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Transportation> No Hydrogen The
No-Hydrogen Auto Show
The Greater LA
AutoShow 2003
By Jeffrey the Barak
Published January 2003
Back
at the beginning of 2002, the-vu went to the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show and
focused on electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. People loved the blend of
seriousness and silliness in that article, so armed once again with a press pass
and some comfortable shoes, it was back for more of the same in 2003. This
year at the 2003 show we were surprised to find that the EVAA is no longer exhibiting.
Perhaps saving gasoline is a bad idea if you have to justify a war or two in order
to protect your gasoline supplies. However all is not lost. The petroleum and
electric hybrid version of the good old ordinary Honda Civic is alive and well.
Speaking of alive and well, the amazing Toyota Prius is selling as fast as the
company can make it.  |  | | The
Only External Difference | The Honda Civic Hybrid |
 | Having
done very little research in advance of the show, our hopes were raised at the
Ford exhibition when we saw a Ford Focus with big plastic letters stuck on the
side spelling PZEV. However this is not a hybrid, it is merely an extremely efficient
and cleanburning conventional car. Ford say they are bringing out a hybrid version
of their mid-size SUV, the Escape, but it's not ready yet. |
 | The
whole Think division of Ford has been killed, leaving Chrysler's GEM cars alone
in their class as short distance, low speed, mild climate, electric cars. This
GEM has the Kustom look. |  | Another
purely electric vehicle on display was the infamous Segway Human Transporter.
Sadly there was no one demonstrating this on Thursday January 2nd., Media Day,
but it was nice to actually stand beside the device that so tantalised us until
the disappointing day when was finally revealed to be nothing more than a battery-powered
means of conveyance, albeit a clever one. |
No
sign of the Nissan Hypermini this year, or the older, two seater Honda hybrid,
the Insight, so it was down to two players: the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic.
In either case, the buyer will have to save a lot of fuel before they save back
the extra money they spent when they didn't buy either the regular Civic, or a
small Toyota such as an Echo, or a baseline Corolla. In
my humble opinion, the Toyota Prius is currently the undisputed king of the hybrid
world. On
Friday 3rd. January, still a future date at the time of writing (2nd January),
a group of fifty local television celebrities and ordinary folks will be bringing
their hybrid cars to the L.A. Convention Center to give journalists a ride around
the block and attempt to seduce them away from the all gasoline way of thinking.
This hybrid Car rendezvous and rally is organised by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
This group seems to think that almost all America's cars and trucks could reach
an average of 60 mpg if the best existing hybrid and conventional technology were
more widely used to day. Recently, television actor
Ed Begley Jr. drove from coast to coast across the USA and all the way back again,
and spent a mere $150 on fuel. He did so in a hybrid car, not on a moped! Straying from our theme of alternative
fueled vehicles, a run through the accessories exhibition revealed a very nice
steam cleaning device from Yujin USA in Buena Park, California. The Steam Jet
5000 can wash and wax a car including engine, wheels and tires, with no more than
a glassful of water. Since water seems to be in as
short supply as gasoline these days, this was one gadget that I really wished
I could own. Writer
Jeffrey the Barak is also the publisher of the-vu. You
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