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May 12, 2006
Car makers aim to go green
Dealers show hybrid and fuel-cell options, and consider hydrogen.
VERONIKA STEWART
With fuel prices skyrocketing and some warning of the "peak
oil" phenomenon, automotive companies are searching for alternatives
to what may be an uncertain future in oil.
Aside from the sometimes space-age concept cars at this year's Vancouver
International Automotive Show, companies ranging from the high-end
Lexus to the more affordable Honda, General Motors, Ford and Toyota
all showcased their green car concepts.
GM representative Tony LaRocca said the company's fuel-cell concept
car, the GM Sequel Fuel Cell Concept, now able to go from zero to
100 kilometres per hour in about 10 seconds, is becoming easier
to drive and will go 450 kilometres on one hydrogen tank.
"We're now getting that technology mastered to where we can
package it in a smaller package that fits a conventional car as
we know them today," LaRocca said. "Now we have to get
the cost down so that it's affordable."
LaRocca said because people in British Columbia buy almost twice
as many hybrids as the rest of Canada – a tendency likely related
to the provincial tax credit of up to $2,000 offered on hybrids
– GM's presence at the show was important to the company. As
well as the hydrogen-fuelled concept displayed at the auto show
and two other GM hybrids coming to the market (a full-size pickup
and an SUV), LaRocca also mentioned a new hybrid from Saturn, set
to hit the market this summer.
"Saturn View Green-Line, it's called, and it will give you
about a 20 per cent improvement in fuel economy over the gas version,"
LaRocca said. He added that, on the Green-Line, which will be just
under $30,000, British Columbians will be eligible for a $1,600
tax credit. "And the hybrid system is only about $2,600 extra.
So you're basically paying $1,000 after the tax credit to get into
the hybrid and, at today's gas prices, we estimate it would be just
under three years before you pay that off, that extra $1,000. It's
one of the fastest paybacks that you can get on a hybrid anywhere."
Although LaRocca said hybrids have a positive impact on the environment,
he admitted they are not yet the most cost-efficient purchase.
"The problem is most hybrids on the market today have a big
incremental cost. You pay a real premium to get it over the regular
model. And then as a result, you do save on gas, but over the life
of the vehicle, you're never going to make back the amount of money
you spent just to get the hybrid," LaRocca said. "So,
for most customers, they can't afford that kind of a premium without
getting it back over time. Hybrid is something they would like to
do, but they can't afford to do it."
LaRocca said the hydrogen-fuelled car, if made economically feasible,
would be a better buy, but admits a hydrogen-fuelled car is unlikely
to come onto the market any time soon.
"We are headed in that direction, looking at hydrogen as a
source to fuel vehicles, so that you only have water coming out
[of] the tailpipe, but that's not something you're going to see
in a couple of years," LaRocca said. "It's an ongoing
development that GM's at the forefront of, but that's a concept
that's going to result in vehicles that come out well down the road.
We're talking years."
LaRocca's upscale competitor at BMW agreed. Robert Dexter, a product
specialist at BMW's corporate communications department, said they
too have been working on hydrogen concepts for a few years, but
said no hydrogen car is likely to hit the market for some time yet.
"We have a number of test cars that have been on the road for
a few years. They are not at this point production-ready, for the
simple reason that the infrastructure to support hydrogen fueling
is not there at the moment. That will take a number of years of
further development before hydrogen becomes a viable option for
the world in general," Dexter said. "I think that the
situation in terms of fuel availability and pricing over the next
five years to a decade is going to tell the tale in terms of whether
or not hydrogen will become an option that enough manufacturers
will pursue that it will become feasible from a production perspective."
While Dexter said BMW did unveil a hybrid concept at an auto show
in Frankfurt recently, BMW's main focus is on hydrogen technology.
"Hybrid is a direction that a number of manufacturers are exploring
and we're certainly among them right now because it is an environmentally
friendly approach," Dexter said. "But in terms of the
ultimate solution, hydrogen is probably the best alternative because
the emission rate on hydrogen cars is zero."
Veronika Stewart is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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