Petrophile: (n.) 1. Person STILL driving their 6 mpg gas-gobbler (at 3+ bucks a gallon), pretending that reasonable alternatives don't exist; ) 2. Military personnel (esp. career military) who drive gas-guzzlers around my neighborhood, both on and off the job.

I've been busy, that's for sure.

Let's see: I'm playing World Without Oil, that's work, isn't it?; )

For those of you who haven't heard of WWO, it's a work of collective fiction, or an alternative reality game, based on the premise that on April 30, the world suddenly ran out of easily accessible oil...and every day, a week goes by.

People from all over the world contribute their stories, videos, phone calls, photographs...on how the oil crisis is affecting their neighborhoods. Read my WWO blog here and feel free to comment. Better yet, get yourself a blog and join the game! It ends May 31, 2007, so hurry if you're gonna play.

News

Remy (Chevalier, the web editor) sent me a copy last week, and...well, if anyone was in doubt, it certainly marked its territory as a men's magazine this month; )

I have a couple of issues with the issue, so to speak.

One, did I give someone - anyone, really - the impression that I wanted to see a centerfold starring Ariel Michaels' butt-crack peeking out of a Prius?

Two, did someone really pay 3.95 for cheap newsprint and soy ink, starring Ariel Michaels' butt-crack, and several pages of articles like: "Prototype car runs 100 miles on four ounces of water" and advertisements for the E.L.F. generator (which will allow you to contact "UFO beings" using your enhanced brain waves!)?

Thanks to Remy I didn't...but I wouldn't, either.

I am so grateful to ET, to Bruce Meland (The Boss) and to Remy (The Wizard) for all they do...but electric cars are going mainstream, and quickly. Better hurry and catch up, guys; )

2) Electric-Cars-Are-For-Girls did a little EVangelism on AskPatty.com last month.

Dr. Seuss asks, what are we waiting for?

3) Montana raised their NEV speed limit

Or, I should say, they made a new designation for cars like the ZENN; medium speed vehicles can go 35 mph. in Montana now.

It only makes sense, really, doesn't it?

These cars, like the Zenn and the Miles Automotive cars, are really NOT neighborhood electric vehicles in the true sense (the "golf cart on steroids" sense, I mean; ). They are conversions based on gas cars that are too small to pass US highway safety standards. But they are regular cars, long on the road in their native countries (France and Japan, respectively), and have passed THEIR safety standards.

Makes you wonder about the basis of US safety standards, and how convenient it is for the oil industry that all our cars have to be BIG, by law. For our safety, of course. Puleeze. It's not like France and Japan don't have big trucks on their roads, too.

Anyway, Montana beat everybody to the punch. They like to drive fast in Montana, and it figures the NEV drivers would be eager leadfeet, too; )

Washington and California are next. Soon, please!

New Pages at the Website

5) Miles Automotive This is a newish NEV on the market, and I think they're going far. Japanese Kei car meets electricity; sounds like a superhero anime plot. Here's a car that will be all over the place when the rest of the states follow Montana's lead.

6) Mesa Arizona's Zenn and Smartcar dealership is offering a 10% discount to "electric-cars-are-for-girls" visitors. Sweet!

They don't have a website, but here they are:

3D Auto
Contact: Tim Day 3010 East Main St. Mesa, AZ 85213 480-212-0002

Thank you for your loyal readership!

Oh, and if you don't hear from me for a couple of months...it's because I'm working on an ebook for the site. I'm thinking of calling it, "Girl's Guide to EV's".

Coming up: Other electric vehicles besides cars (think bikes, scooters, motorcycles, boats, airplanes, et cet), and my series on living with an electric car, called "Could your life use a little Zenn?"