but provides a lower top speed, but that seems to be the explanation.

So the reguar EVD does seem to have a top speed of 50 mph.  I also emailed them out of curiosity to see if there are any EVD dealers in northern California, because I'd really like to test ride one!

I'm actually seriously considering upgrading to the EVD myself.  It would cut my commute time roughly in half, which would really be nice.   I sent the R Martin guys a few emails to try and find out if there are any dealerships in the area, and what it takes to become a dealer (since my local shop might be interested).  Haven't heard anything back yet.

Ideally I could convince the electric car shop to become a dealer so I can test ride one before buying.  We'll see.  If I don't hear from them today, I'll probably give R Martin a call tomorrow to get some info on it.

*update* I heard back from Randall Martin (R Martin), and he said there aren't any dealerships around here, and buying directly from them would be a lot cheaper anyway (especially since shipping is free during June), which is a good point.  He told me there are some good reviews if I do a Google search, but I've only been able to find tybreaker's.  The good news is that he gave a lot of good details in his review.  So we'll see - I'll discuss it with the wife tonight.

Randall also says "There are 5 batteries mounted inside. They will last for several years as long as you keep them charged. Today, they would be about $600. We have spares for all parts of the bikes and batteries."

So that's good to know.  He's also very easy to contact (I've heard back from him via email twice today), which is also nice.

Just as an update, I'm having some issues with the shipping company.  They were supposed to deliver my EVD yesterday, but apparently forgot.  Now it's scheduled for deilvery tomorrow afternoon.

Hah tell me about it.  I even took the day off work because they gave me a 7 hour window during which I had to be home to receive the shipment, then it never came!  I was pretty cranky at the end of those 7 hours, let me tell you.  But as long as it comes tomorrow, not really a big deal.