SEP 27

Sorry to rain on your parade but this was an original idea maybe seven years ago, and isn't new or ground breaking Flexcar is in a dozen major US cities and has been since 2000. What's next a post announcing calculators can now be powered by the sun? Have we run out of new and ground breaking technology that we have to report on eco-trends of the past?

Hey Jarrah, lighten up, its called ecogeek not ecoprick.

I think the "geek" part of the title has a attracted people who use incredible levels of bitter sarcasm.

There are people out there who really would benefit from this program, though I'm not one of them. I guess I'm "Old School" in that I prefer to have my transportation with me wherever I am. Back in "The Day" it would have been a horse. These days (because we range far further than we did in the horse days) transportation is a must. I've ridden a bus several time and there's no way I'd take home groceries on one. There simply isn't enough room. If I buy less, that simply means more trips. My Scion tC got 26.81 MPG over the stretch of 15,400 miles I've driven it. I've kept a record since I bought it new with less than 4 miles on it. I've sworn that it'll be the last unleaded fueled car I own. I'd prefer a diesel, but they aren't easy to come by (though I have heard that Jeep may drop them in their models next year). I'd like an electric car but considering that energy is getting more expensive every year, it's only a matter of time before that becomes problematic as well. One could connect them to solar panels, but that's not an option living in a highrise building.

I'll keep that car I own. It's paid in full and it's right there waiting for me if I suddenly need to get out of Dodge (joke). As for this Flexcar idea, I don't see it being a really big thing. Personal transportation is something we all have these days. If you want to change the world, build a better battery so we can have electric cars.

Since Jarrah is being wrongly hostile, here's the facts about Autoshare:

On October 6, 1998, AutoShare was launched with a group of 16 pioneering members sharing 3 cars in Riverdale, the Annex and St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. [source]

The founder of Autoshare also started up the Co-operative Auto Network in Vancouver BEFORE Autoshare.

ZipCar started in Boston in 1999 and is now in multiple cities including Toronto, NYC, London, Vancouver, and Chicago. While living in Boston it was perfect and even affordable on a grad student budget.