Spotted in a parking lot, the Chevy Spark made me stop and stare.
January 17, 2014 8:18 am
Spotted in a parking lot, the Chevy Spark made me stop and stare.
On a trip to the credit union this week, an ostentatious little car caught my eye.
I would call the color Godawful Green. To each their own.
But that wasn’t the only reason I stopped and stared for a bit.
This was my first encounter with the Chevy Spark.
The urban-ready little vehicle was not plugged in, but then again, I did not see an outlet available in this particular parking lot.
The owner of a Chevy Cruze, my heart raced just a little bit upon my service-call introduction to Chevy Volt. The guy taking my oil change information asked if I’d ever seen one up close, and opened the door to the cherry red model they were detailing for its introduction to the real world later that day.
Like a lot? Visions of gas stations passed danced in my head.
Then I had to ask, how much?
Twice the cost of my Cruze, plus some. Out of my league, even without figuring in the price tag of a really long extension cord that would allow me to reach the free outlet I spied a couple blocks over!
So, I wondered, gazing at this little car, is this at least the more affordable electric cousin. Spark is to Volt … I’m not in a position to buy, but it costs nothing to put something on your list of dreams.
I googled.
Not too bad from the back, except for those Yankees references, which I almost blurred out.
And the answer is … sort of.
There is indeed an electric model of the Spark that debuted in 2013, explains chevrolet.com, and its base price is a little over $19,000, after a $7,500 federal rebate. That’s reasonable compared to big cousin Volt’s $26,685 after said credit. The catch, though, is in the fine print. “Available to customers in Oregon and California.” Oh, those green states out west, so far from Syracuse, N.Y. …
Around the snowbelt, we are offered the gas engine version of the Spark.
It starts at $12,170 before any add-ons. I had to check another site for estimated gas mileage. It’s listed at 31 city, 39 highway for the 2014 model, a slight change each way from the 32/38 from 2013.
I am not in the market.
By the way, wikipedia tells me that the Chevy Spark was first introduced in 1998, and indeed, its EV1 model was discontinued in 1999. I guess I was too busy driving my Ford Escort to notice.
Do you look at electric cars and wonder how it might affect your life? What is your dream car?
Posted by markbialczak
Categories: Life
Tags: Cars, Chevrolet, Chevy Spark, Electric Cars
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was this the care featured in, ‘who killed the electric car?’. i never had a chance to see it but remember it gained kind of a cult following. ps – i love apple green, though not quite so sparkly and bright and not on my car )
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By ksbeth on January 18, 2014 at 12:26 am
I had to go look it up, Beth. You Michiganders are UP on this car thing! Yes, GM killed the EV1 in the mid-1990s and the 2006 documentary ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’ is all about it. Thanks for pointing that out, my friend. And that sparkly green color … not on my car, either.
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By markbialczak on January 18, 2014 at 9:12 am
well, loving movies and living in the motor city is a perfect combo in this case, i guess.
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By ksbeth on January 18, 2014 at 9:45 am
I bow to that combination, Beth.
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By markbialczak on January 18, 2014 at 9:50 am
I have my dream car! It’s a “PAID OFF” model. 🙂 I often get car envy. But it passes quickly when I realize my car is paid for and getting me where I need to go. (I tell myself that every day so I don’t go buy a new one). 😉
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By Chatter Master on January 17, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Yes, Colleen, the “paid in full” is a wonderful reminder to stick with the vehicular status quo!
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 8:40 pm
😉
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By Chatter Master on January 18, 2014 at 6:50 am
I don’t like the way electric cars travel almost silently. You can’t hear them coming when you go to cross the road.
Ford escort? Now where I live driving one of those in the 90’s would make you a ‘boy racer’ or an ‘essex boy’.
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By lundygirl on January 17, 2014 at 4:08 pm
I do not think I would qualify as either a ‘boy racer’ or an ‘essex boy,’ Rachel, because I was a man in my 40s!
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 4:15 pm
but mark you know how it is – men never really grow up.
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By lundygirl on January 17, 2014 at 4:19 pm
I guess not. Pardon me while I watch the game on TV, Rachel.
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 4:20 pm
You go right ahead.
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By lundygirl on January 17, 2014 at 4:36 pm
i’m glad that some of the car companies are finally moving in this direction.
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By Snoring Dog Studio on January 17, 2014 at 9:12 am
After this project is perfected, I want them working on the Jetsons car, SDS!
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 9:15 am
I wonder if I’ll see that in my lifetime!
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By Snoring Dog Studio on January 17, 2014 at 9:24 am
I wonder the same thing.
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 9:29 am
What a cute car!
(Did that sound believable? Actually, I think if it was different color I would get one for the kid. After I sell a kidney, that is.)
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By NotAPunkRocker on January 17, 2014 at 8:57 am
The Kid is The Market they appear to be going for, NAPR! No other way to explain that color.
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 9:01 am
The only first hand experience I have with any electric car is from my last visit to San Francisco. All their cabs are now electric/hybrid vehicles. There are still some grandfathered gas burners but for the most part if you catch a cab, and with the steep hills you eventually will, you will be riding in a prius or something. I was impressed with them as we darted up and down hills, they are probably very efficient there with the recumbent braking and all!
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By Greg Urbano on January 17, 2014 at 8:36 am
I’ve experienced rides in my friend’s hybrid Prius, and I liked the astronomical mileage reading I always saw on the dashboard. All-electric vehicles have me curious because someday, perhaps, they’ll be inexpensive enough for everybody, Greg.
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 8:39 am
By the time they become inexpensive we will never leave our houses! Shopping on the internet with everything delivered straight to the door!
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By Greg Urbano on January 17, 2014 at 8:43 am
Well, actually, shopping is not the only reason I leave my house, Greg. Anyway, I am a brick-and-mortar guy.
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By markbialczak on January 17, 2014 at 8:47 am