The Wide World of Cleaner Cars…
Today marks the opening of the Chicago Auto Show, an annual event that brings major and minor car manufacturers together to present their products, current and forthcoming, to the world. This particular show is unique in its focus on presenting to the consumer (as opposed to dealers or other industry players), which is why I was so thrilled to get to be a part of the media preview this week. Boy, did I see a lot of cars.
As I pore over my hundreds of pictures (lots of photo-links in this article), loads of flyers, and copious notes from my trip, I've definitely come across some standouts, which I'll share with you all this weekend. But a clear pattern is also becoming visible through my "research": manufacturers are almost all concerned with moving toward make their vehichles greener, environmentally progressive, or simply more-miles-per-gallon. What's maybe most fascinating – even exciting – is that they aren't doing this for love of the planet or convern over global warming (though a Suzuki rep did blame the odd Chicago earthquake, and the snow, on global warming, only half-joking to a large crowd). Company leaders from Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and others stated clearly that they're pushing toward greeness and fuel economy because consumers are demanding it. And while I'd love it if companies were good to the earth just because, I think the idea of an American populus that demands enviro-consciousness is pretty cool.
Nearly every manufacturer present offered some sort of alternative fuel vehicles:
- Toyota has the Prius and is looking at expanding that line to include something like their electric hybrid concept car
- Honda has several different hybrids and will be releasing a new one, the sporty CR-Z soon.
- GM: Chevy is really close to the big release of its all-electric Volt, and Cadillac has a plug-in hybrid XTS in the works
- Volkswagen had a whole line of available "clean diesel" cars and broke a world record when it got one of them to go 67 miles on a single gallon.
- Ford had electric and natural gas options in a neat fleet-vehicle called the Transit Connect, and its Fusion Hybrid won an efficiency awardM/a>.
- Kia unveiled an electric car.
- BMW has a few hybrid or alt-fuel vehicles (including a $90k crossover, LOL)
- Hyundai has a few new and VERY affordable cars with hybrid engines, called "blue" cars, along with an electric concept car.
- Fiat's only Fiat-branded vehicles at the show were their 500EV battery electric cars.
Then there are companies that operate or manufacture in a way that's naturally cleaner:
- •Mini's small, sporty vehicles offer a sportscar feel with very competitive mileage (nearly 40mpg highway).
- SmartCars aren't hybrids, but in addition to getting great mileage and being very safe, they're totally recyclable (this kind of foresight is exciting in any industry)
- Fisker, a company based in Irvine, CA, sells only electrics – and they're among the sexiest cars on the planet. Sure, they're $83,000, but…
All this progress is pretty exciting, but the auto industry isn't totally off the hook in my book. Chrysler and their subsidiaries had some of the coolest in-vehicle entertainment (or "infotainment") options, but seemed frankly unconcerned with the environment (did you know a new Jeep gets only 15 miles per gallon in the city, 18 highway?). Hyundai's new line of "blue" cars have hybrid engines but get unimpressive mileage. And while any progress is admirable, this is an industry that has been pretty slow on the uptake. Concept cars are great, but they often don't make it much past the "concept" stage. Considering that electric cars have existed for years, no hybrid/electic concept car has the power to really knock my socks off, no matter how far it can go on a single charge (the Fisker Karma, a real car, can go 80) or how fast it is (the precious Fiat 500 EV can reach speeds of 110mph).
Given the economic issues and car-industry crises of the past few years, manufacturers will have to listen to their consumers if they want to stick around. Hopefully, those consumers will continue to demand environmental awareness (or at least higher mileage to save on gas). If the industry continues to progress as it has over the past five years, hybrids and electrics could finally become the norm. Or maybe a new technology will take precendence: Clean diesel? Biofuel? Hydrogen? As GM North American president Mark Reuss told a room full of media this Wednesday, "For better or worse, the auto industry has the chance to rebuild, and GM has had the opportunity to build a new company from scratch." Hopefully that's a message the entire industry is taking to heart, and hopefully the re-built companies that emerge will be the greenest ones yet.
Marissa Flaxbart
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