The car was sitting outside a two-car garage, and although you can't see it in the photo below, it was plugged in!
I saw a gentleman in the garage and stopped to talk to him about the car.
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| The headlight peaking over the front of the MiEV belongs to a 1929 Buick. |
It turns out the gentleman was Bill McLaughlin. He, along with his son Kevin McLaughlin, are owners of the Toronto-based company AutoShare, and the car - their first fully electric vehicle (EV) - a Mitsubishi I-MiEV.
As distant relatives to Sam McLaughlin, co-founder of the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, the owners of AutoShare are no strangers to automobiles. Parked inside the garage were two antique automobiles, a 1929 Buick and a 1937 Cord.
I asked McLaughlin what it was like to drive the MiEV and he said it wasn't much different from driving a regular car except when idling. "When you come to a stop-light it's very quiet," said McLaughlin.
He also explained the car should be available to AutoShare members soon; the company is currently making partnership arrangements for parking and charging.
"I just realized the juxtaposition," said McLaughlin, looking at the EV and then the gems inside the garage.
Indeed, the automobile industry has come a long way.
