Once again, green cars steal the spotlight at auto shows around the world – you know, the ones companies stick the ''zero-emission'' label to because they rely solely on electricity to move forward.
Magical. Clean.
Hum...
To be more accurate, shouldn't we refer to them as ''vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions but substantial chimney emissions?'' As you probably know, in most parts of the globe, the electricity they use comes from oil or coal plants. And I'm not talking here about electricity produced from nuclear energy...
Car drivers making the shift from high-emission to zero-emission vehicles can sleep well at night. With their electric car, they don't see or smell anything coming out of the tailpipes so, from their point of view, it becomes the cure for all ills.
They don't realize, however, that this type of transportation does not erase pollution but merely takes the source elsewhere.
Ironically, the most important thing for these people is not to help protect the environment. Quite simply, it's to save money.
When we talk to the executives and engineers of companies that market the Leaf, Volt, i-MiEV and other so-called green cars, they openly admit off the record that they won't sell millions of these vehicles overnight. At best, one or two percent of their customers will buy one – and that goes for the next ten years or so.
Among them will be plenty of opinion leaders and pioneering buyers, folks who systematically become the early adopters of every new fashionable gadget or technology.
Then there are the ''wise'' guys, I mean people who will simply replace one of the three or four cars in their driveway (the one that merely serves for short occasional trips) with an electric car. For them, the decision makes sense since all they'll think about is the money saved at the pump.
What about the advocates of everything ''green?'' More conscious about the welfare of society and the environment than the average person, they can't all be using bicycles, public transit or car-sharing services. Some of them need a vehicle of their own.
As for everybody else (me and you included, in all likelihood), the electric car will remain the dream car of the new millennium. Dream as in ''out of price.''
We'll rely on gas or diesel to fuel our vehicles for many more years, not to mention hybrids. Innovations will keep spreading, such as auto start/stop, smart boost, low-rolling resistance tires, advanced lightweight materials, etc. The combination of these new technologies will improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and extend its life expectancy.
From the comfort of our driver's seats, we'll watch electric car owners cruise by and hear how they do it to save the planet...
Magical. Clean.
Hum...
To be more accurate, shouldn't we refer to them as ''vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions but substantial chimney emissions?'' As you probably know, in most parts of the globe, the electricity they use comes from oil or coal plants. And I'm not talking here about electricity produced from nuclear energy...
Car drivers making the shift from high-emission to zero-emission vehicles can sleep well at night. With their electric car, they don't see or smell anything coming out of the tailpipes so, from their point of view, it becomes the cure for all ills.
They don't realize, however, that this type of transportation does not erase pollution but merely takes the source elsewhere.
Ironically, the most important thing for these people is not to help protect the environment. Quite simply, it's to save money.
When we talk to the executives and engineers of companies that market the Leaf, Volt, i-MiEV and other so-called green cars, they openly admit off the record that they won't sell millions of these vehicles overnight. At best, one or two percent of their customers will buy one – and that goes for the next ten years or so.
Among them will be plenty of opinion leaders and pioneering buyers, folks who systematically become the early adopters of every new fashionable gadget or technology.
Then there are the ''wise'' guys, I mean people who will simply replace one of the three or four cars in their driveway (the one that merely serves for short occasional trips) with an electric car. For them, the decision makes sense since all they'll think about is the money saved at the pump.
What about the advocates of everything ''green?'' More conscious about the welfare of society and the environment than the average person, they can't all be using bicycles, public transit or car-sharing services. Some of them need a vehicle of their own.
As for everybody else (me and you included, in all likelihood), the electric car will remain the dream car of the new millennium. Dream as in ''out of price.''
We'll rely on gas or diesel to fuel our vehicles for many more years, not to mention hybrids. Innovations will keep spreading, such as auto start/stop, smart boost, low-rolling resistance tires, advanced lightweight materials, etc. The combination of these new technologies will improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and extend its life expectancy.
From the comfort of our driver's seats, we'll watch electric car owners cruise by and hear how they do it to save the planet...