Five Guys El Segundo, open at night

I’m a big fan of Five Guys burgers and fries, but rarely make the trip down to Carson. So it was a nice surprise at about 9:30 the other night, after a day of negotiations down in the South Bay, to be driving up Sepulveda Blvd. just short of LAX and to see the red and white Five Guys sign on the east side of the road. A quick maneuver into the parking lot, and more luck as Five Guys was open until 10 p.m. I saw, I scarfed. It’s in an office park-nice little shopping plaza with a courtyard and outdoor tables.

Five Guys also has other locations, and planned locations, in and around the Los Angeles area. Of these, the El Segundo outlet may be the most dangerous for me. The In-N-Out Burger just on the other side of LAX may have better views, but I’m partial to Five Guys’ food.

Cadillac ELR formerly known as the Converj coming to us soon.

Wednesday I got to meet up with GM exec Jim Federico, Executive Director of Engineering, Electric Vehicles at the L.A. Auto Show. I got to ask some of my own questions as well as those you readers posed as part of the ticket contest I was able to run. It was an interesting visit, certainly a lot of information with some answers as well. Where to start with the questions and answers is my big dilemma.

Al Pavangkanan posed the question regarding new battery technology. Jim couldn’t give specifics of what they have in store but did say that they are working with the battery suppliers to develop new technologies that will give us more power for the size compared to what we have now. The problem all the manufacturers have run into is that there isn’t a rush to develop batteries as there isn’t really a market demand for them yet in quantities to offset their costs. Those costs affect what we pay for an EV now, but as demand increases, production increases there will be more incentive to develop new battery technology and help lower costs. 

GM has several Electric vehicles coming our way. In answer to reader Gzank6 I got multiple answers regarding the sticker shock of an EV. Short term, yes we will see more affordable EV’s as well as more expensive luxurious ones coming our way from GM. Short term we will be seeing the Spark EV due this spring in Los Angeles that will be priced “much less” than the Volt. The Spark EV will be an all electric auto. It will be followed by a much more luxurious Cadillac ELR in a couple of years. The ELR will be based on the Volt plug-in gas electrification strategy and designed to fit a premium automobile.  Pricing is really affected by the cost of the battery, as demand increases and production increases there will be savings in terms of volume that will enable manufacturers to price the cars lower than we see right now. He couldn’t give me the specifics on other cars coming our way in the near future but could tell me we will see several electrified vehicles in the future.

Ticket winner Buzz posed two questions. First was whether EV’s were just temporary followed by what “green technology” will GM use in the future for market sustainability. Federico stated quite clearly that GM sees Electrification as the future of the automobile. It will come in many forms. From pure EV’s to plug-in to fuel cells. Electric automobiles will be the future regardless of where the electricity comes from whether it be plugging into the power grid, fuel cells or a “1 cylinder diesel” powering an on-board generator. All of those are in GM’s current research plans and we will see it in our cars here in L.A. in the not too distant future.

Reader Doni elle raised several questions. From their being “curiosities” to the issue of infrastructure and lack of support for apartment dwellers in particular. Infrastructure is a problem for the roll out of Electric Vehicles and plug ins. Federico said that GM and the other manufacturers are working with state and local officials to address these concerns. The better the infrastructure to support an EV the better it will be for all of the manufacturers. Right now we are in the infancy of the Electric car and as the market grows we will see many more varieties of cars to suit different drivers needs. This growth is dependant on infrastructure development not just in L.A but across the country, at least here we are eager to get our hands on them.

For reader Genie, the question of carbon foot print was raised. GM addresses in how the car is made where possible and is improving on that. How the car is charged is an infrastructure issue. (My two cents on that topic is that as long as we are generating our power from the burning of fossil fuels instead of clean sources the EV’s will always have a CO2 component to them. I won’t plug another manufacturer here but at least one will offer up a solar option through the dealership selling you the EV that will give you a carbon offset enough to cover the juice needed to charge the car).

MINI Coupe: all fun, no mess

Like many Los Angeles area folks, I’m crazy about cars. Fortunately, I’m able to incorporate my love into my work, and covered the L.A. Auto Show on Press Day 1 yesterday. Unfortunately, my day was ruled as much by the cars on the roads outside than by the shiny new models inside the Convention Center.

I left my house by the beach after rush hour to avoid traffic, hit the show very hard, then skedaddled out of there by about 4:15 p.m. to avoid the evening rush. As a result, the compressed time I spent at the show was somewhat manic. Stopping off at Langer’s on the way home? Forget it.

Inside the show, the car companies advertise their cars based on many attributes: quality, value, economy, luxury, technology, and driving fun. But I didn’t see or hear one mention of anything to do with traffic. Such a discussion would seem to be antithetical to the car companies’ mission, which is of course to sell more of those shiny sexy cars.

As a car lover, I’m guilty of moving out here and contributing to the problem. In my defense, however, I work mostly from home, and put on very little mileage. My car is over 8 years old, and I’m going to hang onto it as long as I can. My trips to L.A. city proper are rare.

I know it’s not a new subject area, but what is the toll — to our psyche, our finances, and our quality of life — that we in the Los Angeles areas pay each year for our traffic? Can anything be done about it, or is all hope lost? I’m no traffic expert, but I would think that living closer to where we work, having a shorter commute, is one way to make the problem better. Another is more and better mass transit, to the extent possible in sprawling, designed-for-cars L.A. Maybe the new Expo Line will help.

I hope something will help. The Auto Show demonstrates that we’re putting out amazing cars. The roads in and around L.A. show that there are fewer and fewer places to put them.

File this under found on road alive.  A Redondo Beach man bought the car new in 1964 and had it for 20 years before he sold it. His sons went upon the quest to find the car and return it to him. The quest led across the country where they finally found the car on a lot in Canada. They bought it and returned it to him as a gift.

In the land that rust forgot what old car from your past would you like to have back?  For me its a mixed bag but the one I regret selling the most that I’d love to have back is my old ’72 Centurion which took us on many a road trip to the beach and shows all over the L.A. area.

Pair of Chevy Volts at 2011 Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica

Santa Monica is a Ground Zero for hybrid, electric, and other alternative fuel vehicles in the U.S. It’s nearly impossible to open your eyes while there and not notice at least a Prius or two. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the flagship event for this Sunday‘s National Plug-In Day will be a gathering and parade of electric and plug-in vehicles in Santa Monica.

National Plug-In Day is a combined effort by Plug-In America, Sierra Club, and the Electric Auto Association, and comprises some 24 events nationwide, from New York City to Honolulu. The events will include parades, “tailpipe-free tailgate parties”, test drives and other activities.

At the flagship event in Santa Monica on Sunday, owners of “highway-capable plug-in vehicles” (meaning electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) are invited to bring their vehicles to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium parking lot between 8 and 9:30 a.m. Following a 9:30 press conference, the vehicle parade will begin at 10 and will roll down Main Street. The public is invited to meet with the vehicle owners at the Civic Auditorium before the parade, to talk to them about their experiences owning and driving these vehicles.

Presumably, we won’t see any fire engines in Sunday’s parade, but I’d bet that we will have some of those in the not-too-distant future.

1930 Ford Model A

It always amazes me the old cars that get used around here.  This sure is a nice 1930 Ford Model A but its not your typical trailer queen this driver actually pops up around town every now and then just being driven and enjoyed.  I spotted it yesterday afternoon at the Celebrate the Arts here in Monrovia (an art festival I participate in every year at this time).  They owner just popped into Library Park to check out the art exhibits leaving it unattended to draw a crowd all on its own.

Courtesy nailmaker via the Blogging LA Flickr pool

Per CBS, President Obama will make fundraising pit stops in West Hollywood on Monday evening, first at the House of Blues, then off to dinner at Fig & Olive.  As with his usual habit to arrive just around rush hour, he’s scheduled to arrive at the House of Blues at 5pm.  Unless you can afford to go – it’s anywhere from $250 general admission to the House of Blues to a year’s salary for a couple to attend the Fig & Olive dinner- you probably just need to know this information so you know to pretty much avoid West Hollywood completely on Monday.  If you live in WeHo, best of luck getting home.

Shelby on the Pier, 2008

Car nuts will have a treat this Saturday, as the Seventh Annual Los Angeles Shelby American Automobile Club Car Show arrives at the Santa Monica Pier.

The history of Carroll Shelby is too lengthy to recite here, but suffice it to say he’s the man behind the development and/or perfection of some of the most famous cars in performance and racing car history, including the AC Cobra, the Shelby Mustang GT 350, and the Ford GT40, as well as the Sunbeam Tiger. Moreover, Shelby worked much of his magic within a short tire-screeching drive of the Pier. Plenty of examples of these cars, as well as newer models given the Shelby treatment, will be on hand Saturday, along with their owners. It’s one of the largest collections of Shelbys you’ll see anywhere, and it’s free!

The Shelby show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with numerous awards to be given, including Best of Show, starting at 2. I’ll be the one holding a camera and drooling.

Tear down after the last rearender

According to a recent Allstate study we are.  Our rank…#182 out of 200 rated large cities in the U.S.  According to their actuary data we are 50.8% more likely to be in an accident than the national average, averaging one every 6.8 years.

Inattention from my experience is the #1 cause.  Why…I worked a claims desk for a number of years and everyones excuse always was “I never saw the other car”.  I’ve even heard the driver rearending me saying they didn’t notice I had stopped. Of course there were other factors, newly licensed drivers, new to the area drivers and under the influence, but that wasn’t in every accident.

So who do we blame and how do we fix?