Video: Sexy Green Car Show 2008

2Lov 23 May 2008 07:54pm

Nice Adam, wish I was in attendance, still deem we could be making cars that are already on the road more environmentally friendly then producing new ones from scratch.With reference to all the cars you have discussed surley will cost, more then £5000 a piece ,if you invested half that money to recondition older models wouldn?t it make more sence. We can alot from Africa about recycling, pity we are still a throw away nation and like new shiny possessions because of how they make us feel!!

Chris Beaumont 25 May 2008 10:00am

Great vid ... I like the look of the Saab. Was the Lightning not on show? ( http://www.lightningcarcompany.co.uk/ ) Will cars like the Lightining actually end up being green, or will they use up such vast quantities of electricity to meet those stunning performance figures that any reduction in exhaust fumes and petrol consumption will be negligible?

Also - Heather Mills? Desirable? No! Bad! Nnnnoo!

Adam Vaughan 26 May 2008 12:04pm

Sadly no Lightning. Hard to say whether the Lightning will be green or not. I think it's interesting because 100 per cent electric looks like being the greenest option for the future -- it doesn't have any of the side effects of biofuel and doesn't require a miracle way to produce hydrogen without expending too much energy in the process. We just need to massively increase our electricity production and energy efficiency.

@ 2 Lov -- yup, the Ford is way over £5K, and if any of those concepts see the light of day they'll be more like 20 . Sure, if we could retrofit the UK's existing car stock as LPG, electric or biofuel, that'd theoretically require fewer virgin resources. Sadly I don't see anyone pushing eco retrofits very heavily, unlike new green cars which the car companies are all obviously pushing heavily because that's their business -- shifting new cars.

Anonymous User 05 June 2008 11:34am

Nuclear Fusion is the way to go. Once we have that mastered (not as far off as you think) it'll be almost limitless electricity for all with no nasty emmisions. Then they can give the electric cars as much performance as they like...

Oh and biofuel is the most terrible solution I've ever heard. As with most things its great on a small scale but totally inoperable on a global scale. Wish they'd stop coming up with half arsed fixes and put the money into something that would actually make a massive difference on a global scale

Anonymous User 05 June 2008 06:15pm

As of right now, "green" is nothing more than a gimmick. It's a way for consumers to feel all good about themselves because they're saving the world. Unfortunately, nothing that has made it into production so far is at all environmentally-friendly. I read somewhere recently that the greenest car in sold in the UK was a Jeep Wrangler. Yes, even greener than a Prius. I would really like to see real solutions, and as a car enthusiast, I'd like to see something a little less fugly and a bit more fun to drive!!

Anonymous User 20 June 2008 07:21pm

I stumbled here and gave a thumbs down as the flash detection script does not work. I have flashplayer installed and javascript enabled and the page complains about those two anyways.

Adam Vaughan 20 June 2008 07:55pm

@anon 20 June -- sorry you had problems. If you can email me a screengrab at adam.vaughan@smartplanet.com I'll get our techie guys to take a look and see if we can fix your problems. Shame you felt you had to thumb us down!

Anonymous User 21 June 2008 06:47pm

VW had it made with turbo bio diesel hybrid Electric/battery plugin stuff, now this! a fuel cell car! fantastic, now, put it on three wheels , make it carry two in tandem, make it fast as hell and twice as maneuverable, build the body from carbon fiber or hemp plastics for lightness, make it half as wide as a normal car, and half as long, and put passengers in four point harnesses inside a safety capsule with a jet-fighter theme, and paint mine electric orange and make my daily commute more fun than a bag full of Prozac! Let me slide past gridlock and let me share a single parking space with a buddy! Do all of this and still sell the thing for a price I can afford. Next, fuel it so that the average workman's day's wage will pay to run it with something left over, and make VW famous all over again, this time, not for the Peoples car, for the Peoples Commuter Car!