Daniel turned five years old the other day. He was very happy about being five, because he was big now and no one could treat him like a baby. Daniel's daddy came in his room to wish him a happy birthday and said, "How would you like to come with me to look for a new car? Our family needs a new car, and since you are five years old now, I would like your help in deciding what to buy."
Daniel was very excited. He had never gone car shopping and he knew this would be a real adventure!
All day long, Daniel and his Daddy went in and out of stores that sold new cars. They looked at big cars and little cars, they looked at red cars and blue cars and yellow cars and green cars, but they couldn't decide what kind of a car they wanted.
When Daniel got home, he told his Mom about all the cars they had seen. "We don't know which one to buy," said Daniel. "This is a very hard job!"
"Well," said Mommy, "let's try to make it a little easier. Let's think about what kind of a car we really need. Do we need a big car or a little car?"
"I think we need a little car," said Daniel, "your car is very big Mommy, so Daddy's doesn't have to be big too."
"Good thinking!" said Mommy "So now we know that we just need a little car. What color should our little car be?", asked Mommy.
"I know, I want a red car," said Daniel.
"Wait a minute," said Daddy, "I think I want a blue one."
"Ok," Daniel said, "I guess blue is good too."
"Good," said Mommy, "so we are looking for a little, blue car. Now, what are we going to use this car for?"
"Well," said Daniel, "Daddy can take it to work every day and he can take me to school and we can go to the grocery store in it."
"So," said Mommy, "if we use the little car for our short trips every day, my big car can be used for our long trips, like when we visit Grandpa in Ohio."
So now we know we need a small, blue car that we can use for all our short trips every day. That wasn't so hard. was it?"
"Thanks," said Daddy, "that helped a lot. Let's go out again tomorrow and see what we can find."
The next day, Daniel and his Daddy went back to the car dealer. A very nice lady came up to them and said, "Can I help you?" "Yes," said Daddy, "we want to buy a car."
"What kind of car are you looking for?" said the lady.
"I know", said Daniel, "we are looking for a little, blue car that can go on short trips."
"Oh my," said the lady, "you have done some thinking about what kind of car you really need, that's very good."
"Yes," said Daniel. "We figured it out before we came, my Mommy helped us."
"Well, let's see, we have a lot of little blue cars here, but I think you might want to look at a really special little car," said the lady. "A car that runs on a battery. It is called an electric car."
"COOL!" said Daniel, "I want to look at that one."
"Ok," said Daddy," let's look."
It was a bright, shiny blue car. It had silver wheels and pretty gray seats. "Can we drive it Daddy?" asked Daniel.
"Can we?" asked Daddy.
"Sure," said the lady. "Here are keys."
Daniel, his Daddy and the lady all got in the car and Daddy drove it out to the street.
"Wow!" said Daddy. "I can't hear the engine at all."
"That's because it doesn't have moving parts like other engines," said the lady. "The battery doesn't make any noise."
"Can it go fast?", asked Daniel.
"Oh yes," said the lady. "It can go very fast, but you must always remember that when you are driving, you must obey the speed limits."
"I like this car," said Daddy, "but how do we put fuel in it?"
"Let's pull over to that electric fueling station and I'll show you," said the lady.
The lady got out and walked to the front of the car. Daddy and Daniel followed her.
The lady reached down and opened up a little slot on the hood. Then she went over to the electric fuel station and pulled out something that looked like a handle.
"What is that?" asked Daniel.
"It's called a paddle," said the dady. "Electricity goes from this fueling station, into the paddle and then into your car to charge the battery. See, you just plug it in-it's easy!"
"And you know," said the lady, "this car is good for the environment because it doesn't burn gasoline and pollute the air."
"You mean this car is good for keeping our earth clean?" asked Daniel. "My teacher, Ms. Smith, says that everyone has to do their part to keep the earth clean."
"Well," said Daddy, "I guess if we bought this car, we would be doing our part wouldn't we."
"Just how much does this car cost?" asked Daddy.
"Well," said the lady," it is more expensive than regular gasoline cars, but if you fuel it at night when everyone is sleeping and no one is using a lot of electricity, you can fuel it very cheaply. And by the time you wake up in the morning, it will be ready to go."
"And don't forget, Daddy, it will help the earth," said Daniel.
"Well," said Daddy. "is this the car we should buy? Let's see. It is little, it is blue, it is good for short trips and it helps keep the earth clean. It sounds like it is exactly what we need! What do you think Daniel?"
"YES" said Daniel. "This is the car we need."
"Ok," said Daddy," I think we have a new car."
Daniel and Daddy drove the new car home. Daniel showed his mother how the car ran, and how to fill it up. Then they took a ride in it. It was the BEST car Daniel had ever had.
Now, here's an electric car for you to color! What color do you want your car to be?
Links:
[1] http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/resources/evbook.html