2009 - Model Year of the Car

When we bought our first car we agreed to pay it off and then get a fun second car. We also agreed to hold onto it pretty much till it died, but at least for ten years or so. We stuck with that plan, buying the first model year MINI Cooper in 2002 after our loan was up. Now we are reaching eight years into the life of our Chevy Malibu and starting to think about replacing it. And it looks like our timing is good. The world of cars is changing. Take a look at some of these concepts for what is coming in late 2008 (2009 model year).

The car I want. Beautiful, electric, fast, fun. Ok, it isn't practical, particularly given that they primarily are directing initial support just in California. Doesn't look like a great snow car either. But still, it is environmentally friendly plus 0-60 in under 4 seconds, and a range of 250 miles... It is also about $90k. They report they'll have a four door car for about half that price by calendar year 2009. If this looks like it will happen I might be willing to start pinching pennies.

Another innovator. This car is also intriguing. Not electric at all, and may not be available in the U.S. Still it uses some pretty advanced engineering to maintain safety while greatly reducing vehicle wait. To translate the economy figures: the underpowered one is a dog but gets over 150 mpg. It's motor is about the same as a larger lawn tractor. The second option appears to get reasonable performance and still gets about 85 mpg. Not bad for a pure gasoline engine.

The car we'll probably end up with. They've been a huge hit, although we'll see if the expiration of tax incentive rebates will hurt sales. The next generation is to come with a plug so that local trips can be battery only as well as Lithium Ion batteries that are lighter and stronger than their current models. Downside is that apparently the pure electric range is pretty low (about 9 miles) and in cold climates the gase engine ends up running just to keep the batteries warm enough to function. Still, early rumor is that mpg could be up around 80.

The one thing missing from this line up is a really good snow car. It wasn't an issue for us last year though, and moving into Montpelier should mitigate that concern a bit.