Electric cars are not a new invention - they’ve been around almost as long as their traditional gasoline powered counterparts. However, electric vehicles have not hit mainstream popularity because of their relatively high costs and limited range of power. Well, one company is trying to change all that. This is not your grandfather’s new Ford truck.

Starting in Israel and Denmark, Project Better Place has teamed up with Renault in an attempt to take electric cars out of the fringe category and have them become a viable alternative to the gas powered vehicle. What makes Project Better Place believe they can do what no one else has been able to do before is they have $200 million in start-up capital.

They plan to add electrical outlets to tens of thousands of existing parking spaces in both countries. For those in a hurry and unable to wait for a battery to recharge, they will also offer drive-through stations where dying batteries can be swapped with fully charged batteries.

Taking a page out of the cell phone company’s playbook, the cars will be offered at a low initial charge. The company plans to make the majority of their money in monthly or annual plans, where drivers pay to have access to an on-board computer that will show where the nearest recharging station is. The batteries will remain property of Project Better Place.

The cars are expecting to mimic a modern European design, range form about 100-160 km (enough for most commuters), and perform comparably to a 1.6 L gas powered car. Perhaps best of all, as the cars are fully electric there will be no emissions and no noise generated by the vehicle. The company plans to have sold between ten and twenty thousand cars in Israel, with similar numbers in Denmark, by the year 2011.

As both consumers and countries attempt to reduce their dependence on oil and fossil fuels with the ever increasing price of oil, the time of the electric car may have finally arrived. Your next new Ford car might be running on lightning.

If you can’t wait for the electric version and you’re in the market for a new Ford vehicle, stop by Sunset Ford and take a look at the new inventory.

I grew up watching Michael Knight and KITT fight the bad guys. But it was a much simpler time in those days when the heroes and good guys were obvious and the bad guys were even more obvious. It seems like that’s changed over the years as the line between “good and evil” has blurred.
That’s why I was so excited to hear that this iconic TV show Knight Rider (along with its car) is making its way back to the airwaves on NBC!
And this time, the show is using one of the most recognized Ford cars ever made–with several modifications, of course. This time around, Mr. Knight’s son will be driving around in a Ford Shelby Mustang while fighting the bad guys. Maybe a whole new generation can grow up watching a man and his Ford Mustang fight crime, just as I did so many years ago (it was a different brand of vehicle back then, though).
According to Variety, a trade magazine for the television industry, Knight Rider will likely have a Friday night time slot when it debuts as a new series later this year. NBC checked to see if it was still as popular as it was in the 80s by showing a made-for-TV movie earlier this year. Apparently, the verdict is in, and enough people tuned in to give producers the “green light” to make a new series.
Although this isn’t unprecedented, networks don’t usually revive an old series nearly 30 years after it went off the air the first time. But I, for one, am very happy that it’s coming back and I’m waiting on the edge of my couch. Are you excited, too?