We’re buying a car! This car, actually:
After months of reading about different possible options we’ve decided to go with this car. It’s a 1998 VW Beetle TDI. We’re getting it through the very helpful folks at the Green Car Company. With the Beetle we’ll be able to use biodiesel. The car is rated 41 mpg / 48 mpg for mileage with a 594.5 mi. / 696 mi. range! It isn’t the low-cost hybrid electric/biodiesel car I think should exist but doesn’t. I’d like something that you run as an electric car at city speeds then use the biodiesel at highway speeds or for long-distance. While driving as an electric it could also warm up the biodiesel in cold weather. The BioBeetle isn’t that car. But it is a fuel-efficient fun little car that should work well for us given our current needs.
We’ve still got to get the insurance taken care of Tuesday (worst part of car buying – particularly when you’ve never owned a car). Then we just have to go up, finish paperwork, and drive the car home. That’ll be fun. I haven’t driven a manual transmission in quite a few years and that was a big Uhaul truck. I’m sure once we get the car down here we’ll post some more pictures. For one thing none of the pictures of these cars ever clearly show just how small that back space is.
