Yay electric car

This is not an electric car

I saw a lot of lovely cars at the Manila International Auto Show two weeks ago. You have to take my word for it because apparently, I can't hold my fucking hand still when taking pictures with my camera phone--all the images came out blurred. I fail.

Of course, I didn't get to do anything with the nice cars except look, drool, and take bad pictures. I would have given my left testicle (the smaller one) to take the Ford GT out for a spin, but I wasn't even offered the chance. There was one car available for test drive though: the REVAi, a tiny odd-looking electric car from India.

This is an electric car

On a whim, I signed up for a test drive. I had to fill out a form that basically said I'd be responsible for any damage to their car but they wouldn't be responsible for any damage to me. Sounds fair. After that, a salesman led me out to the parking lot, which was pretty far from the display booth. I was regretting it halfway through the long walk, but I didn't want the effort I spent filling out the form to go to waste, so I soldiered on.

The first thing I noticed after climbing into the REVAi was a sharp screeching noise. The salesman explained that it was coming from the air conditioner and not the engine. I thought he was just bullshitting me like car salesmen do, but he turned the aircon off, and sure enough, the noise was gone. I immediately turned it back on though--I was already sweaty from the long walk, and to drive in the sweltering summer heat of Manila without air conditioning would be inhumane torture.

Being a responsible driver, I did a quick pre-drive check. I saw that the side mirrors were angled too low for me to see anything useful. That was when I found out that there are no power controls for the side mirrors, and I would have to stick my hands out the windows to adjust them manually. Screw that. Who needs side mirrors anyway?

I fumbled with the weird handbrake (confusing), turned a plastic knob to put the car into gear (cute), and stepped on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward, and I soon decided that it felt pretty like a golf cart. No, that's not exactly a compliment.

And maybe I'm just a bad driver, but the car seemed to have the tendency to understeer. I took a left turn too fast and drifted one lane to the right, almost running over a fat man, or rather, almost bouncing off him. I don't think it's possible to actually run over anything larger than a poodle with that tiny car.

The test drive was over in less than five minutes. It wasn't a bad experience overall--at least I didn't wreck the car--but I was underwhelmed. Also, my ears were bleeding from the nonstop screeching of the aircon.

I forgot to ask about the price, but that's not really important. I won't be buying one anytime soon. Reducing carbon emission and obsoleting fossil fuel are laudable goals, but I don't think electric cars are ready for prime time in this country. I just don't see how driving one of those tiny tin boxes on the chaotic streets of Metro Manila would result in anything other than ridicule or death, or maybe both.

But hey, your mileage may vary.