Columnists

The other night I watched a segment on Discovery’s Daily Planet showing off a race car made with a lot of recycled or renewable materials. The seat of the WorldFirst Formula 3 car is made with soy foam, the body is made with recycled carbon fibre, the steering wheel is made from carrot compounds, and it can run on many flavours of biodiesel. The car’s builders want to push the green envelope, so to speak, to try to match the speeds achievable in a regular Formula 1 car in a more sustainable car.

What do you think, is there a hope that one-off examples can bring change to an industry? Is this akin to NASA developing futuristic technology (the computer mouse, cochlear implants, Tang) that we adopt for life on earth?

I’m getting pretty excited about the lower-eco-impact cars coming on the market. I think Canadians have had a taste of high gas prices, and the concept of fuel efficiency has really taken hold. Why pay more to go the same distance? (And release more pollutants, including greenhouse gasses?)

I snapped up the opportunity to try out a smart car this week since it’s the epitome of efficient vehicles, so here’s me with the little white smart fortwo passion. I absolutely love driving it – it’s a speedy little beast with smooth braking and precise handling. I can park in places I wouldn’t consider in my (fairly small) hatchback. I thought I would be nervous about taking the smart car out on the highway in heavy traffic, but it’s very visible (the fact that it’s cute doesn’t hurt) and I can change lanes very nimbly.

I know the smart car is a good choice because my boss (Homemakers‘ editor, Kathy Ullyott) has one; she said that she filled the tank from running-on-fumes to full the other day for $15. Apparently the fortwo’s fuel consumption is 5.4L per 100 km. Not bad! smart has made the fortwo fuel efficient by making it light – not only is it smaller in size than most cars, it has plastic body panels. Apparently some of the car’s parts are made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, and, in general, many parts of the car are recyclable.

The smart (starting at about $15,000) may not be the right car for everyone, (nor will an electric version, which is currently being offered in Europe). But these kinds of vehicles are no doubt right for a lot of people, a lot of the time. (Me! Me!) Hopefully, within the next couple of years, we will see a mix of smaller, lighter and alternative fuel / electric cars on the roads made with parts that can be reclaimed and recycled.

Government incentives may help this happen; the Ontario government recently introduced a $10,000 rebate on the purchase of an electric vehicle, and they also offer rebates on alternative fuel vehicles.

What do you want in a “green” vehicle?