Always Behind the Beat

Solar Car-Charging Comes to New York - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

2009-12-22T11:43:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when technology provides you with a button that posts links to your blog. I don't think I have even read this article yet but I just had to press that button and see if it would work. I remember there were a lot of pretty green pictures there. And it is The New York Times. And charging your car with sunlight, if any, seems like a good thing. New York is already, surprisingly, one of the greenest cities in the US. Mostly because it's small, crowded, and very difficult to drive a private car in. Let's keep the pressure on for solar charged-passenger sharing-dynamically routed taxis.

Solar Car-Charging Comes to New York - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

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We're all driving clunkers now.

2009-08-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hanging out in our office the last few weeks you would have heard an amazingly diverse number of viewpoints on the government's Car Allowance Rebate System or Cash for Clunkers as the media has hyped it. Gear heads pull out pictures of 15 year old BMWs and long orphaned Alfa Romeo Milanos lined up on death row and lament the cruel chemical death awaiting them. Some even produce shaky videos of the deed and post them to youtube. Auto sales people tell tales of deals lost when they were unable to navigate the clerical obstacles one might expect from a Federal program. Republicans on the radio spin it as evidence that a national health plan is doomed. Industry pundits predict that today's boom is only the prelude to another slump. No one seems happy and yet 250,000 deals blew through the first billion dollars in less than a week.

The view from here is that the program has worked pretty much as designed. There is no doubt that local car dealers were in a bad way the last few months. A burst of activity like this will keep some of them on their feet for a little longer. Maybe the sales would have been made in the near future anyway but new car buyers are generally pretty well heeled. If the object is to encourage spending and increase consumer confidence with some positive economic numbers, then getting vetted buyers to open their wallets now is probably a good thing. Putting some big ticket items into local sales tax coffers will be welcome news to most cities. Collectors are not likely to miss all of those 12 year old Explorers and Cherokees. Their former owners certainly won't. And while the average increase in fuel economy is only about 10%, any move in that direction is positive.

Looking soberly at the automotive mind set it seems clear that even a 100% increase in fuel economy won't save the planet. In fact if those cars existed they might make the problem worse. Nothing like a 10mpg SUV to discourage unnecessary driving. What we have is a design problem. Collectively were rooted in the pre WWII romance of the automobile as magic carpet; a dream that reached it's fruition in the Interstate Highway System and an America that moved to the suburbs. But there's no magic left when the carpet moves from dream to necessity. We live in a culture designed around the automobile as appliance where for most people, most everywhere, living without one is tedious, time consuming and difficult. Until that changes were all driving clunkers.

Suzie New-Beginnings

2009-06-14T15:42:00.001-07:00

And the winner of the Northwest Ohio Hatchback Smackdown is:
The Suzuki SX4

Here is her report.

Those of you that have been following my recent posts have heard me whine about the tragic caricide of my beloved CRV, Maggie. After much advice from my car expert brother, Phillip (thank you so much) and lengthy internet research, Justin and I set out today to look at and drive some cars. The Chevy Cobalt rental I was driving was making some scary rattling noises and smelled like something might have died in it recently. So off we went to Toledo. We looked at the Honda Fit, Pontiac Vibe, a used CRV, a Suzuki SX4, and did a driveby of a Scion . Even though in my heart I an a Honda girl, I had to admit that the Suzuki was a better buy for the money. It's basic... but not basic with a built in navigation system and cruise control. After much haggling with John who insisted on calling me "Sweetie" over and over (almost a deal breaker) We reached a mutual agreement on a price. After a phone conversation with Phillip( while the vultures circled around the office door) John came back with an even lower interest rate and Yes Phillip they did throw in the floor mats. it is a comfortable ride good handling and we got 30 miles per gallon on the way home. My nephew who is a deputy sheriff in an adjoining county stopped by shortly after we got home to get his 1969 Dodge Charger that he has been storing in our pole barn. Jerry gave it a very close inspection a short spin and was impressed with it's performance. He said he particularly liked the "arrest me red" color. I still miss Maggie. But, since driving must go on I think Suzie will be a good addition to our family.

By the way, initially the salesman drew up a deal that came up with a payment of $269. After the phone call described above (during which he was pacing nervously, no doubt chanting the mantra "Please don't bail, Please don't bail.....) the payment came in at $245. Under budget. About the only trump card a buyer has is the ability to walk away from the deal. It never hurts to stick to your target price and be prepared to walk. In this market you will get a call back. Pam had also done enough research that the sale price didn't start out in the stratosphere and come back to merely shocking.

I have to say that the Suzuki was my favorite going in. I would have liked to get a report on the Saturn Astra but it's lack of AWD and the future of Saturn were probably deal breakers from the get go. I'm not surprised that Pam and many others remarked on the good looks of the car. The SX4 is a joint venture of Suzuki and Fiat. The styling was done in Italy with Suzuki providing the AWD drivetrain and engine in this case. It also appears as the Fiat Sedici and is available with a selection of Fiat's nice turbo diesel motors. It is one of the few examples of a joint venture that I hope to see more of in the future.

The one weak point of Japanese cars until recently has been the ergonomics for American sized people. Europeans on the other hand understand how to build a smaller car for a bigger person. They just have trouble building engines and transmissions that are as reliable and easily maintained as their Japanese counterparts. Anyone who has owned a newer Volkswagen is aware of this. The current chaos in the automotive market in the US is going to force more joint ventures of this type and I think that's a good thing.

Fiat is already a master of this type of collaboration. As I've mentioned before, the new owners of Chrysler also have current or historical joint ventures with Ford and General Motors. So what can we expect in the new Chrysler lineup? Most of the buzz is about this car.

The Fiat Nuevo Cinquecento (New 500), here in Abarth performance trim. This has been a very successful car in Europe where it is marketed against the more expensive BMW mini. I like this car a lot but it won't sell to a broad audience and certainly is too minimal for family use. However Fiat has other options available that meet these needs.

The Fiat Bravo
The Fiat Grande Punto

These are the cars most ready to go to market here. Fiat also owns Alfa Romeo and Ferrari but these won't add much to the balance sheet. They also have quite advanced diesel technology and a number of other small SUVs and people carriers. This will be a good lineup if gas prices rise to the $4/gal. level again but they lack the bigger platforms Americans have traditionally favor. What will arise in this segment is anyone's guess but the current collaborations make me hopeful.

Facing the end

2009-06-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

The end of the automobile comes in many guises. Some people choose to live in a post automotive world for moral or social reasons. Some, like Boulder's Ryan Van Duzer have never even driven a car. He is about to set off across the US on a 3 speed cruiser bike. Many others are trying to wind down their car habit by biking and walking more. For most of us, a car is a necessity for daily life. Until communities are designed to be navigated by something other than cars we're going to need some motorized transport.

Sometimes the end comes with a whimper. The $7 Accord went that way two weeks ago. I had an opportunity to buy a small Subaru wagon and I couldn't in good conscience pass it on to anyone else. 20 years, even in Colorado's rust free climate, is a long time for a car. Honda is one of the better manufacturers when it comes to supplying parts for older cars but even they get disinterested after a quarter century. Eventually the list of little things that must be fixed adds up to a good down payment on something newer.

In my sister's case the end came with a bang. She pulled up behind a municipal dump truck that went into reverse and crushed her 2000 CRV.
This sort of unplanned and unavoidable end is the hardest on people. If you need a car for work as she does you have to get going on a replacement process immediately and without the luxury of much research. You are tempted more than usual by emotional rather than informed decisions that can be costly in the long run. Pam knows she can afford a payment of about $250 a month and is hoping that her insurance will give her $5000 or more for her 9 year old 200,000 mile car. Using the payment calculator at Edmunds.com that gives her a budget of about $17,000 including sales tax. A tricky price range given her need carry a lot of gear for her job and her preference for 4 wheel drive. Since her payment is based on her average reimbursement for mileage fuel economy is a big issue too.

The list of new cars that fit the criteria and the budget is pretty short. Used cars are a good value but always involve a more complicated search. You have to find one that looks good and then have it inspected to see if it really is good or you have to assume some risk. After a long discussion we came up with these candidates. Starting with the new car choices:
Suzuki SX4
A Japanese made car that is often overlooked. Probably the value 4 wheel drive alternative in the market. It has a well deserved reputation for durability and gets reasonable gas mileage in the mid twenties for most people. The dealer network is a little thin but available incentives make it a terrific value. It comes in under budget. I think it's worth a look.

Saturn Astra (aka Vauxhall Astra by Opel)
Pretty much the same MO as the Suzuki but without 4 wheel drive. It's European genes should make it the most comfortable car in the mix. The uncertain future of Saturn make it more of a risk. Still, Opel cars are enjoying a good run in Europe right now and odds are that someone will be sure to continue to market them in the States. This wouldn't be my pick for a 20 year car but given that my sister will drive it 20,000+ miles per year and lives in Northwest Ohio it won't have to be.
Honda Fit
Doesn't have 4wd but heck it's a Honda. It does come in at the budget limit though with the most Spartan interior. I'll be interested to see how these fare in the test drive phase.

Toyota Matrix with available 4wd and Scion XB before their recent redesigns would have made the new car list but I'm just not feeling the love for the new changes. The Matrix would also be pushing the budget envelope with 4wd and a comfortable trim level. Pam would be counting on a lot of help from her insurance company to keep payments at a comfortable level. As used cars the old models represent a good value. For those who drive less miles and want the car that is most likely to be supported for 20 years these might be the choices.

One thing that has to be kept in mind is that most post 2000 cars have little maintenance beyond oil changes and filters for 100,000 miles. A good thing if you are making car payments. The other side is that they usually have an expensive service list due at that mileage as well as a list of consumable parts like brakes and exhaust parts. If you buy a car with 75,000 miles or more you are going to be starting on these lists pretty soon along with the car payment. You will want to figure that into the budget.

So the used choices that will be under budget and good for the long haul:
Pontiac Vibe/ Toyota Matrix
Built on the same assembly line in the US they differ only in the body panels. 4wd is available but relatively rare which could lengthen the search time. Pontiac is also due for the chop at GM though that shouldn't cause too many problems. Lots of ex lease and rental cars out there but many are in a pretty pedestrian state of trim.
Scion xB
Another Toyota and the best example of a box big enough to fit just about anything. No 4wd is available and you'll have to do without cruise control though you may get a jack for your iPod that the Suzuki lacks. Like the Matrix/Vibe and Fit you will get the best gas mileage in the group at 30+mpg. Not a small consideration if you get paid by the mile. Of course if you drive a lot of miles every day you may not mind paying more to get a seat that is comfortable at the end of the day.

Test drive day is today. I'm waiting by the phone. Details will follow.

Detroit enters the Fifth Dimension

2009-06-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

If you are a career auto executive in Detroit today you must feel like someone "electrified" the municipal water supply. Chrysler is now owned by a foreign automaker that hasn't sold cars in the US in over 30 years (FIAT). GM is busy divesting itself of just about everything but Chevrolet. Saturn is being sold to Roger Penske who is said to be considering filling the showrooms with Renault Samsung products which are actually Nissans built by South Koreans. Opel(GM's Euro Division) has been sold to Canadian parts giant Magna International. No one can guess where they plan to sell cars. Doesn't matter much since no one has any idea when Americans will start buying cars again and what they will want when they do.

Two days ago a municipal dump truck totalled my sister's beloved Honda CRV so she's in the market.She lives less than 100 miles from ground zero in Detroit but the Chevy Cobalt she got as a rental is making her cringe at the thought of buying American. Tata Motors of India is said to be thinking of bringing their "cheapest car in the world" Nano to the States if they can somehow cobble it into compliance with US safety standards. They already are partnered up with Chrysler's Italian owners to build Fiats under license in India. The Beat Goes On.

All this has me thinking about what the signature American car for The Great Recession might look like.Citroen (which along with it's partner Peugeot are about the only manufacturers not being mentioned in current US scenarios) once tackled this problem in post WWII France. They spec'd a car that would carry a family across the rutted fields to market without breaking the bushel of eggs in the back seat. It needed to be simple, reliable and affordable by nearly all. The result of this design exercise was the 2CV which sold without many changes for more than 40 years.

Of course a design like this looks silly to modern eyes but that's not the point. It met the needs of it's time in a radical and innovative way and at a price point that allowed a working family to afford and maintain a new car. It created jobs for French people while doing so. While it made for a very leisurely vacation to the mountains it would do almost everything else people wanted a car for quite adequately and at low cost. Besides, you can't really take much of a vacation if you have a cow at home that needs milking.

My fervent hope is that Detroit's current acid dream yields a vehicle that meets those same criteria, produces it domestically, and with the same lasting joie de vivre. American style.

Reading between the lines

2009-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

Reading Thomas Friedman usually makes me mad. He seems like a futurist who's always trying to put the future back into the status quo box. Then patting himself on the back for being so prescient. And I've never quite forgiven him for coming to the conclusion that invading Iraq was a good idea either. Still he is a talented observer of what lies beneath current trends. His article from the Sunday New York Times had a lot to say to me between the lines.

Turns out the real story is this great website. Makes you feel better just browsing it.

Yes, They Could. So They Did.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/opinion/15friedman.html?_r=1

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: February 14, 2009

So I am attending the Energy and Resources Institute climate conference in New Delhi, and during the afternoon session two young American women — along with one of their mothers — proposition me.

“Hey, Mr. Friedman,” they say, “would you like to take a little spin around New Delhi in our car?”

Oh, I say, I’ve heard that line before. Ah, they say, but you haven’t seen this car before. It’s a plug-in electric car that is also powered by rooftop solar panels — and the two young women, recent Yale grads, had just driven it all over India in a “climate caravan” to highlight the solutions to global warming being developed by Indian companies, communities, campuses and innovators, as well as to inspire others to take action.

>> This opening is perhaps to show that Mr. Friedman is feeling playful rather than pontifical-always a good sign- and willing to have the women with real vision show him a good time<<

They ask me if I want to drive, but I have visions of being stopped by the cops and ending up in a New Delhi jail. Not to worry, they tell me. Indian cops have been stopping them all across India. First, they ask to see driver’s licenses, then they inquire about how the green car’s solar roof manages to provide 10 percent of its mileage — and then they try to buy the car.

>>So did he take the wheel or not? I prefer to imagine him continuing his submissive role. Things usually work out better that way<<

We head off down Panchsheel Marg, one of New Delhi’s main streets. The ladies want to show me something. The U.S. Embassy and the Chinese Embassy are both located on Panchsheel, directly across from each other. They asked me to check out the rooftops of each embassy. What do I notice? Let’s see ... The U.S. Embassy’s roof is loaded with antennae and listening gear. The Chinese Embassy’s roof is loaded with ... new Chinese-made solar hot-water heaters.

You couldn’t make this up.

>>Yes. So fortunately the ladies have pointed out a rather telling metaphor FOR YOU!<<

But trying to do something about it was just one of many reasons my hosts, Caroline Howe, 23, a mechanical engineer on leave from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Alexis Ringwald, a Fulbright scholar in India and now a solar entrepreneur, joined with Kartikeya Singh, who was starting the Indian Youth Climate Network, or IYCN, to connect young climate leaders in India, a country coming under increasing global pressure to manage its carbon footprint.

>>One despairs that these "hosts", expatriots themselves, have decided that it would be more fruitful to apply their energies in India rather than the US whose carbon footprint shadows the whole world. But put that aside for now. Enthusiasm like theirs is good for the world wherever it flourishes!<<

“India is full of climate innovators, so spread out across this huge country that many people don’t get to see that these solutions are working right now,” said Howe. “We wanted to find a way to bring people together around existing solutions to inspire more action and more innovation. There’s no time left to just talk about the problem.”

>>Of course here in the States we prefer to focus our discussion on whether or not the problem actually exists. No sense solving problems that aren't real. I'm beginning to see why you left!<<

Howe and Ringwald thought the best way to do that might be a climate solutions road tour, using modified electric cars from India’s Reva Electric Car Company, whose C.E.O. Ringwald knew. They persuaded him to donate three of his cars and to retrofit them with longer-life batteries that could travel 90 miles on a single six-hour charge — and to lay on a solar roof that would extend them farther.

Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 5, they drove the cars on a 2,100-mile trip from Chennai to New Delhi, stopping in 15 cities and dozens of villages, training Indian students to start their own climate action programs and filming 20 videos of India’s top home-grown energy innovations. They also brought along a solar-powered band, plus a luggage truck that ran on plant oil extracted from jatropha and pongamia, plants locally grown on wasteland. A Bollywood dance group joined at different stops and a Czech who learned about their trip on YouTube hopped on with his truck that ran on vegetable-oil waste.

>>We're still sort of looking at 2100 miles as a 3 day road trip and wondering if the minivan has enough cupholders. Better take the corporate jet! Imagine if GMs CEO had taken a Chevy Volt full of plans like this to the first bailout begfest. Things might have gone differently.<<

Deepa Gupta, 21, a co-founder of IYCN, told The Hindustan Times that the trip opened her eyes to just how many indigenous energy solutions were budding in India — “like organic farming in Andhra Pradesh, or using neem and garlic as pesticides, or the kind of recycling in slums, such as Dharavi. We saw things already in place, like the Gadhia solar plant in Valsad, Gujarat, where steam is used for cooking and you can feed almost 50,000 people in one go.” (See: www.indiaclimatesolutions.com.)

At Rajpipla, in Gujarat, when they stopped at a local prince’s palace to recharge their cars, they discovered that his business was cultivating worms and selling them as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical fertilizers.

>>The skeptical me wonders if maybe the prince's palace was the only place with a dependable 24/7 flow of electric current. Here in the US we all live like princes in that regard. But I shouldn't let that overshadow the fact that these other projects are the real heart of change. Not everyone on the planet is obsessed with maintaining their personal transportation.<<

I met Howe and Ringwald after a tiring day, but I have to admit that as soon as they started telling me their story it really made me smile. After a year of watching adults engage in devastating recklessness in the financial markets and depressing fecklessness in the global climate talks, it’s refreshing to know that the world keeps minting idealistic young people who are not waiting for governments to act, but are starting their own projects and driving innovation.

>>Perhaps because at a visceral level they realize that government will always be hopelessly behind the curve and too slow to react to the challenges that we now face. Imprisoned by what is politically possible. No use waiting for them, let's get on with it.<<

“Why did this tour happen?” asked Ringwald. “Why this mad, insane plan to travel across India in a caravan of solar electric cars and jatropha trucks with solar music, art, dance and a potent message for climate solutions? Well ... the world needs crazy ideas to change things, because the conventional way of thinking is not working anymore.”

>>Well young ladies, here at home we just aren't convinced we need that kind of crazy thinking! We can just pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. After all, it's worked quite well for the past 150 years or so thank you very much! If you must change the world make it the "developing world" if you please. We're happy the way we are ......... for now.<<

Sitting on top of the world

2009-02-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Over the last weekend I needed a pickup truck. A large pile of brush had to be hauled out of my driveway and my daughter had purchased a new bed which was located about 20 miles away. I called my friends at Enterprise and asked them to fix me up. I had no idea what they were going to come up with. When I arrived there was the latest edition of Toyota's Tundra with 4 doors and a V8. The very vehicle that I suspect has driven them to their first operating loss as a corporation; ironically while they climbed over GM as the world's largest automaker for the first time. In large part this is the vehicle that has brought them both places.

For years Toyota has been making slow progress into the large truck market, the one US segment that they had not conquered. For the past several years the full size pickups from Ford and Chevy were not only their most profitable vehicles but also their most popular, outselling Camrys and Corollas year after year. This was not lost on Toyota though their small pickups were no match and could not lure away the lion's share of sales. The Tundra was introduced in the early 90's but with V6 power and no track record was a weak competitor. In the last 5 years Toyota has spent billions on developing what amounts to an F150 clone, even spending millions in NASCAR truck racing to prove it's worth. Their efforts paid off and the sales of their big trucks began to really take a bite out of American truck sales in the last couple of years. Then of course disaster struck for everyone, the only difference being that Toyota had plenty of credible product to fall back on and the Big Three did not. Not that anyone has been buying automotive product of any sort lately.

I'd forgotten how comfortable a ride these big trucks can be. The ride was cushy on those big truck tires, even with 19th century cart springs at the rear and an empty bed. The interior was a vast expanse of silver and black plastic and the amenities of the hour, namely 8 well labeled cup holders (including six labeled for "capped bottles" or cans only!) and a way to jack your MP3 player into the powerful sound system that featured a fairly opaque array of buttons to browse through your personal music selections. It all provided the appropriate "floaty" ride comfort over most surfaces though the long wheel base made it prone to a strange sort of see-saw sensation over the expansion joints of a particular concrete section of I-25. I was delighted to find the lower seat cushion was finally made long enough for American legs, still a weak point of most Japanese product.When I filled it up to return it on Sunday it had used 6.8 gallons in 122 miles. Better than I expected but I hadn't really tested the V8 or ventured beyond 65mph and most of those miles had been on the highway. Daniel was nonplussed as you can see from the photo. He enjoyed climbing in and out of the tall unit though it was a bit of a struggle. You would certainly want to buy the optional step if your children under 10 were riding daily or you if you yourself were under say 5'4" tall. This may be the first Japanese user unfriendly Japanese vehicle.

All in all it left the impression of driving a relic from the past. A very good relic but one whose time had most certainly passed. Even with world class build quality and the latest in modern technology it was a sort of rolling anachronism. Toyota at least has the will and the resources to soldier into the future. For the American companies who built their business model on this sort of vehicle the permafrost has most certainly melted and getting any traction at all is uncertain.

Hoshi Motors on KGNU Thursday January 29th

2009-01-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

I'll be appearing on a short segment on "thrifty" car ownership on KGNU this Thursday around 6:15 PM. KGNU broadcasts in the Boulder/Denver area at 88.5 FM and 1390 AM and can also be heard on the internet at KGNU.org. There will also be a call in session around 6:30 if you want to participate. Most likely I will be interviewed over the phone rather than in the studio since the show is being produced from the Denver studio and it doesn't seem very thrifty to drive into rush hour traffic to be there in person.

What follows is a list of URLs that may come up in the interview/discussion. I'll illuminate them a bit more here for reference.

If you are ever out of town and wondering who in the world you can trust to work on your car there is an internet resource that is always worth a look. Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers of NPR fame host a database of mechanics on their website. Shops are submitted by listeners who often recount their personal experiences. This link will take you directly to a page where you can enter your car's make and a zip code and find the nearest shop that works on your brand of car. You can also find it by looking for The Mechanics Files on the CarTalk.com website.
http://cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html

So why don't you use public transportation more? If you are like most people it's because you have to walk some distance to a bus stop and wait for an uncertain amount of time for a bus that may or may not be on time to take you to a destination that will also require a walk to complete. In Boulder the buses almost all have bike carriers on the front so the hardcore can cut down on their wait times but it's still not much of an alternative to a private car. You could call a cab which is more convenient if you have packages but returning from your destination will require some planning. Wouldn't it be nice if you could call on your cell phone and have a small bus arrive at your doorstep or the store within 5 minutes? All the technology is available today to implement a system that would replace the personal car for many people. Here is a link that explains how it works.
http://taxibus.org.uk/

So you are happy using your bike for most things and already share rides to the grocery store or carpool to work but you have to have a car to pick up people from the airport this weekend? Maybe you need a pickup truck for a weekend gardening job or to pick up that flatscreen TV at Costco. In Boulder you could look into CarShare.org. In Seattle or many other cities you could find a similar service by ZipCar.

Sorry but the Chevy Volt leaves me cold as do most of the electric and hybrid cars currently envisioned. One idea that does impress me can be seen at www.betterplace.com where Shea Agassi has re-envisioned the whole transportation market based on something more like a cell phone network than the structure we are all embedded in now. The advamtages? Using a uniform modular battery pack frees owners from depending on a single manufacturer to provide their batteries, allows battery swaps to be done en route in about the same time as a fuel stop and considerably lengthens the range of pure electric vehicles. Only a dream? Well several large governments are invested in making it a reality. This interview from Wired magazine is well worth reading.
http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-09/ff_agassi

Thanks for listening and Happy Motoring!

Sidetracked

2008-12-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you one of my darkest fears. I fear that the future of the personal car is going to look increasingly like that of the personal computer; fascinating, frustrating, full of unrealized promise and real disappointment. With that in mind I have been trying to re-envision my future without focusing on cars. Frankly I've been searching for something to take the sting out of my embrace of the broken automotive dream. In this spirit an idea came to me. Hoshi needs a cocktail!

So I'm really hoping that someone will come up with a bottle of celulosic ethanol for me this holiday season. Getting the ingredients right is going to take a lot of testing of course. I would really like to find a quafable variety of antifreeze though that would probably be redundant. I do like the aesthetics of the drink pictured above. Variations could include olives or olive oil as an homage to biodiesel. A cherry or cherry blossom to remind us of Japan would be good. This is going to take a lot of time. I welcome your suggestions for the "Hoshi" aka the Sidetrack.

Devil in the details

2008-12-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

In a previous post I talked about the root problem for US automakers. Briefly stated it's that the American public doesn't look at them as AUTO makers but as TRUCK makers. And for many years the best selling vehicles in the United States have been............wait for it.........trucks. The Chevy Silverado/Ford F150 combo has dominated single model sales for a couple of decades. Each individually outsells even the most popular passenger cars including Camry and Accord; and by a wide margin. Both GM and Ford developed other more carlike vehicles (read SUVs) from these platforms and sold those in large numbers as well. Profits were high. Gas prices were low. Life was good. Only when gasoline reached the $4.00 per gallon level did the public hunger for these vehicles wane. It seems a bit unfair to call for Rick Wagoner's head for producing the vehicles America wanted to buy.

But Ford and GM are international corporations and while the US market is the world's largest and very profitable it is also unique. There is just not much demand for big thirsty trucks in the rest of the world. Certainly not as personal vehicles. So both manufacturers have large design teams in Europe making cars for the rest of the world. The world that somehow gets by on about half the energy per person that we do. These are cars that could be built here now and would at least stand a chance of remodeling the image of the industry giants. So what's the problem. Well uh...........government.

While European cars meet standards that are nearly identical to US standards for safety and emissions they are not EXACTLY the same. Consequently bringing a European model to the states requires a costly and lengthy certification process that really changes very little. The New York Times recently published a very informative article on this subject that I have linked here. The bottom line is that while Congress is demanding that GM become responsible for developing the consciousness of America it would do well to relax the regulatory gauntlet for existing European cars, at least on an interim basis. This would do more to insure the prompt introduction of modern, safe, green cars than any other measure. Simple, obvious, and politically feasible. Getting Americans to buy sensible green cars is another matter.

Wagoner? Wagonaire!

2008-12-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

I actually feel embarrassed for GM CEO Rick Wagoner as he finds himself pleading with congress to save his company. It's like wrestling with the tar baby. The more you struggle the more you are stuck. Showing up the first time in the corporate jet was a mistake of course. Bringing the hybrid mule the next time just looked like pandering to anyone who was paying attention. I'm still struggling with the concept of lending many billions of dollars to a company you could buy on the open market for about 3 billion dollars. Why not dispense with the political theater and buy the company. Now they want his job of course. Maybe he should resign and wait to head up the oversight comittee that would follow the purchase of GM by the American people. It wouldn't pay nearly as much as his current position of course.

What's good for General Motors is good for America. Indeed.

As synchronicity would have it I passed by the magazine rack at the Y yesterday where someone had left the September 2008 issue of Hemmings Classic Car. A station wagon special edition. I couldn't resist. Here in the states SUV's replaced all the station wagons in the 90's. Now we are starting the slow slide back to common sense with a stopover at Crossover Vehicles which are really 4 wheel drive station wagons that are too big but still command the premium price of the SUV's of old. One feature was on the Studebaker Wagonaire. An early 60's attempt to save another failing car company. Just two years away from extinction and grasping at straws to redeem years of failed business strategies, Studebaker took a chance on this innovative design. Sort of an All American spin of the Citroen 2CV. Why can't we have useful modern versions of designs like this?
Imagine this at the local Costco with a 60" flatscreen TV rather than a refrigerator sized box. Tres chic.

Transition Team

2008-12-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

The seven dollar Accord turned over 200,000 miles on my last tank of gas. I don't drive it that much. Fact of the matter is I should drive it less than I do. Usually I convince myself that I have to drive exactly one mile to work because I always take my dog, Sidney, or I have to pick up something on the way home. The real reason is I would have to get going 20 minutes sooner if I walked. Now I actually almost made the effort when I was paying $4.00 a gallon when I realized that even a 2 mile round trip was costing me about 50 cents in fuel alone. Our customers who commuted to Denver were noticing too. That 40 mile commute was up to about $10 a day for most of them. Yesterday I had to get gas for the first time since I saw 200K turn over. I had really mixed feelings about this.

Which illustrates the problem for thinking Americans. It's one thing to think about global warming and energy independence when your wallet is emptying on a daily basis. But we live in a society that has been designed to take maximum advantage of cheap energy and it's pretty damn inconvenient to have a conscience at these prices. Here's hoping that Obama fella is a good salesman.

The writing's on the wall

2008-12-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Pity the poor auto industry and shed a tear for GM and Chrysler. December sales drops rivaled and exceeded those you have seen in your IRA. Even Honda was off 30% and they are already building the cars that GM envisions itself building when it gets healthy. The sad truth is that any investment in the auto industry is going to perpetuate everything that needs to change in the old economy. We no longer live in a world where increasing the amount of cheap fossil fueled mobility is a measure of wealth. And hybrid cars aren't the answer either. Ask any of the many Toyota dealers sitting on large inventories of Priuses.

What is needed is nothing less than a design revolution that reaches into every phase of our lives from the design of cars and housing to the design of cities. The new economy will be based on increasingly intelligent, shared transportation to destinations that are increasingly local and convenient. Perversely, our progress toward a low energy consumption future will sometimes result in lower prices for fossil fuel. This will tend to undermine the public will necessary to invest in the technologies and designs needed for the future. Failing to make that investment or being lulled back by the siren song of cheap energy will only increase the shock of the inevitable transition.

Down on the street-Albuquerque

2008-11-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

Recently we travelled to Albuquerque to see the Balloon Fiesta and Angela's daughter Julia. The fiesta was a bust due to wind but what should I spy on the way out at 6 in the morning but one of my favorite European cars! I managed to fumble a couple of shots from the cell phone.

This is the old model Ford Ka which held up admirably and unchanged over it's 12 year run in Europe. Ford never considered bringing them to the States; no buyers they said.

Which undoubtedly was true. It is rather small. It's only virtues may be that it is useful, fun to drive, pleasing to look at and gets about 45mpg. The point is that Ford and GM have been developing good cars for the 21st century in Europe but have always presented only token efforts in the United States. Nothing says "Buy a Toyota" like the stateside Ford Focus. Ford conceded every market segment but the SUV and Truck market to the Japanese long ago. That made them a lot of money for a long time. $4 a gallon gas cut the heart out of their US business model. Citizens of the US just don't think of Ford or GM as CARmakers.

Here's the new Ka, which is Fiat based and also a little small for most tastes; though I did see a new Smart car on my block this week and it seems much less useful, more expensive and gets the same gas mileage.

Here's the Smart. What do you think?

More promising is the new Ford Fiesta which is closer to what Americans might consider a real car. It gives up a little fuel economy for a lot more space and better quality interiors. The question is whether Ford can convince US buyer that it is serious about cars now; and sell them in enough numbers, fast enough, and against well known Japanese competitors, to stay in business.

Small is ........ well not quite beautiful enough

2008-11-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

The other day a customer came in who had been looking for a 4 wheel drive car. We had given them the standard list of bullet proof alternatives; Honda CRV, Toyota RAV 4 etc. They had driven the RAV 4 and it left them a bit cold. "It felt like a toy car." was the visceral response. There is a lot in that etc. that needs to be addressed.

Japanese manufacturers have done a lot of things right for a long time. We now have cars that last a long time, are very safe, require almost no maintenance for 100,000 miles and are very likely to go as far as you can drive them in 20 years. But when it comes to making a quality small car or even a comfortable big one they have pretty much missed the boat.

Another friend stopped by the same day with the news that he was feeling pretty much crippled after a 500 mile journey in his new Accord V6. He also has a company car, a two year old Volkswagen Passat. This is a car I wouldn't own outside of the warranty period for love or money. It has already spent many days at the dealership correcting problems with the automatic transmission and has less than 20,000 miles on the odometer. Yet the difference in driver comfort is undeniable. Honda's similarly priced product is distinctly inferior. And this is in their $30,000 dollar car.

Things get even worse when you look in the Civic/Corolla range. Quality shines in the European cars in this class. The BMW 1 and 3 series and especially the Audi A3 are examples of how to build a quality small car. With tongue only slightly in cheek I have suggested a Civic "Comfort" range that would have an interior subcontracted to Renault or Peugeot who know how to build comfortable seats in even their $15,000 cars.

But the Japanese have taken a bad turn on the way to the American market. Having bought into the domestic "small means cheap" mentality they are now stuck with an inventory of V6 powered large SUVs and family sedans that seem out of place in the current market. Civics are outselling Accords for the first time since the Accord was introduced some 32 years ago.

So my personal wish? How about a Civic based Audi A3 copycat in the Acura range. A four wheel drive wagon of compact dimensions built as a premium car from the ground up. Lots of sound deadening material. Quality plastics and attention to detail. Priced around $28,000. And while I'm dreaming, have Citroen design the seats.

Perception trumps reality

2008-10-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

I just realized that my last post coincided with the end of both party conventions and the beginning of the presidential campaign season. Seems to have thrown me into a mild depression for which I have no words. Fortunately the end is near.Seems to me everyone's mind was made up around the first of September anyway and we could have done without all this mostly pointless posturing to win the mythical "undecided" voter. I'm hoping that once the election is won the next president will have the courage to tell the truth to the American people and with a little luck inspire them to create what we can be in the 21st century.

We're gonna have to leave a lot of stuff behind though.

Feeling lazy but slightly irresponsible too

2008-08-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

So here's a post gathered from other sources.

4Car is an English site and therefore a good source of Euro centric car news and reviews. Recently they covered the launch of Tesla's sports car and followed with a retrospective of notable electric cars. I especially like the Sinclair which incorporated a number of construction techniques pioneered by Lotus. Read about it here.

The New York Times had a pair of interesting articles. (Note: registration may be required to view these links but it is well worth it.) First is a slide show of dream cars from GM. These images I found took me right back to my youth.

Nice huh? Actually it seems a little retro contemporary. For more go here.

Times are tough for automakers in the US. Even mighty Toyota has taken a hit after gearing up to steal the truck market from US builders. Honda however appears to be weathering the storm with a small profit. Credit their long standing commitment to a "do more with less" design philosophy which sometimes put them at odds with their US dealers. It also put them ahead of the curve when gas prices rose. A neat synopsis is available here from the NYT business section.

Happy Motoring.

Why I love Lotus redux

2008-08-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Probably of interest to engineering geeks only but once again I've fallen under the spell of Lotus Engineering. When they aren't out tending the hemp field they are inside designing for the future; always with the idea that less is more. Want the most efficient crossover powerplant for the near term? How about an engine that will run efficiently on any combustible liquid you pour in the tank? All it takes is a willingness to stand at least three fixed assumptions about internal combustion engines on their heads!

This article courtesy of Jalopnik via Automobile Magazine.

Lotus Engineering is starting up a project they're calling "Omnivore," a task which, if successful, could see traditional internal combustion engines go the way of the dodo. Lotus is planning to meld the two-cycle engine with new technologies — direct injection and a variable compression ratio — to create an engine able to run on almost any fuel. If you've ever wondered what the future of the internal combustion looked like, you're getting a peek now. Put your propeller cap on and join us for a pocket protector talk after the jump.

Used to be that a gas engine was a gas engine and a diesel was a diesel. With the advent of reliable direct injection, variable displacement cylinder heads that don't turn into grenades, and incredibly sensitive monitoring and control systems, it's now possible to run an engine in ways would have never worked in the past. Consider the main barrier to high-compression gasoline engines in the past — preignition. High octane numbers were a band-aid for that problem, but that also caused fuel economy to plummet. Direct injection virtually eliminates the issue, allowing engineers to put the fuel right into the chamber exactly when it's needed, high pressure be damned. It's even conceivable to run a gasoline engine on the diesel cycle with direct injection.

Now add the idea of operating with a two-cycle engine to the mix and things get really weird. Two-strokes are traditionally dirty, dirty engines to run. The huge amount of fuel used and inelegant combustion leads to lots of pollution but huge amounts of power, since you've got twice as many power strokes compared to a four-stroke. However, a two-stroke with direct injection and a variable compression ratio would be able to burn almost anything under super-high compression ratios, resulting in temperatures and pressures sufficient to completely burn almost any fuel. Of course, that assumes you can build powerful enough injectors and internal components that don't turn into Swiss cheese in extreme conditions. Let's just say this: Lotus is setting out on a path that's going to get a lot of powertrain engineering PhD's hot and bothered. If they succeed, future car engines will shrink and be more powerful as a result.

Truth or Dare

2008-08-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to say. Especially if you are running for president.

We're addicted to oil. Pretty much everything in our economy is produced using what used to be cheap energy. Energy isn't cheap anymore. We have no alternative sources of energy available right now. The price of everything is going to go up. It isn't inflation, it's a lifestyle changing,paradigm busting,cataclysmic cultural event. We should prepare to be a part of it. We can reduce the pain but there will certainly be a good deal of pain involved.

I for one think that if this message were delivered honestly, Americans would respond positively to it. Fossil fuels are limited even if you don't believe in global warming. There are more people using larger amounts of them every day. Think of them as the batteries the planet came with. We've only got a little time to create a sustainable substitute. If we don't the consequences are really unthinkable, if not for us for some future humans.

Expensive energy really does have the ability to change people's choices. Witness Ford and GM shutting down truck assembly lines in a heartbeat. People respond when the truth is delivered in the market- with a price tag. A positive narrative does help to ease the pain. It can be our little project.

And we really have a vast reservoir of conservation that remains untapped. Here is a small chart of per capita energy use compiled by the World Resources Institute.

2003 Total energy consumption per capita
Units: Kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe) per person

Brazil 1,067.6
China 1,138.3
Finland 7,218.1
France 4,518.4
Germany 4,203.1
India 512.4
Italy 3,127.2
United States 7,794.8

Somehow those damn Italians manage a modern lifestyle using less than half the energy of Americans. Even the relatively profligate French use just slightly more than half. The US has a lot of room for improvement. The longer we dawdle the more world resentment is likely to grow.

Crazy Quilt Future

2008-07-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the United States in 2008 its compelling to imagine an automotive future much like the automotive present only with a different fuel. ( Well actually there are those who think the present fuel is just fine if we could only pump more of it but we will leave them at the curb for the moment.)The future is a world full of personal cars powered by hydrogen or switchgrass ethanol or hemp seed diesel or windmill electricity available at the home outlet. All of these are worthy successors to fossil fuel but no single one is likely to take the mantle of king of fuels. In fact I think in the long run a major overhaul in our concept of transportation and the design of our living spaces is going to sneak up and render the personal car rather quaint.

In the short run we face a sort of patchwork quilt of solutions that move us toward a sustainable future. After all, if the perfect car went on sale tomorrow; you know the one with a negative carbon footprint that was powered by the sun; just changing over the automotive fleet would take years. What is more likely to happen is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A true plug-in hybrid that was affordable would be a huge step but right now its a bit of an oxymoron. Also with the current electrical generation realities it would really be running on coal. Hydrogen currently implies much the same scenario. Thanks to big agriculture biofuels seem likely to displace food crops and require lots of oil driven fertilizers and intensive motorized farming. That's not a winning formula.

The stark facts indicate the car as we know it is likely to be the transport of choice for some time to come. Current engine technology is extremely clean. Fuel economy can be improved dramatically by downsizing, down powering, saving weight and using diesel. Simple known technology. The problem for the most part is we are addicted to driving alone and the current design of most habitable regions requires the use of an automobile to perform the functions necessary to sustain life. I'm talking about going to the grocery store, any store actually, the bank, the doctor, the daycare center. Did I mention going to work? Unless you live in New York City you probably aren't going to abandon your car for taxis and public transportation. It's just too inconvenient and time consuming.

If I could implement one technology to reduce car use or eliminate it all together in most urban areas it would be something like this. You call a number. You tell them where you are and where you want to go. If you don't like cell phones you do this on your computer or at a dedicated kiosk. Within five minutes a nice diesel powered van arrives. One that has plenty of space for your groceries. It takes you where you need to go picking up other passengers using dynamic routing that allows it to pick up nearby travelers going to local destinations along the way. No long waits. No long walks to the bus stop. Just a charge of perhaps a dollar a mile and an opportunity to meet the community or listen to your iPod. As you wish.

All of this is easily possible using existing technologies. It's just that we are inside the public transportation prison of the past. This is a simple, affordable, economically feasible and desirable solution. Of course taxi franchises and public transport will resist mightily. It just requires thinking outside of the current parameters. For those interested in an elaboration of this idea that describes a current pilot system in operation visit www.taxibus.org.uk and start talking it up.

I hope you enjoy the next ride as much!

2008-07-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

Behind the Beat prefers not to get involved in electoral politics. In fact I think its very likely we live in a time when government can only respond to the critical problems facing us after the fact. For better or worse the changes that must be made will need to be made personally and en masse. Nonetheless, I can't keep my eyes off this photo or my mind off its many unspoken narratives, real and imagined. Enjoy.

Down on the street-Boulder Edition

2008-07-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

With apologies to the ongoing feature at the blog Jalopnik

A few days ago I was shopping at the Safeway near my house when what to my wondering eyes should appear but one of these motoring through the parking lot.

I have to say I frantically dug into my pockets in an attempt to activate the camera in my phone before it disappeared. No Luck. My head is full of a lot of old English cars and I recognized the DNA but for the life of me I couldn't come up with a name. Bugged the hell out of me to tell the truth. So imagine my surprise when I pulled into Costco for the weekly stockup and saw this at the pumps.

I quickly pulled to the curb to interrogate. Turns out there was a good reason I didn't recognize it. This was a true Vanden Plas Princess nee Austin A90. And there are less than 3400 of them in creation. Probably far less given that most of them stayed in the UK (the queen had one for a limo), sheet metal in the 50's and 60's had a shelf life of about 5 years and the activity of the tinworm in that clime is relentless.

This survivor has had the British lump of a six removed and replaced with the drivetrain from a Nissan 280Z thus making life a lot sunnier for all but the purists. My favorite part was the interior. With a real bench seat in front! I'm such a sucker for that.

Now it would be hard to advocate the use of obscure, low volume English cars as a green solution. Or even a reasonable transportation solution. But if you think about the amount of energy involved in making a new automobile you might make a case for automotive recycling of this sort. You can read more about this car at BritishV8.org where there are a large number of strange transplants revealed in exquisite detail.

Globe Trotting

2008-07-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Back in the day it was said rather famously that what was good for General Motors was good for America. The Big Three were in the driver's seat of the US economy and oil poured into America's fleet on one end and spewed out the tailpipe at the other. When the Japanese began to make credible and virtually unbreakable passenger cars the Bigs all but gave them the small car market and sat by while they relentlessly grew larger and stole more market share. Sometime in the Carter years they hitched their wagons to SUVs and pickup trucks and began a very profitable 25 year ride. Size was everything, fuel economy irrelevant and using truck platforms insured development costs were low. A true cash cow. Now their indolence and lack of investment has come full circle and lots full of vehicles languish like dinosaurs in another era of climate change.

Fortunately Ford and GM have had to develop cars for a European market that had no interest in trucks. Adversity has forced them to fill their US market gaps with cars from overseas and to get those idle truck assembly lines back to work making 5 door hatchbacks (YEAH). Perhaps this explains the absence of my favorite Chevrolet Malibu Maxx from the newly remodeled lineup. These models are also figuring in the rebirth of the Saturn and Mercury lineups. You can read more about that here.

Letting Go - Your next car may not be yours

2008-07-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

Recently I sat down with my 18 year old son and did some back of the napkin figuring about the actual cost of owning a car. Since he is an American Male under the age of 25 he can expect to pay at least $1200 a year for liability insurance alone. Figure it at $3 a day. Even though he is a good friend of the mechanic (me) it's hard to get by on less than $1000 per year for either car payments or maintenance costs. This figure is low, trust me, and basically involves buying a cheap car and driving it till it drops. Figure another $3 a day for these costs.

So before you put any gas in at $4 per gallon you are going to be out $42 per week in expenses. Drive only 100 miles per week at 20mpg and you have pretty much consumed a day's wages at my son's usual pay grade. Granted my insurance costs are lower but if I want a safer more modern car my costs will be the same or more. I figure a bare bones cost of 60 cents per mile. If I drive an SUV or carry comprehensive insurance on a newer car it will easily be $1 a mile or more to drive only 5000 miles a year!

My feeling is that people usually take these large fixed costs for insurance and maintenance for granted. The convenience of having a car available on demand is worth a lot to them. But what if you really could live without a car most of the time? If you make a couple of shopping trips a week for things too big to fit on your bike or the bus, what would you be willing to pay for a car on demand?

Last fall I was in Seattle where one of the many public transportation programs available was FlexCar now ZipCar. In strategic locations throughout the city were dedicated parking spots for on demand rental cars and trucks of all sorts. After subscribing to the service you could open the vehicle of your choice with a smart card passed over a reader inside the car. The car would open and give you access to the key. From there you could drive the car anywhere you wanted for $10 an hour. The price includes gasoline and insurance. As a university town Boulder is ideal for such a service. I have linked to ZipCar near Ohio State University for the curious.

The beauty of the system is that you have a choice of many vehicles. Need a minivan for visiting relatives arriving at the airport or a pickup for a building project? You can get one when you need it and drive a Civic Hybrid for other tasks.Think of several strategic locations around town. Perhaps a dozen cars in each Park and Ride location and city parking garage sitting in always available parking places.For the same cost as the cheapest car you could have this fleet available to you 6 hours a week! Boulder CarShare operates a service right now at a similar cost.

I find thinking of a "transportation budget" a rather liberating concept. To truly wean driver's from the personal car we have to move toward some sort of always available on demand alternative. ZipCar still has some drawbacks. You have to get from where you are to where the car is and return the car to the starting point when you are done. The cost of your time to deal with these barriers is going to be the real cost of owning a private car. A door to door service available on demand would be better for many people. Think of it as a taxi that you can get on five minutes notice that programs itself on the fly so you are always sharing the fare with others. A cell phone with text messaging and GPS capability should be enough to make this dream a reality. More on this later.

2008-07-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

At the dawn of the automotive age there were those who built chassis and those who built bodies. A whole car involved at least one of each. This arrangement resulted in hundreds of "automakers" in the United States. Over time, exploiting economies of scale the industry came to be known as the "Big Three". However bigness has its downside too and the majors find it impossible to anticipate where the market is going en masse. Exploiting small niches profitably is also difficult. Factories are shuttered. Layoffs announced. Hands are wrung.

The design process that once required a small army of engineers and support staff can now be done on relatively inexpensive CAD/CAM equipment. If you have development money you can beat the bigs to the small profitable niches and outsource the actual building of the car. Thus we see Tesla Motors funded by Elon Musk who made his nut at PayPal and Fisker Automotive led by Henrik Fisker and his impressive design portfolio from BMW, Aston Martin and others combining with eager venture capitalists to become the new car manufacturers.

If these new conglomerations succeed, we could be witnessing the dawn of a new automotive industry. These cars are aimed at a small but lucrative segment where the price of entry is $100.000 and up. These cars will never sell in numbers that make sense to GM or Ford but there are certainly 5000+ buyers a year for someone who can deliver the green performance car well heeled motorists desire. Fisker and Musk are looking to leverage the technology pioneered on these cars into larger numbers of cheaper, mainstream vehicles.

As automotive suppliers become suppliers of components to an ever more modular and computer-centric auto industry, one can imagine the emergence of completely new manufacturing entities. The Dell Dynamo? How about a GoogleCar?

Thinking about the sustainable car.

2008-07-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

I'm currently enjoying the flood of unanticipated consequences flowing from $4+ gasoline. Of course this has generated a surge in interest in the cars I love best. Small, quirky and diesel. For the first time in history, Honda reports that Civics are selling in larger numbers than Accords. But interest like this is still a knee jerk reaction. What is really required is no less than a design revolution, one that encompasses every aspect of our lives and one that ultimately makes the personal car as we know it obsolete. More on this later.

What piqued my interest most recently was press about the Eco Elise from Lotus. Unless you are a car nut you probably have never heard of them. An English company founded by Colin Chapman in the 1950's they have worked a little niche building racing cars and sports cars. Chapman was known for being a nut for making cars light. He readily embraced new technologies that allowed him to make his cars lighter and stronger and therefore faster. Making more with less or as Buckminster Fuller would have it "ephemeralization". The Elise is the basis for the all electric Tesla sports car currently sold in the US.

Lotus has had trouble surviving as a car company but its engineering arm is alive and vital. Consider the amount of energy involved in manufacturing a car. My guess is that mining the materials, forming the plastics, and transporting everything to the showroom in finished form uses as much or more fossil fuel as you are likely to burn in the tank in a car's lifetime. (Anyone who has actually researched this should let me know!) Suddenly Lotus's less is more engineering techniques are very desirable.

So what does a respectable, forward thinking automotive engineer do next? How about planting your own hemp field! In pursuit of new and sustainable materials that is just what Lotus has done. The Eco Elise demonstrates the use of natural, renewable substances not only in the places you expect, like the upholstery and trim, but in the places you don't, like the seat frames and fittings. Lotus has developed a new composite using hemp and resins to replace many of the hard fittings in the car. Elsewhere hemp, sisal and natural wool replace traditional interior materials.

Currently Lotus must use oil based polyester resins for the hemp composite parts but they are committed to finding a more natural binder for this purpose. And more power too them I say. Other manufacturers are making progress toward the recyclable car but are concentrating on nonrenewable resources like aluminum and plastics. If Lotus succeeds, their efforts would represent an important step forward on the path to truly sustainable resources.Read about it here.