From thecarconnection.com
Green Machines
A crystal-ball look at the
environmentally friendly cars
of the future.
by Tara Baukus Mello
There's a new species of auto that's currently in evolution, and
it's as tiny as an infant in a hospital nursery. Some of the
members of this group will not make it, but the strongest will
survive and grow into mature adults as the years
progress. It's the evolution of green machines — vehicles
that are friendly to the environment.
While it may seem like a contradiction to deal with green
machines today, what with the current popularity of
gas-guzzling, high-polluting SUVs, it's really not. Walk
around the boardrooms at virtually any auto manufacturer,
and you'll overhear plans for cars that use less fuel, burn it
more efficiently, and still meet the performance, distance,
safety and styling needs of today's American drivers.
Consider
these facts.
More than half
(56 percent)
of the United
States' gas
supply is
imported from
foreign
sources.
That's fully 20
percent higher
than was
imported
during the 1970s, when OPEC (Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries) nearly brought the nation
to a complete standstill. In addition, there are more
vehicles on the road and drivers are logging more miles
than ever before. Then, figure in that cars, trucks and
SUVs account for one-third of all carbon dioxide
emissions.
Putting green machines on the road
While you may not be alarmed by any of these statistics,
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of
Energy, and other various government agencies are
concerned. To counter the automobile's role in
environmental pollution, these agencies are exercising
their powers to ensure that the automotive industry does
its part in making sure transportation is more
environmentally friendly — whether they (or consumers)
like it or not.
At the heart of
this push is
Dr. Amory
Lovins, a
former
experimental
physicist who
is now the
director of
research,
executive vice
president and
CFO of the
Rocky
Mountain
Institute, a nonprofit resource center. Lovins has set the
automotive industry on fire by pioneering the concept of
the ultralight hybrid vehicles he calls “hypercars,” a term
trademarked by the Rocky Mountain Institute. Lovins'
hypercar concept has caught the attention of several
major manufacturers, who now are working on concept
vehicles that rely heavily on the physicist's theories.
So what does this green machine look like? It's not the
jellybeanlike, one- or two-passenger vehicle that many
might think of when imagining the vehicle of the future.
No, in fact, the thought is that it would look much like
current vehicle designs — a car, truck or SUV with room
to accommodate up to four or five passengers.
Yes, but how does it perform? The description sounds
too good to be true: a vehicle that gets 100-200 miles per
gallon with a 1,000-mile range, has the safety of a Volvo,
the stiffness of a Mercedes, and the acceleration of a
BMW, but with a price comparable to a Ford Taurus.
No one, including
Amory Lovins, knows
whether this car can be
built, but the auto
industry is clearly
headed in this
direction. Toyota
dealers in the United
States will offer the
Prius, a gas-electric
hybrid based on the
Corolla, beginning in mid-2000. DaimlerChrysler
introduced the NECAR 4, a fuel cell vehicle based on the
Mercedes-Benz A-Class that can go up to 90 mph and
travel nearly 280 miles before refueling. Ford's P2000
research program is dedicated to producing clean and
efficient vehicles, which include the P2000 Sedan and
SUV unveiled earlier this year. This is just a few of the
projects and companies that are involved.
In the coming months, this column will share the activities
in this evolving field and discuss how they directly relate
to our driving habits and needs. As new technologies are
developed, I'll explain them in easy-to-understand terms.
Then, as new vehicles are introduced, you'll know
firsthand about performance, safety and real-world
practicality through road tests and reviews.
(6/6/99) |
