Tesla

We Do It For The Chipmunks

Saturday 30th August 2014

As much as I miss England – my home – I do not miss driving the petrol 2008 Fiat Panda that we drove for the three weeks! Although, I do have to say a big thank you to my mum for letting us use her car, it’s very generous.

There is something to be said for the smoothness and the quietness of the Electric Car, it is a rather superior ride. Having not driven one for three weeks I really do appreciate them even more than usual. Yes, I know I am spoilt by having a garage full of Electric Cars and the worse thing I have to deal with on a day to day basis is deciding which one to take out. But this is what makes a bit of my life less stressful, after all there is enough stress out there without having to drive herky, jerky cars all day. Yes, yes, totally spoilt – but it’s all my side kicks fault!

Three weeks of Petrol Cars – I am so tired of being shaken around, of being thrown backwards and forwards when the car cannot decide which gear to be in. It means you get to your destination totally shaken and feeling a little worse for wear.

The majority of the year is Electric Cars – The same journey in an Electric is totally opposite, there is no shaking, there are no gear changes, it is all just one smooth ride. Destination reached and no shaken feeling, maybe a little stirred by the other drivers on the road who seem to think it is the done thing to annoy me and use my side of the road! I have a long list and may one day post that list.

I’m tired of breathing in polluted air and of those drivers that just don’t care that their car is puffing out noxious gases. Yes, they are there whether you can see them or not. I’m doing my part so why can’t they? Between the noise of the petrol/diesel car and the pollution – it’s a total overload on my system.

I am trying to persuade my mum that she really should get an Electric Car, all the better to improve the air quality for her great grandchildren! The 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV or the 2013 Smart SmartED would be perfect for her. She likes upright seating in a car and the easy of getting in and out. Plus, where she lives, either of these would be perfect for parking in her super-small driveway and especially in the town centre where parking is at a premium.

We’ve gone through the benefits; the smooth driving, never going to the petrol station again, ease of plugging in at home and, she does so few miles that she’d easily manage with a Level 1 charging setup – which is 240v in the UK anyway. The savings per month, she currently spends £20 on petrol every fortnight, this £20 would last for 6 months with an electric car. Now the only thing is finding the money to buy one… Oh well, we’ll keep working and maybe we can treat her to one soon!

With all the charging stations popping up around England, the practical range of the Electric Car is going up and up. Destinations that were once a little too far are now within reach, even it will take some planning and maybe a little detour – but just think of all the new places that you can discover, all those new things you will get to see. You’ll be amazed.

So, the end of the summer is drawing near but still lots of Electric Car fun to be had. I like taking that Sunday afternoon drive at this time of the year, with the leaves starting to change colour and acorns everywhere, I’m just hoping they don’t fall on my roof!

So, what is it that we do for the Chipmunks? Well, we drive electric. It’s true that the extra CO2 from a gas car might benefit the odd oak tree but the soot and the other noxious gases will not. The Chipmunks, who live at exhaust pipe height and sleep in burrows where heavy gases settle, do not do well either.

The chipmunks are dashing to find those fallen acorns before their neighbour does. Did you know that a chipmunk will steal another chipmunks acorns? How naughty is that? So, while you are out on your Sunday afternoon EV drive, watch out for those chipmunks. With their mouths so full of acorns they can’t hear quite as well as usual. While they normally know an EV well and will proudly stand at the side of the road and salute you as you drive by, they are currently so consumed with acorn finding that they will let nothing stop them from reaching that perfect acorn. Please don’t squash the acorns or the chipmunks!

Tamia rayé -- Eastern chipmunk
Tamia rayé — Eastern chipmunk

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