Who Killed the Gas-Powered Car?

On Saturday, March 20, from 12-5pm, Mario's is having a promotional event that offers you a rare chance to go for a test ride in a Tesla Roadster and meet Agave Jeans owner and designer Jeff Shafer, who'll help you find your perfect denim fit. What's a Tesla Roadster, you ask? It's a sports car made by Tesla Motors, the electric car company that's putting the testosterone back into eco-friendly driving. Retail Therapist suspects the company's name is referring to Nikola Tesla, the Serbian father of commercial electricity—not the male hormone—but it works either way. The car in question is 100 percent electric (take that, all you half-assed hybrids) and goes from zero to sixty in 3.9 seconds. It'll run you a cool $130,000, but think of what you'll save on gas. As for Agave Denim, they're premium jeans, sewn of long-staple cotton denim woven in small batches on vintage American shuttle looms and hand-finished in California. So they're pretty nice. Prices are in the $200-$225 range. You'll have to call the downtown Mario's at (503) 227-3477 to schedule your test ride. That's ride, not drive. Sorry. At least you'll get to try on the Agave jeans—and not just sit next to someone who's wearing a pair. Mario's downtown, 833 SW Broadway, (503) 227-3477. MAP; Mario's 3.10 at Bridgeport Village, (503) 601-7310.