Notable eco-cars (old & new) spotted in the wild: post your pics!

[niky]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqDZPUO92mQ

I don't normally post here, but thought this would be entertaining at least.

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Of course, like all off-roaders, there is quite a fuel penalty to pay for all the extra equipment, so it's not quite as fuel efficient as a regular tricycle or rickshaw.

Still. Fun. One of the more interesting print features I've ever done.

[freebeard]

Pinoy-made Salamander amphibious trike can tackle land and water | TopGear.com.ph

Can we call you Vern?

I'd rather see a hydro-jet replace the propeller, less parts hanging out in the breeze.

[War_Wagon]

So there's finally a repossessed Chevy Volt running through one of the auctions tomorrow. I have seen Volts there before, but they were always short term lease cars etc which are just about brand new still. This one is a rat! 2012 with 160k KMs (100k miles), and it looks like a repo. Complete with crushed hood, bald snow tires, and the rear of the interior has a layer of dirt in it like it has either been partially submerged or left sitting with the windows down for a few weeks. It was pouring rain when I was there and I was in a hurry so I forgot to get pictures, but I will get some of it tomorrow and see what kind of money it brings. Be interesting to see what the market price of a beat up Volt is compared to a new one. I am going to guess it brings $7500 or so, we'll see how good my guess is!

[MetroMPG]

Yeah, please report back. 160k is ridiculous for this car... bought the wrong tool for the job!

I was actually perusing the used Volt ads... saw a nice 2012 with 65k kms on it for 21k asking. More than half off msrp.

[niky]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Pinoy-made Salamander amphibious trike can tackle land and water | TopGear.com.ph

Can we call you Vern?

I'd rather see a hydro-jet replace the propeller, less parts hanging out in the breeze.

Vern is my boss.

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Lots of people saying that... but the point of the build is they wanted it to be cost-effective. Adding a jet pump assembly would bring the cost up quite a bit. Target retail price ranges between $5-$7k, depending on options. I could see ways of making that cheaper by simplifying the drivetrain a bit, chopping the roof and/or making the fiberglass tub and body separate for easier assembly.

[War_Wagon]

Well I was off by a lot on the price of the 2012 Volt. But given that my guess was actually being charitable and was $1000 OVER what the wholesale value of that car was, I thought I would at least be a lot closer than I was. Believe it or not to make money off that car in the car exportation world I would have needed to buy it for $6700 Canadian! And that's with the current crazy US exchange rate. So I figured someone willing to pay more than $7500 for it was "smoking their lunch" as we say in the car business.









I don't post the auction prices of cars that sell at the dealer only auction because that's tacky, but this actually ran at one of the open to the public auctions, so anyone on this site could have been there and bid on it for themselves. Someone actually bid $12600 Canadian for it. As a bank repo the bid has to be approved so I don't know if the bank said yes or not. The car is not nearly as nice as it looks in the pictures, so I hope the bank takes the offer, cause that's a LOT of money for that thing.

[freebeard]

Why would they not?

[some_other_dave]

If they found the person didn't have that much money, they might not take the bid... Or if they had really horrible credit and were asking for a loan or some such.

...Or if they thought they could get more for it in a different auction... (Talk about "smoking their lunch!")

-soD

[Fat Charlie]

That reminds me... I parked by a Volt at the grocery store a couple weeks ago. The owner seems to like it.

[MetroMPG]

I know you're going to think I'm nuts, but $12k CAD seems reasonable to me vs. retail/private prices. IE compare to $21k for the one I posted. Obviously one looks mint and this one looks not mint, but...