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Peer Review: Was the New York Auto show 'green'?
We visited the New York International Auto Show this week and found ourselves wishing that more car companies would introduce real eco-friendly cars instead of concepts. We weren't alone: many critics thought that this year's show was a sort of last hurrah (hopefully) for muscle cars before American companies realize that drivers can't afford them with gas prices at $5 per gallon. Other reviewers were encouraged, however, not just by the fuel cell and hybrid concepts that abounded, but by the real electric cars that are coming out of Japan. Views about cars and the car show from around the web after the jump. And if that's not enticing enough, just click Continue for photos of some hot rides.
Dodge Challenger shows American car companies don't care about the environment
"Here at the New York Auto Show, nothing is slowing down the parade of muscle cars taking the stage. Chrysler is showing off its reborn Dodge Challenger, with a screaming V8 hemi engine… it's green be damned. Like an infamous Yankees pitcher, the New York Auto Show is all about the juice… What are these guys thinking?" , Newsweek
Electric Denki Cube is great, unrealistic
"Call it a publicity stunt if you must, but it's tough to deny that Nissan's Denki Cube E.V. concept is exceptionally cool. It's intended to stir up some excitement in advance of the American debut of the company's gasoline-powered Cube small car" , Wired
Saleen Raptor concept is only vaguely green but very awesome
"The concept is said to make the run to 60 in a mere 3.2 seconds all while sipping on cellulosic ethanol. That's right folks, the S5S Raptor is a psuedo-environmentally friendly car with renewable fuel on its mind. Sounds good to us, we're happy with anything we can blast around in supercar-style long after the dinosaur squeezin's run dry." , Jalopnik
Not so many green production models, unless you count SUVs like these
"In a show with few truly green production models, Mercedes-Benz tried to drive three S.U.V.s onto the environmental high ground. Bluetec diesel versions of the ML-, GL- and R-Class go on sale in October and will be the first new diesel passenger models to meet the pollution rules of all 50 states." , The New York Times
V-6 is greener than V-8
"This year's shows could be a final gasp for the American muscle car, as automakers try to figure out whether fuel economy standards will force them to compromise on horsepower and whether younger buyers will even be interested in the kind of nostalgic performance cars that are captivating Baby Boomers. [An analyst] noted that the Genesis Coupe has a V-6 engine - not a V-8 -" , The AP
Hybrid Technologies converts less green technology
"Major automakers Nissan, Subaru, and Mitsubishi showed working vehicles, while an upstart brought in a conversion with impressive stats… Hybrid Technologies uses its proprietary battery management technology to convert existing cars, fitting them with lithium ion battery packs and electric drive units. The Liv Wise is converted from a Toyota Yaris, and has a range of 90 to 100 miles" , CNet
Detroit doesn't quite get green
"'Detroit is finally gettin' it.' Words I overheard at the Dodge Challenger stand. Despite all the talk of low-emissions, high-fuel mileage cars, including a forum at the GM stand to talk about the Chevy Volt, Detroit's big cars at New York are the Challenger and the Pontiac G8 GXP and ST, showing off their rear-wheel-drive V-8 swagger… It's Detroit's luck that it is finally "getting it" with cars that the 2020 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards could make obsolete." , Motor Trend
Japan does, however
"On the flip side, two small-volume Japanese manufacturers showed pure electric vehicles, cars that will have environmentalists in Southern California bleating about how GM killed the electric car, and Tokyo revived it. Subaru's R1e electric looks like the science experiment that it is… Mitsubishi showed its mid-engine electric iMiev cars." , Motor Trend
What was your favorite car from the Auto Show? And do you think consumers will be willing to trade in horsepower for better mileage?
By Bryan Price at 1:57 PM ON 03/23/08
Oh yes. I guess we can also blame the 70's gas crisis on that original version of the Challenger too. Oh, and my '73 Challenger still got better mileage than my wife's 4 cylinder 2000 Saturn. Just because it's small with a small engine doesn't make it great on gas mileage, let alone being great period.
By therBike45 at 3:30 PM ON 03/23/08
Let's see now, Toyota killed their Rav4 electric in 2002, the same year the GM Ev-1 electric was cancelled, and Honda killed their electric Honda EV the same year they brought it out in 1996, yet GM is the company that killed the lectric car?
Please explain. Does not compute. In case you're wondering, GM is developing an electric car called the Chevy Volt. Odd you haven't heard of it, since hundreds of its fans were at the NY autio show getting debriefed by Volt progrma execs and engineers. Nothing like lying thru one's teeth, I suppose.
By TomFool at 3:38 PM ON 03/23/08
What a crock. That dinky electric car with its puny 50 mile driving range won't meet the needs of anyone. The greenies are trying to con the public once again with their silly impracticalities. First it was windmills, now its toy cars that have little or no value. And tell me, how does one recharge a "city car" is one lives in the city? Citydwellers live in apartments and condos and don't have electrical outlets next t their cars.
By robo1936 at 3:13 AM ON 03/24/08
For me inEngland with petrol costing 10$ a gallon the electric car is not just about being a greenie its about using a form of transport you can afford and getting out of the greedy oil companies, a greedy government and the greedy oil producing countries. If it helps me td do that more power to the elbow electric car makers.
By Jody at 9:35 AM ON 03/27/08
GM killed the electiric car...they weren't making a bag at only GM. Watch the 2006 documentary film "who killed the electric car?" It will become clear.
By coonass at 9:42 AM ON 03/27/08
Hybrid Technologies has the right idea. They're just not following all the way through. Instead of retro-fitting new cars like the Toyota Yaris, they should seriously look at a business model that allows them to retrofit cars customers already own and love. Subarus, for example. I love my '91 Legacy Wagon, and the only thing that would make me love it more would be a hybrid power plant and a bump in my highway MPG from 30 to something closer to a Toyota Prius's stats. I don't expect to get full-on hybrid mileage in a four-wheel drive car like the Legacy, but even improved mileage (while running on E-85, which only costs $2.20/gallon here in Denver) would rock.
That's the other boat the hybrid manufacturers missed - is it absolutely necessary to run on straight gasoline, or could hybrids be made that ran on E-85? It seems to me that "pure hybrids" (not like Toyota Hybrid Camrys, which have a drive train that depends on both the electric and gas motors) could accommodate any losses in power due to running on ethanol pretty easily - even a slight decrease in MPG would be worthwhile if your fuel cost a dollar less a gallon.
By OneWhoKnows at 10:12 AM ON 03/27/08
That "dinky electric car with its uny 59 mile driving range" COULD be a larger one with three times the range IF the company wanted (or was allowed) to offer one. The technogy has existed for a long time.
And about the 'gas crisis' of the '70s, there WAS NO gas crisis in the '70s. I was working as a assistant manager at a gas station at the time.
Our station had been (for close to 30 years), a 24/7 full service station but during the 'shortage' had cut back to 10 hours per day, 6 days per week.
One day, I was talking to our gas delivery driver (a friend) and he told me that he and all of their other tanker drivers were working overtime hours to meet the delivery schedule. "How could that be?, we are in the middle of a shortage" I asked. He told me they were taking excess gas from the pipeline and storing it in unused fuel tanks all over the place.
Obviously, I told him that I didn't believe him so he challenged me to ride with him and he would prove it. A few days later, on my day off, I met him a few miles from his plant and I rode with him for the day.
Along I-80 in Iowa, we stopped at four different closed truck stops (3 Stuckey's and 1 'Mom and Pop' that had gone broke) and I watched him unload his entire tank at those four stops. EVERY one of his shipping papers had the same owner listed - the pipeline company he had filled up at.
The very DAY that gas hit $1.05 per gallon, my boss got a call from our corporate office and was told to go back to 24 hours. We were told "We have all the gas you can pump, order up."
Anyone who buys into the myth of the '70s gas shortage was simply conned like the majority of the country was. Further, anyone who thinks that our gas should not and could not be at or less than $1.50 per galon is simply not paying attention or just as simply deluded.
Until our government gets rid of the corporatist mentalitiy and out of the pockets of the big oil companies, we will never see any alternative energy or environmentally friendly vehicels in the US.
At the risk of taking this into the poilitical realm, I will simply say that there are no republican and damned few incumbent democrats who will ever allow this to happen.
Remember this at the polls in November.
By Janine at 11:12 AM ON 03/27/08
I don't understand why we're still driving around in cars with engines that have been around since the 1800's or longer. We need to look into new technology and keep looking into it. These engines are dirty, antiquated, and expensive to run.
By Masschine at 2:01 PM ON 03/27/08
The Challenger's production run for the SRT-8 (the highest horsepower version) sold out before the first one even ships in May so Detroit is just bowing to consumer wants. And I want one. People still buy SUV's by the train load, sales are slowing and it could be gas prices the economy or just a glut.
The electric vehicles are all well and good but they are impractical. Want to drive to Florida in one? You'd have to find somewhere to plug them in every couple of hundred miles and currently they take hours to charge. It turns what can be a two or three day drive into a week long expedition if you had the charging stations. And there will have to be some way to create the electricity.
The the big problem with alternative energy vehicles is infrastructure. Hydrogen is only available to fleet sales because they would be able to create a fueling station to refuel them. Currently it takes more energy to create the hydrogen than you get from it. The same applies to electricity but at least that is easier to set up.
There was a display for the 100mpg X-Prize at the Autoshow and an interesting yet butt-ugly vehicle on display was from France. It looked like one of those plastic toys you'd get for a 4 year old to ride in. They say it passes most safety regulations and can carry 6 people at 90 mph. It's powered by compressed air. There is a gas or diesel powered compressor that will recharge the bottles as you move. I believe the range on a charge was 30 miles but the range while running the compressor is 800 miles.
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Masschine:
The Challenger's production run for the SRT-8 (the highest horsepower version) sold out before the first one even s...More »