Whoosh, whoosh, beep, beep?

Husband bought an electric car.  I didn't know he was going to... I should have, after he'd commented about it a few times.  He had also sold his vehicle beforehand.

I had come home from Faire last year, wiped out, stinky, sticky, and tired, and went in the house.

Next thing I know, Husband is calling for me to look out front, there was a car there. My first thought, Oh, G*d, visitors, I smell like an ill-used cow barn!  I looked, and didn't recognize the car.  He kept grinning.

Did I mention I was very tired?  He walked me out, and I was mortified, who was here?  Would I have to be polite, and not fall asleep, when we invited them in?  Who owned this odd-looking car, anyway?

Then, glacially, the light dawned.  "You bought a new car?"
The man was nearly giddy.  Yes, yes, yes, and there was nothing but I was to drive the thing, right then...

Which wasn't my finest moment.  It has no gearshift.  Oh, great, automat...

Where are the keys?

He points at a button on the dash, and hands me this little fob that looks something like a half a dark chocolate biscotti.  I finally get the idea that it is a push button start.  Okay, what now?  This little bell looking thing on the doghouse... Uh... So?

It is the "gearshift". Sort of, anyway.  So, after the instruction to take it out of "P" and put it in "D", we start.

Did I mention I don't drive automatics?  To wit: when Husband and I were first married, I managed to throw him over the top of his truck, as I had put the gas and the break on at the same time... And then nearly had a stroke on the spot, thinking I had killed the man.  He was not happy, getting up from in front of the truck, but realized that I was more than losing it, thinking I had done him damage, he ended up calming me down!  And when I had to take Dad's truck home from the hospital, it was the only bit of humor in the situation, I, quite literally, sat on my left foot, and every time I came to a light, repeated, "this is an automatic, you don't have a clutch, this is an automatic, you don't have a clutch..."

So, this took a bit of convincing that this new car was going to work for me.  I drove it a bit, slowly, and then we returned home, whereupon, I managed to stop it... With both the parking and standard brake.

Sigh.

http://images.hgmsites.net/med/2013-nissan-leaf_100414473_m.jpg

We have had this car (which is an electric vehicle) for a bit now, and I must say, after the learning curve, I am beginning to enjoy it.  In fact, I think I drive it a bit more than Husband does.  We have dubbed it "Junebug", (it was originally Leaf Hopper, as it is a Nissan Leaf, but the license plate has June, more or less, in it, so Junebug caught on, and stuck.)

I have found it's quiet, to the point, I have to be conscious that even wild animals, like Walmart customers, or deer, might not hear me coming up on them.  I have even followed wild turkeys up the driveway.  I didn't spook them, until they heard the gravel under the tires and actually saw me.

It has a few interesting features that I've not dealt with before, like a back up camera (love it), GPS (okay, but still getting used to, but she talks more than I do), and various notifications, (ranging from serious to silly.  Junebug dislikes cold weather even more than I do!  I think it notifies me about cold weather because it lowers the range the car can go, but I am still amused when I see this little snowflake on the dash, with "Low Temperature" on it. 38 degrees?  Cold?  Junebug, you are more cold blooded than I am!)  

It is now the mild amusement of the gent I buy feed and cedar from.  Cedar and feed go in the very back, and then I have all the groceries in the center seats.  It looks like a very modern version of The Grapes of Wrath... But it works.

One minor thing, it has this Bluetooth app, where your phone can connect to your car to make it hands free.  This is a good idea, in theory.  But, when you drive in with this on, and Husband is making a business call, it will be just as happy to connect to HIS phone, as yours.  Which makes the gent who was talking to Husband, and is now talking to Cat, extremely confused.  Actually, so was I, until I figured out what happened.  Bluetooth is now not used when I am in the car.  I can pull over, so I do.

So, as we get all Jetsons around here, I am wondering, what we will have next... Robots for the house?  Hologram garden help?  Maybe a cybernetic laser implant to burn weeds?

Meh.  I still haven't even mastered the phone yet, maybe I'd better hold off on the rest...  Knowing how I do with the learning curve, who knows what might happen!

V is for Vehicle.

Contemplating all the modes of travel I have used at one time or another...

I have ridden in, or driven...

Let's see... a trike, a bike, a horse, a stage coach, one or two different types of carriages, several different vehicles, a log flume, rafts, sailboat, motorcycle, a car hood, (is a pogo stick transportation?), sled.  I am sure there are probably more, but that was what I cold think of quickly.

It's amazing how the car, especially has changed over time.  From a "Tin Lizzie" to the newest models off the showroom floor, they do all sorts of things now... But.

But, I am amazed how something that is simply a device to transport you from A to B, can be such an amazing statement of personality.  I have run the gamut from small cars to small station wagons, to a larger truck, back to a small truck, and now a Jeep.  (Well, Husband and I share the small truck, but the Jeep is mine... Mostly.)

Anyway, if it was strictly for moving my 'stuff' and me and mine to and fro, I would have the truck.  But I know some that would have none of that, they have a car that has super audio, electric everything, might even brew coffee for you, as many woo things as it has.

But, it's still a car.

Then there's Dad.  When he had his first rig, it was a Model A.*  Time went on, he has had trucks, work vans, cars, etc, as time and finances came and went.  He is now building the car he's wanted for years.

Another Model A.

Is this a case of what goes around comes around???

* For any technically inclined, I believe it is actually a Model AA.  But we refer to it as Big A, and the new one as Little A.  I will try and get some pics for a future blog.  And yes, he still has the one he had as a kid...