Fuelling the cars of the future

Saving our planet, one car at a time

THIERRY HARRIS THE CONCORDIAN (CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY)

MONTREAL (CUP) — In the far reaches of this year’s Montreal Auto Show, visitors could catch a glimpse of the fuel-efficient cars of the future. The section, called “On Route to a Greener Future,” featured new electric, hybrid and bio-diesel cars from Hydro Québec, Honda, Toyota, GM, and Ford, and concept cars with names such as Silence and Zenn.

The section was created by Natural Resources Canada and the Montreal Automobile Dealers Corporation to incite carmakers to promote their fuel-efficient models.

Toyota’s Prius, a gas-electric hybrid car, won the Energuide prize, given to the most economical vehicles in their respective categories, in its mid-size category. Its yearly carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is approximately 1,968 kilograms, with an annual fuel cost of only $574.

Other models with zero fuel emissions did not win any Energuide awards. Natural Resources Canada said this was because the cars were not commercially available on the Canadian market and did not meet Canadian safety standards.

Based on historical trends, Canadians tend to place a premium on speed, power and size when purchasing a car. Accordingly, manufacturers have applied their efforts to boost engine horsepower and acceleration rates.

Paul Laprade, whose zero-emissions Silence car was also featured during the auto show, believes it will take time for people to embrace new technologies.

“It will still be a niche market until people will accept electric cars. People are coming from over 100 years of gas and combustion motor vehicles,” he said. “They are not ready to make the changes towards electric. They will still buy Hummers.”

Currently, a series of market and scientific tests are being done with alternative fuels to try and make cars “greener.”

Bio-fuels, hydrogen cells, ethanol and electric cars are all being tested to see the pros and cons of their reliability and cleanliness. Hybrid gasoline and electric cars are already on the market.

“Manufacturers continue to invest in improvements to hybrid technologies. The availability of this technology is expected to grow considerably in coming years,” said Charles Crispin, senior manager of the Energuide vehicles program.

Crispin said he believes a combination of technologies will fuel the vehicles of the future. He added that ultimately, it will be consumers who decide which technologies will be embraced. There is also the question of the viability of the infrastructure that would have to be created to support hydrogen fuel-cell or ethanol-fuelled cars.

Jim Miller, executive vice-president of Honda Canada, thinks there is need to further educate Canadians on the benefits of eco-friendly cars.

“So long as fossil fuels such as gasoline remain in plentiful supply at relatively affordable prices, there isn’t a lot of impetus for buying fuel-efficient cars,” he said.

Consumers have been slow to accept new technologies, he said.

“Some consumers still think these cars have to be plugged in, like early all-electric-powered vehicles, so there is the need for further educating the public about today’s advanced products and the need to conserve our natural resources.”

Governments are offering some incentives for eco-friendly cars. For example, in P.E.I., a car buyer can get up to a $3,000 tax credit for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle.

In Quebec, purchasers of hybrid cars may receive a $1,000 tax credit. The city of Saint-Jérôme offers drivers of hybrid cars free parking at city parking meters. It is the first city in the province to do so.

The Manitoba provincial government announced a tax credit of $2,000 for anyone purchasing a hybrid car between Nov. 15 2006 and Nov. 15, 2008.

On April 5, 2005, the Government of Canada and the Canadian Automotive Industry signed an agreement on climate change.

Under this memorandum of understanding, the Canadian automotive industry will take actions to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions of new vehicles in Canada so that by 2010, annual emissions reductions will reach 5.3 megatonnes.

Crispin believes the agreement effectively targets all harmful gases.

“While carbon dioxide is the primary [greenhouse gas] produced from fossil fuel use in vehicles, this [memorandum] recognizes that vehicles also produce several other greenhouse gases, such as methane, nitrous oxide and hydro fluorocarbons,” he said.

“This agreement targets all of these gases, which are smaller in quantity than CO2 but are more potent in terms of climate change.”