Eyeglasses certainly add something. At least that’s the suggestion of these ads. And, thinking of comparisons: Hitler vs. Chaplin. Found via mirage.studio.7, where they think Le Corbusier’s glasses are where it’s at.

I’m going to violate my rule against linking to NYT (because) and give a shout out to this article. Not just because it quotes my friend Jessamyn, but for what it says: libraries are full of smart, hip people.

[tags]library 2.0, Jessamyn West, New York Times, libraries, hip, smart[/tags]

I’m a fan of the Smart, the fuel efficient European roadster that’s smaller than a Mini (see above). It’s coming to America, but indirectly and not without some complexity. Oddly, considering the current energy crisis and that buyers appear to be looking for more efficient vehicles now, there’s a lot of red tape involved with bringing efficient vehicles new or old to the US.

Take these Japanese K-Cars that get around 50 miles per gallon and can be imported and bought used for under $5000, but only in Canada. There’s a company importing small, efficient trucks, but only for farm-use in the US. In short, other than big trucks and expensive hybrids, all we have are pogo-sticks and mono-wheelers.

tags: coming to america, complexity, efficient, energy, energy crisis, fuel, fuel crisis, fuel efficient, fuel efficient car, fuel efficient cars, hybrid, miles per gallon, mini, mpg, prius, roadster, smart, transportation

Earnings reports from car makers seemed to suggest SUV sales were down last spring, and with gas prices near $3 per gallon in some parts of the country still, nobody should be surprised that Yahoo! is saying interest in SUVs is down — way down — now:

If the Buzz is any indication, then yes. Searches on “hybrids” outrank “SUVs” by a tremendous margin, and it’s the same story with individual models. By far the most popular hybrid is the Prius (not to be confused with “pious,” which is how many owners feel, and can lead to blathering about saving the planet). Interest in Toyota’s gas-miser is more than double that of Search’s most popular SUV, the Hummer H3. Also, the Prius garners nearly 10 times the searches as Toyota’s SUV, the 4Runner. Indeed, it appears the bell is tolling for the 15 mpg club.

Options: SMART and Japanoid K-Cars.

tags: 4runner, buzz, car makers, declining suv sales, earnings reports, gas prices, hummer, hummer h3, hybrid, hybrid car, hybrid cars, hybrids, japanoid k-car, japanoid k-cars, prius, SMART, smart car, suv sales, suv sales decline, suvs, toyota, yahoo buzz, yahoo buzz index

Gizmodo reported it a while ago, but a Canadian company called Japanoid is importing these and other tiny Japanese cars. How tiny? At or under 1.5 meters (under 5 feet!) wide with engines 660CC or under. They’re called Kei Jidousha, or Keicars, or just K-cars (though not to be confused with Chrysler’s K-Cars). Japanoid has 12 vehicles listed, but my favorites are those four above and this funny looking truck.

The deal is, however, that Canadian law only allows imports of 15-year-old vehicles. There are other restrictions, of course, and all of it is made a little more ridiculous by the fact that the cars are right-side-drive. But at 50 miles per gallon, perhaps some exceptions can be made. But don’t expect US law to make any exceptions. US law only allows import of 25-year-old vehicles, even if they might help ease our fuel crisis.

US drivers might want to look at the SMART, available in the US soon.

tags: canadian law, economy car, economy cars, fuel economy, gizmodo, honda, honda acty, japanese cars, japanoid, k-car, k-cars, kei jidousha, keicars, mini, mitsubishi, mitsubishi minica toppo, nissan, nissan figaro, nissan pao, nissan s-cargo, smart, tiny