GM's new electric car: The car of the future, today

KERRI WOLOSZYN STAFF

George Jetson had a flying car. When I was young I would watch The Jetsons and thought of the show as an accurate representation of the world we would be living in, in “the future.” This future was an unspecified time when I’d be older and flying around above street level in my automobile. The flying car seemed to represent some point in human existence when we’d truly come into our own with technology. But here we are in 2007 and we are still puttering around with our combustion engines. And I still don’t have a driver’s license.

Last week, at the North American International Auto Show, General Motors unveiled the Chrysler Volt, their new offering in the world of zero-emissions vehicles. This news comes after GM’s EV1 (the electric car that was made notorious in the 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?) was forcibly removed from the market in 2003. The new Volt is sleek, sexy, and rather large. The Volt is also a few years away from being placed on the market. However, it seems to be a rev in the right direction on the long highway mired with roadblocks of zero-emissions vehicles.

Yet we should be demanding much, much more. Governments need to create emissions laws so that we see these zero-emissions vehicles on the road sooner rather than later or never. California had some lofty ambitions about cleaning up their skies in 1990 by having increasing numbers of low and zero-emissions vehicles on the road by certain dates. These ideas eventually became watered-down goals. We need lawmakers to stick to their guns and not be scared off by big business. If people are not told that they have to drive zero-emissions vehicles by a certain date then they will likely continue to buy less-expensive gas guzzlers. If automakers are not told that they have to sell zero-emissions vehicles they may not sell them at all or sell them at exorbitant prices in order to make a profit.

Zero-emissions vehicles are by no means perfect. They have to be charged on a regular basis which does use energy. This energy sometimes comes from environmentally unfriendly sources like nuclear or coal plants. Plus, these vehicles may not work that well in an often frigid climate such as our own. There is also the problem of getting to where you want to go. The Volt is touted as a car that will get you to work and back everyday. Not bad for your daily commute but not ideal for road trips. Cost is also a factor. GM has said that the Volt’s price will be “competitive,” but if the prices of hybrids are any indication, you won’t see many students driving around their Volts any time soon.

There are still plenty of lowemissions ways of getting around at the moment. You can take the bus (which is in no way perfect either), ride your bike (on our nonexistent bike trails) or walk. Zero-emissions vehicles are a nice thought for the near future but we can still try our best to use our gas cars less now.

Besides, the car won’t even be available for four or five years. That’s plenty of time for more advancement in technology and other car manufacturers to stand up and take notice. It is also plenty of time for people to forget about the Volt completely. I’ll keep my bus pass.

Kerri Woloszyn is a fourth-year filmsstudies student and the Manitoban’s roving reporter.