Enviro-friendly cars are virtually invisible at the auto show.

WSJ ^ | 1/14/04 | Brock Yates

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Red Alert to Sierra Clubbers, bearded Birkenstockers and other greenies: Under no circumstances be duped into attending the (mildly oxymoronic) Greater North American International Automobile Show now under way here.

Utopians might expect that the auto makers will offer countless octane-stingy hybrids and zero-emission fuel-cell vehicles to a public seeking to wean itself from all addiction to the cursed internal combustion engine. Sadly, this is not the case. Tree-huggers and Friends of the Earth would be better advised to picnic on the banks of the Love Canal than to set foot in the vast precincts of Detroit's Cobo Hall--where, last Friday evening, the auto show kicked off with the world's largest charity ball. Seventeen thousand of the industry's closest friends pitched in $400 apiece for a champagne-soaked, black-tie gala that might have been confused with a world convention of maitre d's and cocktail-lounge hostesses.

[Izzy Dunne]

Countering this trend is a nearly invisible collection of hybrids and tiny urban vehicles.

You know, running a car from electricity or garbage burning, or fuel cells or whatever is an admirable goal, but making them INVISIBLE is a REALLY, REALLY BAD IDEA!

[Izzy Dunne]

No amount of government mandates, media pressure or high-minded pontifications can replace the simple laws of supply and demand.

Will sombody please tattoo this statement on Ralph Nader's forehead?

[sphinx]

the lure of the open road increases by the day

Living in Washington, D.C., I haven't seen an "open road" in years. Suburbanites buy fancy cars in order to look stylish while sitting in gridlock.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

What's happening!?!?

[Still Thinking]

DaimlerChrysler engineers who developed the monster claim it will generate top speeds approaching 250 miles an hour. This velocity, revealed one astute writer in USA Today, would be "illegal in any state."

While there ARE locations in all 50 states where this speed would be illegal (public roads), this statement is misleading as it makes it sound like there is some general prohibition against driving 250 mph. On private property, you may drive any speed you like with the permission of the owner.

[whereasandsoforth]

I just can't wait to go flying down the road in my plastic one-seater fueled by methane gas produced by the tooth fairy.

[Redbob]

See, ya just gotta get outa Washington and intot he real world!

There are miles and miles of Interstate out here where cruising at 90 - 100 MPH is not only possible, and safe, but is in fact common.

[Cicero]

Well, I've worked out a plan.

If my long lost Fairy Godfather would give me a "Porsche Carrera GT that can be purchased for a one-time-only, introductory offer of $440,000 but offers a measly 604 horsepower from its V10 powerplant," then I'll drive it around the block, sell it, buy a Toyota Prius, and pocket the change.

I see a small problem here in locating my Fairy Godfather, but the rest of the plan seems good.

[rabidralph]

I hear you. The highlight of my June vacation was driving on the Dallas interstate; there was 10 other cars with me during rush hour.

[Hank Rearden]

Living in Washington, D.C., I haven't seen an "open road" in years.

Well that's pretty sad. Living in a place where the nearest "bigtime" 4-lane road is 33 miles away, I feel sorry for you and hope you can escape to freedom someday. This is a theoretically-free country, after all. Although, thanks to Washington D.C. it's becoming less so on a daily basis.

I don't understand why D.C. seems so bound and determined to aggressively export its misery.

[gridlock]

I was up in Halifax, Nova Scotia on vacation a few years back. We were on a tour bus, and the driver was apologizing all over himself about the rush hour traffic. There were, maybe, three other cars on the road, all quite distant. I think if this guy had to work his way across Brooklyn at four o'clock in the morning, he would have a heart attack!

Now what I really need is some rig so I can FReep while stuck in traffic!

[antiRepublicrat]

The writer is woefully uneducated about the SMART car. Not only do these things get insane gas mileage, but their steel eggshell construction and other features make it extremely safe, even for its size. The turbocharged 600cc engine even gives it a bit of pep when driving, and the six speed semi-automatic transmission (full auto or shifting F1 style) is sweet.

I saw a crash test head on with a mid size car at, IIRC, 30mph each. The other car's front end was demolished with what would have been major injury to the occupants, but the SMART driver would have come out without a headache. The interesting thing is that you could see that the energy from the crash was not only absorbed by the short font end, but went under the passenger compartment and was also absorbed by the rear end, which by design actually sustained damage in a frontal crash. The forward-set wheels are also part of the dampening.

If you're just putting around town and doing only minor highway driving, this is the car to get. There's also a SMART roadster which is pretty sweet, and a Brabus version with 75hp in a 1,700 pound car (by comparison, the fast Lotus Elise has 120hp in the same weight).

[antiRepublicrat]

Oh yeah, plus you can park perpendicular in a parallel parking space and still fit! You can also use those too-short-for-normal-cars parking spaces in underground garages. Makes parking easy.

[antiRepublicrat]

Samsung SPH-i500 with PalmOS and Blazer Web browser. It works great to read FR on the road.

[SVTCobra03]

Those of us whose cars can never have too much horsepower may not want to go 200mph but its great to to from 60-90mph in the blink of an eye.

[sphinx]

I feel sorry for you and hope you can escape to freedom someday.

Oh, I feel perfectly free transportation-wise. Of course, I live in the city and don't have to deal with the suburban crawl thing on a regular basis. It's the commuter cowboys who spend two to four hours a day in their cars. I myself could (and would) do without a car and ride a bike to work if I didn't have to drop Little People off at school.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[StoneColdGOP]

There were a TON of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles at the L.A. Auto Show last week.

NO ONE cared about them. Folks came to see the monster SUV's, light speed sports cars and luxury vehicles that all burn gasoline.

[B4Ranch]

(read image-builder)

I hope my life never declines so much that I need a car to represent who I am.