Real fuel economy at two cents a mile

 

Image from wired.com/autopia

You may have seen it or at least something like it, but Chrysler’s new fuel economic car is quickly drawing attention all across the country.  Aptly named the “Peapod”, Chrysler’s new car may be small, but when it comes to fuel economy it is anything but that.  Requiring only about two cents a mile to run, it’s a pretty economic solution in this day and age.

It has a few environmentally-friendly features as well: it is made almost entirely from recycled materials and it totally electric (thus the great fuel economy and no harmful emissions).  A standard 110-volt outlet and six hours is all that is needed to re-charge the car’s batteries.  So while you sleep you can charge your cell phone and your car all on the same outlet.  (Of course I wouldn’t recommend parking your Peapod in the bedroom, if that’s where you currently charge your phone.)

Its seats are made of mesh and apparently it is more like sitting in a comfortable office chair than a regular car seat.  And yes, if you look at the car and think it is smiling at you…it is.  As Designer Peter Arnell told the Today Show, “It’s smiling at the planet.  It’s a green car, so we thought it might be important for the image of the car to be happy all the time.”

Please note though, the Peapod is not legal for highway travel.  Mainly because it has a maximum speed of around 25 mph and only gets about 30 miles per charge, but that make it perfect for tooting around town, popping over to the grocery store, picking up the dry cleaning, taking the kid to a friend’s house, etc.

So while you may feel you need one vehicle (which hopefully is a hybrid or at least uses a good fuel additive to keep your emissions down), you could always get rid of that second vehicle in favor of the new Peapod.  Peapods become available October 2009 and are estimated to go on sale for about $12,500.  Is it for you?