The first four-wheeled love affairs are always special. In 1995, I got a 1985 Volkswagen Golf. I purchased that car from my father. I was 27 years old. Although I had my driver’s license for 10 years, I never felt the need for my own car. Reason being, the benefits of living in Reykjavik and Oslo. One could easily commute and do without a car, particularly in Oslo. I would borrow a car from my grandfather in Iceland or my father in Norway, only when needed but that was seldom.
I drove my little Golf until it could not drive anymore. I loved that little car, although I had to tilt the seat back when driving it. I had to avoid my head hit the ceiling of the car, leaving little space for passengers, which included two gentlemen flying from the US in their private jet just before Christmas in 1997, with the intent of buying my little company Opera. Their efforts were in vain.
I have had other cars from that time. After the Golf, I got an Opel Zafira and later a Mitsubishi Colt, and some others.
And now it’s time for another ‘first’ car story. I have desired an electric car for a long time, and finally, I am a proud owner of one. My first electric car – a Volkswagen e-Golf – a beauty.
It feels nostalgic – a lot like my old car, but in a modern form and much taller. Going forward, my goal is to only buy electric cars, if at all possible. I know I am late to the party but I am an optimist – better late than never!
Countries around the world see the use of electric vehicles as a major way to curb greenhouse gas emissions. And this is encouraging for our environment and climate vagaries. Not all countries have the infrastructure for electric cars, but the will to support this change looks bright.
Sales of electric cars in Norway have overtaken traditional vehicles. 58% of the vehicles are battery-powered. When it comes to electric vehicle uptake, Norway is streets ahead of any other country.
And as to driving an electric car, it feels a lot more correct than driving a gasoline-driven car. It is a lot of fun. Finally, I have made the switch.
Judging from the foliage, you’re driving in Massachusetts, so it’s outstanding that you made the sentimental choice to continue with a new generation, instead of starting with the domestic e-leader.
(Speaking of underdogs, volkswagen.co.uk has a banner that blocks Vivaldi…)
I’ve put next year’s VW e-Up and its Czechoslovakian twin on my first-buy shortlist, for similar sentimental reasons (plus of course the one-pedal drive and nice torque promise to be fun).
My driving license is long-expired (I’d gotten it only because my father insisted, as it was supposed to help me get a job), but new pay-as-you-go electric car rentals sound good for getting around the city sometimes, so I plan to renew it soon.
Speaking of renewables, I found that switching to a 100% green electricity provider was painless.
With electric taxis and public transport getting promoted more (EU policies for-the-win!), the world does look to be on the right long path (Viva la rᵉvolución!).
Hello Jon
My name is Francois and I was really hoping I could interact with you surrounding two simple feature requests I have that the developers are not willing to implement. Something I am begging for since 2016. I really want to switch to Vivaldi full time since I hate Google and I hate the new Opera, their politics, they spying etc.
You can can email me via [email protected]
I am sure you are a busy man and the chat wont take a lot of time.
Your company is being used for scam emails; you must feel really good about this because it keeps happening. so thank you .
Check the SMTP server where the scam originates from. I am told daily that my cloud accounts are full, and I have to pay for more.
Most of these comes from Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail accounts, never Apple and Google.