Green overload, green overload! It seems like
every single article I've read
in the past week has talked about the greening of the North American
International Auto Show, the Big Three's new commitment to alternative
energy and blah blah blah.
Forreals, it is great to see every
manufacturer include green elements in their displays. But we also saw
the pick-up battle continue, with the Dodge Ram, Ford F250 and Toyota
Tundra going toe to toe.
A lot of talk was about the fact that
there was no Chevy Volt this year -- meaning a singular vehicle that captured the
world's attention like the Volt did in 2007.
In my estimation, the biggest announcement was not
about a vehicle or a technology, but that General Motors is investing
into an Illinois ethanol company that will produce 50 to 100 million
gallons of fuel a year by 2011. The best part is that the company,
Coskata, will use waste products to create the fuel rather than corn or
other food products. (I'm of the belief that the whole corn thing is a
house of cards.)
What is revolutionary about this -- think about
it -- is that an vehicle manufacturer is getting into the fuel
business. I think this is a very strong strategy for GM, and I would
not be surprised if it becomes more common industry-wide.
Tomorrow, I'm
going to talk about some of the trends that stood out at the NAIAS, so
today I'll conclude with a few snippets of green stuff that I just
couldn't fit into one of my categories. Jerks.
- Plymouth-based
Johnson Controls introduced a headliner (it's the fabric on the
interior of a car's roof -- I had to look that one up on Wikipedia)
called Ecoband that uses natural materials like hemp, flax and knaf
instead of fiberglass along with a soy-based adhesive.
- Some Cadillac Escalades will have LED headlights.
- A limited number of Honda customers in California will start test-driving the fuel cell-powered FCX Clarity later this year.
Next up: diesels and plug-ins and luxury, oh my!