Category Archives: Acarplace

Hammacher Schlemmer peddles people-powered brewmobile

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Hammacher Schlemmer, the New York City retailer that prides itself on having offered “the best, the only, and the unexpected” for 165 years is famous for some of the quirky merchandise that may be found in its catalog.

Among the company’s offerings for spring is the Pedal Pub. We don’t know if it’s the “best” or “only” such device in the world, but it’s got “unexpected” down pat.

The Pedal Pub is a human-powered mobile bar that will allow a true brew aficionado and 16 of his (or her) best friends, neighbors, and interested bystanders to float a keg whilst cruising around anywhere that will allow one to cruise around with up to 17 people actively imbibing alcoholic beverages.

As befits a revolutionary device, power comes from the people. Five of the six seating positions along each side have a set of bicycle-style pedals, allowing a total of ten pedalers whose efforts can propel the Pedal Pub to about five miles per hour, slightly faster than a walking pace, and climb grades up to 6% on a smooth surface. If that doesn’t seem like much, consider that each pedaler’s seat is designed to support a person weighing up to 300 pounds, plus five passengers, a brewmeister and a driver, who gets a free ride in return for steering and, presumably, being the designated driver. Add the Pedal Pub’s own 2,300 pounds and the weight of a full keg of beer and the gross vehicle weight can easily exceed three tons, about the same as a Cadillac Escalade. Those pedal-pushers are going to get mighty thirsty.

The Pedal Pub isn’t just weighty, it’s big. Twenty feet from the keg to the rear seats, eight feet wide (about six inches narrower than a commercial van body) and ten feet high. People are going to see you coming, including those people with badges and uniforms that might wish to have a chat with the owner.

In addition to the pedal-free position on each side, there’s a bench (literally) seat on the rear, a seat for the driver and a full-length platform for the bartender. The keg is stored in a wine cask mounted on the front and brew is dispensed from a tap with overflow tray near the rear of the vehicle.

The bar itself runs all the way around the Pedal Pub with beverage holders for each seating position, including the driver’s. The ingenious host wil no doubt figure out a way to secure containers of nuts or chips to the bar to allow snacking.

To keep the fun going, there’s a sound system with four speakers mounted in the underside of the peaked wooden roof and an AM/FM radio with MP3 player connectivity. Passengers can enjoy music or a audiocast of a football game as they drink away the miles.

The price for this truly unique vehicle? A mere $40,000, not including keg, tap linkage and cups.

To learn more about the Pedal Pub, click here or call Hammacher Schlemmer at 1-800-227-3528.

A week with the Malibu ECO

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We recently had the opportunity to check out one of the latest GM hybrids, the Chevrolet Malibu ECO.

Unlike a traditional hybrid, the ECO is what’s known as a “mild hybrid” that doesn’t use the onboard battery and motor to propel the vehicle.

The GM system leverages the fact that a generator also can be a motor: use it to make current; it’s a generator: feed it current; it’s a motor. When the Malibu comes to a stop, such as at a red light, the conventional 4-cylinder engine shuts off. When it’s time to move again, the GM system’s battery feeds juice to the alternator, which restarts the engine and gets the car moving. This all takes place so quickly, the driver will likely never notice the system working. When the car is in motion, the alternator powers the car’s electrical systems and recharges the on-board battery.

In a week of mixed city and highway driving, we found the Malibu to be a most agreeable car. More important, the Malibu is a well-built car; a testament to the changes that have taken place since GM’s near-death experience.

For the full review, click here.

Comment: Cars for Dad

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The College Driver has posted an entry entitled “Top Five Cars for Dad.”

The article by Zaid Nasser opens with: “Father’s Day is here again. It’s that special day of the year for all of our dads who’ve earned the right to drive a car that shows how awesome they are. These top five picks offer a combination of butt kicking performance, versatility, and the peace of mind of being a 2012 IIHS Top Safety Pick.”

The Top Five? The BMW X3, Buick Regal GS, Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Volt and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.

Okay: Top Five according to whom? And where did this concern about an IIHS top safety pick come from?

I had a dad for many years and I’ve been a dad for enough years that I am a granddad, too. In addition, I know, and have known, many dads. Were I to ask a group of them to name the top five vehicles that “show how awesome they are” I have a hunch we’d get answers more along the lines of “Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson” or “Corvette ZR1.”

In order to be a bit scientific about this, and lacking time to pester my friends with questions, let’s look at the numbers with the assumption that at least some of the sales were to awesome dads.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a fair candidate. Out of 267 cars and light trucks that reported sales in all five months so far this year, the Grand Cherokee ranked 25th. The most award-winning SUV in history, the Grand Cherokee choices shouldn’t be limited to the SRT8; if dad’s partial to hunting, fishing, camping or just getting off the beaten (or paved) path, the greater ground clearance of the Trail-Rated Laredo might make it a better choice and the available 5.7-liter Hemi offers some pretty serious performance.

Cadillac doesn’t break out numbers for the CTS-V, but the CTS line is pretty popular at No. 80. However, it should be noted that the Cadillac SRX, at No. 79, is more popular, as are the BMW 3 series and 5 series, and the Mercedes-Benz C class and E class. On the other hand, a station wagon that goes as fast as the Caddy has got to be rather awesome.

Now we get to the more questionable choices:

The BMW X3 is a nice SUV/Crossover but the numbers say dads prefer an X5, a Mercedes-Benz M class, a Lexus RX or any of the Acura SUVs. Or, for that matter, a Chevy Tahoe.

I wouldn’t say the Volt offers “butt-kicking performance” but your dad might be a trendsetting kind of guy who likes the idea of an electric car. But wouldn’t dad want something truly awesome like a Tesla?

Which brings us to the Buick Regal GS. Writing about the GS, Mr. Nasser gets a bit gushy: “Each time we think of Buick’s all-new performance sedan, we can’t help but smile. General Motors did so much right by offering the GS, and with the power-dense 2.0-liter featuring turbocharging and direct-injection technology to pump out 270 horsepower, dad will be smiling too. Best of all, it comes with a sweet six-speed manual or automatic. Cargo room w/ rear seats up: 14.25 cubic feet.”

I don’t have anything against the the Regal, I owned a Regal Turbo Sport Coupe many years ago and it was a marvelous car, but if cargo space is a big consideration, dad most likely is thinking pickup or large SUV, not a 4-door sedan.

If the sedan is right, the Audi A4 is as fast, gets better fuel economy and has a lower base price. As far as transmissions go, the A4 is available with a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed automatic. Plus it’s an Audi.

But we’re still left with the question of where are the proven dad-pleasers like a pickup or the Corvette?

These types of lists are as harmless as they are meaningless but it would be nice to see a bit more research and a bit more consideration going into them. Maybe even a bit of actually talking to some dads. Which, on Father’s Day, is an excellent idea, even if you don’t talk cars at all.

To all the dads out there, Happy Father’s Day! And may you find the ride that makes you feel awesome.

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