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Cadi
CTS & Toyota e-com: Worlds Apart I
spent the early part of last week on the bucolic campus of the
University of California at Irvine, talking clean cars on a remote
broadcast of Ben Wattenberg’s PBS program Think Tank. The show
is usually filmed in Washington, but it had made this rare field trip to
Irvine because it is home to the National Fuel Cell Research Center, and
also a fascinating program called Zero Emission Vehicle - Network
Enabled Transport (ZEV-NET). ZEV-NET
is a way for work-bound warriors to enjoy almost guilt-free commuting.
Traveler number one drives his zero-emission electric car to the train
station, where it plugs into solar- and fuel-cell-powered rechargers.
Soon after, traveler number two arrives on the train, picks up the
recharged EV and drives to work. At the end of the day, he takes the car
back to the station, where traveler number one intercepts it. Two people
are freed from the tyranny of the tailpipe, and with no residual power
plant emissions, either! The program uses tiny two-passenger Toyota e-coms,
which are not otherwise available in the U.S. The
general feeling on the show was that fuel cells and hybrid cars are
definitely a good thing, and that conservatives can embrace them along
with liberals--just as long as people aren’t forced into the vehicles
by grim government mandates of the type just passed in California.
Conservatives prefer to see the invisible hand of the marketplace making
decisions. But not only does the Golden State have the toughest
emissions laws in the country and a 2003 mandate forcing automakers to
produce EVs, it also recently passed a law limiting tailpipe-based
global warming gas. The auto industry worked hard to stop the climate
change bill, but in the end it cleared the state House and Senate rather
easily. California’s
activism is not the work of pie-in-the-sky greenies. It’s based on the
stark reality that the state has really filthy air, the worst in the
country, according to the American Lung Association. Personally, I think
we need legislation to clear our skies, because the corporate cleanup
isn’t moving fast enough. In response to smog, the car industry offers
individual air filters so you don’t have to breathe in the
fumes. In response to gridlock, it designs high-tech telematics
applications (like global positioning, back-seat DVD and satellite
radios) to make the wait in your car more enjoyable. I say, let’s try
ZEV-NET and systems like it, because they offer a real alternative. Back
home, I returned to the grind, if that’s the word when your commuter
car is a 2003 Cadillac CTS. This futuristic vehicle takes styling cues
from the latest angular SUVs, and it certainly stands out in a sea of
sameness. Reviewer Ann Job calls it “brutish.” But short of wearing
a backwards baseball cap, driving a rear-wheel-drive CTS is the best way
I know to draw a crowd of teenagers. And it’s been decades since any
of them expressed an interest in a Cadillac. The car is all sharp angles
and planes, and looks like a big cell phone. The
CTS offers a very comfortable leather and wood interior, with good
accommodations for five. This is a $30,000 car (and the lowest-priced
Cadillac) with a host of neat features, including a sharp Getrag
five-speed manual transmission (whose shifter, unfortunately, causes
collisions with the driver’s cell phone plug), dual-zone climate
control, a great stereo, and the inevitable telematics: the On-Star
system, featuring wired roadside assistance and hands-free dialing for
the telephone. Under
the hood is a very responsive 3.2-liter double-overhead-cam V-6
producing 220 horsepower. Fuel economy is a so-so 18 mpg in town and 25
on the highway. The car is relatively nimble, and feels smaller than it
actually is. Some have complained that the ride is unduly harsh, but I
thought it a good mix of stiffness and comfort. If I could, I’d prefer
to commute in an e-com, but I’m not planning a move to Irvine anytime
soon. Until then, tailpipe-equipped cars like the Cadillac CTS will have
to do. (Jim
Motavalli is editor of E magazine
and the author of Forward Drive
& Breaking Gridlock on Sierra Books) |