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a car I’d like to see
I don’t own a car. I never have had one and I rarely drive. I’d like to say that this was something I decided on because I care about the climate. And I do care about the climate. But the truth is: I just hate to drive.
That said, I don’t inherently hate cars. I want to ban cars that use an internal combustion engine. We need to prevent climate collapse. That’s true. But engineering and design fascinate me.
I’ve read that the world’s first mass-produced commercial solar car is starting production. I think that’s cool. I have always believed that the most exciting new designs and technologies are those born from constraints. In the case of a solar car, the vehicle must make the maximum use of every watt of power.
Which brings me to my dream car. I envision the biggest auto success, the techno-marketing grand slam vehicle of 2027: the Volkswagen Solar Beetle.
This would be a (yet again!) reintroduction of the Volkswagen Beetle, this time as an electric vehicle partially powered by solar energy. The solar panel surface would supplement the electrical energy the car gets from “filling up” at an electric power station. If the power station itself gets energy from solar, then the vehicle itself would be 100% carbon-emissions free to use.
