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Cross-Country ZAP Rally Proves Americans Want Cleaner Cars
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Skeptics will tell you that fuel cell vehicles are a decade or two away from mass production. That may be true, but it isn't because the American public is ignorant of alternative vehicle technology or wouldn't be excited by and willing to buy more efficient vehicles, regardless of fuels, much, much sooner.
Truth be told, after seven years of writing Fuel Cell Industry Report (http://www.FCellReport.com), I know from the ardent and genuine efforts of automotive energizers and fuel cell system OEMs that however soon this technology manifests in vehicles, there is positive energy shift potential for our culture.
Sitting on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago, a gorgeous roadway in the Windy City, except for near-constant bumper-to-bumper traffic -- I admit I wish fuel cell cars using hydrogen produced from renewable fuels -- were for sale today. However, I didn't' have to wish for a more fuel efficient gasoline vehicle than the one I was driving -- a "ZAPCAR," or Americanized DaimlerChrysler Smart ForTwo, popular in Europe for some years, but just now available in the US. ZAP [NYSEArca:ZP] of Santa Rosa, California imports the Smart cars via registered importers and reconfigures them to meet federal safety and emissions standards. ZAP sells them through authorized dealers with prices varying, depending on hardtop, convertible, and buyer-selected features.
I accepted the chance to drive a Smart Car from New York City to California over April 25 to May 5, in a road-rally with four other Smart "ZAPCARS." They're gasoline fueled, get an EPA rated 40 MPG, have enough storage space for two flight bags and 2 backpacks, plus spare tire and jack. My reasoning for joining the pack -- to observe first-hand people's response to the unique looking vehicles, their level of knowledge about non-gasoline cars, and the similarity these reactions might have to the introduction of fuel cell vehicles. Here's what I learned:
- Across the board, teens to seniors, US vehicle consumers want cars that offer better mileage efficiency and more earth friendliness. They respond by asking, "Is that a hybrid? Where do you plug it in? Is it part electric?" Clearly, people have heard the buzzwords of alternate technology and expect the cars that package it to look different. Urban commuters in NYC and Chicago in particular instantly see the potential for ease of parking with the small car. "You're kidding! No way? For real?" many said when quoted the mileage. [Which varies depending on wind, speed, and grade under driving conditions.]
- Whatever car, whatever fuel, drivers want safety. I enjoyed talking about the Smart's Tridion Reinforced Roll Cage and particular crash zone design and testing. Passing 18-wheelers in a rainstorm, the blowback felt minimal, and Smart's wide wheelbase makes for a ground hugger.
- After "Is it electric?" "How safe is it?" and "What's the MPG?" -- you know Americans -- they wanna know, "How fast can it go?" I personally have driven the Smart at 85 MPH with a feeling there was power to spare.
- As for response to cost, most people found ZAP's proposed prices range in the mid to upper 20s reasonable, based on power, safety and fuel efficiency.
Five Smart Cars driving across America have proven to me that American consumers are educating themselves about fuel efficiency and conservation, and alternative fuel and power train
possibilities. More highly fuel-efficient, stylish small cars can segue, with hybrids, NGVs, and flex fuel cars, in the mobile propulsion mixture, to the most emissions-free vehicle type, which is a fuel cell vehicle. Is it all in the packaging? That remains to be seen - if the smiles, thumbs up, "I want that car!" "I've GOT to get that car," and "55 MPG, that's for me!" responses translate to sales for ZAP and its distributors.
[Editor's Note: I don't work for ZAP or DaimlerChrysler. My opinions are my own. ZAP offers other products as well as the ZAP Smart Car and is working adapting vehicles for fuel cells.]
V.P.McConnell
Fuel Cell Industry Report
http://www.FCellReport.com
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