Bay Area Jobs And The Economy

[bay_area]

Silicon Valley makes Prius No. 1
GAS-SIPPER JUMPS FROM NO. 5 IN '06
By Matt Nauman
Mercury News
Article Launched: 07/20/2007 01:34:33 AM PDT





Through May, 1,627 Prius registrations have been recorded in Santa Clara County, according to R.L. Polk. That puts the Prius ahead of Toyota's Camry and Corolla and Honda's Accord and Civic, all cars that outsell the high-mileage, gas-electric sedan nationwide. Locally, the Prius was No. 5 behind those models last year.

"Are we ahead of the curve, or what?" asked Rod Diridon, executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University, and a Prius owner.

The Prius' newfound status reflects the continued greening of Silicon Valley. Diridon listed sustained higher gas prices, the availability of carpool-lane stickers

for solo Prius drivers - no more are being issued - and the intelligence of local residents as factors in the Prius' popularity.
"The intellectual capacity within Silicon Valley is amazing," he said. "That higher level of education reflects a higher level of understanding of the terrible consequences of global warming."

At 60 miles per gallon in city driving and 51 mpg on the highway, the 2007 Prius is the most fuel-efficient car on the road, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. When the EPA's formula for figuring gas mileage changes for the 2008 model year, the Prius probably will retain its gas-sipping status, but the numbers will drop to 48 city and 45 highway.

Prius sales are up 45 percent in Santa Clara County and 65 percent in the 11-county Bay Area so far this year. The model has been popular in California since it went on sale in 2000, but it is catching on nationwide. U.S. Prius sales through June, according to industry publication Automotive News, are up 96 percent compared with the first six months of 2006.
Still, at 94,503 sales, the Prius represents just 1 percent of U.S. car and truck sales so far this year. In Santa Clara County, Prius registrations represent 5.3 percent of the market.

The Prius news doesn't surprise Bob Boden. He has driven more than 63,000 miles on his 2004 Prius and he gets about 50 mpg in the city and a little more on the highway.

"My 2004 Prius is easily the best car (of 29) I have ever owned," he said.

Boden has homes in Oregon and San Jose. His granddaughter, a recent graduate of California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, is now driving the 2006 Prius that Boden bought for his wife. "She says she just loves the car," he said.

Besides a "convergence of awareness" about environmental issues, Prius availability is another key to its success, said Toyota spokesman John Hanson.

Until this year, Prius models were in short supply, which led to customer

waiting lists and some instances of people paying more than sticker price for the car.
Now, Hanson said, customers walk in and find available Priuses on the showroom floor. "That really made a difference," he said.

Today, people are paying less than the sticker price for a new Prius. A base 2007 Prius lists for $22,795, including destination charge. People are paying $21,711 for that car, car-shopping Web site edmunds.com says.

http://www.mercurynews.com/greenenergy/ci_6420656

[The misanthropist]

No surprises there. The smugmobile was taylor-made for Smug City

[bay_area]

Originally Posted by The misanthropist

No surprises there. The smugmobile was taylor-made for Smug City

Damn skippy.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by The misanthropist

No surprises there. The smugmobile was taylor-made for Smug City

That would be funny if the article was actually about San Francisco.

[The misanthropist]

Bah. You know what they say. Don't let reality stand in the way of a bad joke.

[krudmonk]

[bay_area]

Blue Collar Goes Green: Hybrid-Only Repair Shop Opens in San Francisco


Carolyn Coquillette owns Luscious Garage, an auto-repair shop that only services hybrids.
Photo: Courtesy of Dane Golden

SAN FRANCISCO -- The nation's first auto repair shop specializing in hybrids has opened in the city's trendy SOMA district.

Luscious Garage, owned by mechanic Carolyn Coquillette, is part of a small but growing movement. A number of independent mechanics nationwide are now servicing hybrids, but Coquillette's shop is the first aiming to build its core business around hybrids.

"There's a critical mass of hybrids in the Bay Area, enough to support a shop like this," she said. "You could have opened it three years ago but there wouldn't have been enough cars, and I don't think enough public interest to really have fueled it."

Coquillette, 29, has been a mechanic for seven years and began working on hybrids a couple of years ago. There is no formal hybrid certification. She first cut her teeth in auto repair not far from Detroit, when she signed up for a community college course just after graduating from the University of Michigan with a dual degree in physics and English.

"I had had this problem with my vehicle and I thought, I've got a God damn degree in physics, I should be able to turn off my dome light," she said.

Luscious Garage claims to be a green business with a formal sustainability plan.

"Typically people look down upon auto repair as dirty," Coquillette said. "A green auto repair facility is so essential in terms of moving into this next stage where we have to be so mindful of our environmental impact. A lot about this shop is saying we're aware of what we're doing and we're going to consistently try and do better."

To keep its environmental impact low, Luscious Garage avoids VOCs (volatile organic compounds), offers re-refined motor oil, uses local suppliers when possible and recycles its scrap metal. To cut paper usage, the shop registers customers and prints receipts online.

The shop is equipped with a high-efficiency air compressor and relies on the building’s skylights more than its electric lights, which are compact fluorescents. In fact, the only devices left on are the Wi-Fi, fax machine, refrigerator and alarm system. And although Coquillette owns a Toyota Prius, she mostly rides her bike to work or takes the bus, she says.

According to the automotive research and marketing company R. L. Polk, 255,000 new hybrids were registered in 2006, and 21,000 of those were in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jack Rosebro, a sought-after hybrid technician instructor who has taught with Coquillette, says this type of specialization will put shop owners ahead of the curve.

"I look at this as a natural extension of the industry," he said. "It's only natural that eventually someone would do this and focus solely on the hybrid so they can give the best service to their customer."

Though hybrids have a reputation as being largely trouble-free, there are lots of components of a hybrid that are unique -- not least the complex electronics.

"It gets very complicated very quickly," Coquillette said. "And down the rabbit hole we go."

http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels...brid_mechanic#

[chicagogeorge]

...

[The anti-cheesehead]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

lol

[bay_area]

Originally Posted by chicagogeorge

I wouldn't drive that car. If I'm gonna drive I want something like a Lexus.
My wife drives a Nissan Pathfinder.

one of my biggest complaints about these hybrid cars is that they look like hybrids....all weirdly shaped.

Anyway,
Lexus has the first luxury hybrid coming out next year, I heard there's already a waiting list around here....which sucks for those who want it.

2008 LS 600h L

[The misanthropist]

Originally Posted by bay_area

one of my biggest complaints about these hybrid cars is that they look like hybrids....all weirdly shaped.

Anyway,
Lexus has the first luxury hybrid coming out next year, I heard there's already a waiting list around here....which sucks for those who want it.

2008 LS 600h L

I think the Prius is a rip-off. I'll elaborate later.

[bay_area]

Another meia-complaint I have about Hybrids is that in California(im sure other states have something similar) they are permitted to drive in carpool lanes with just one occupant...so long as they have these little stickers on the their bumpers.


Now that prius is the best selling car in the bay area, maybe we should remove that priviledge from them since they clog carpool lanes much of the time.

[Xusein]

LOL...we gotta be careful for the smugstorm coming.

That said, I like the premise of the Prius, but I hate the design and the price is too high.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by bay_area

one of my biggest complaints about these hybrid cars is that they look like hybrids....all weirdly shaped.

Why not go local and fully electric with the Tesla Roadster?

[NovaWolverine]

Hell yeah, Tesla's are awesome. I don't like the Prius, it's ugly. I'd rather have a diesel for the fuel economy and the emissions are getting better.

[mongozx]

It turns out that the South Park "Smug" episode was right on.

Do San Franciscans like the smell of their farts too?

[gladisimo]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

Hell yeah, Tesla's are awesome. I don't like the Prius, it's ugly. I'd rather have a diesel for the fuel economy and the emissions are getting better.

You can't buy a diesel in California.

Anyway, I see so many Priuses nowadays. My dad is thinking of getting one for the fuel economy, and I supported it at first... but the car's ugliness, slowness, and popularity is getting to me. (I don't want to see myself around every corner)

The Lexus LS is a damn nice car, hybrid or no hybrid.

[arturo]

I drove one..once. And almost crashed. There's just no response from the electronic steering. I think they drive like crap. As for economy...

...diesels are much better, plus no batteries to dispose of. Luckily, Californian lawmakers outlawed diesel vehicles long ago– a very wise move on their part. Then again, does anyone consider the amount of energy expended in building a new car?! A lot. A lot, lot.

[NovaWolverine]

Yeah, what a wise move, I'll be enjoying the practical performance of a diesel and still get farther on a tank of gas than a hybrid will.

[ERGO PROXY]

Prius lovers please enjoy this reading:


Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.
The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.
“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.
The Recorder Online
By Chris Demorro