e the other press ©

to Build Better Cars

David Suzuki

hee It’s that time of year. Late fall—a crisp chill in the air, on the ground—and automakers rolling out their lat- est, largest creations.

Big is in. Big everything. And sex. Sex everything. Meanwhile, the streets get more and more clogged and our air gets smoggi- er. Polls show that consumers want better, cleaner cars. We have the technology if only the automakers would make the effort.

In the US, there are now more cars than drivers. Yet newspapers this time of year are still filled with fall automotive supple- ments, some almost as large as the newspapers themselves. They detail every type of new vehicle you can imagine, along with advertising for the same. These days, about half of those vehicles are SUVs, pickups, and mini- vans. Most people don't know

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David Suzuki Foundation

that such vehicles are classified by the government as “light trucks,” which means they aren't required to meet the same fuel- efficiency standards as cars. So they are allowed by law to burn more gas and pollute more.

That's one of the inequities former Member of Parliament Jim Fulton wanted to address in a recent speech to automakers and journalists at a conference called Cars and Culture, held in Toronto. The symposium was supposed to be an examination of the role of automobiles in society.

So, Fulton got up and talked about how he is a driver too, but as a society we drive too much. There are too many big, heavy, polluting vehicles on our roads. Entire suburbs are designed around car culture. It’s making us fat. It’s responsible for increas- ing health care costs. It’s making our kids sick.

In short, Fulton said, it’s a huge problem that needs to be fixed now. When we eat up valu- able farmland to build isolated, public transit-challenged sub- urbs and force people to drive, we increase the smog in our air and add to our waistlines. When we allow massive SUVs powered by big, inefficient engines to roll off dealer lots, we get stuck with those obsolete vehicles on our roads for a decade or more. These decisions will affect our children for generations to come.

In Europe, where fuel efficien- cy standards are much higher, the trend is not toward bigger, heavier vehicles, but toward smaller, more efficient ones. Two-seat “Smart” cars are all the rage, combining fun styling with super fuel-efficiency. They can park practically anywhere, they pollute less, and reduce traffic congestion. But you can't buy them in North America.

Angela Blattmann OP Photographer

Name: Shadrack Age:

21

Program at Douglas College:

Commerce and Business

Administration Last CD in your stereo?

A Perfect Circle—Thirteenth Step Have you been sick yet this fall?

No.

Have you ever had a flu shot?

No. I’ve never had to. Would you? I wouldn't get one.

What do you do/take to feel better when youve got a bad cold?

Uh, cough medication.

It isn’t like we haven't had the opportunity to change. Fulton talked about how when he was an MP way back in 1981, he proudly voted for legislation that would have greatly improved fuel efficiency for all vehicles— including SUVs. That legislation passed, but the auto lobby fought it like mad, so it was never proclaimed. As a result, today’s new vehicles in North America on average actually get worse gas mileage than they did back in 1980!

Its not like the technology eludes us, either. Hybrids (which have both an electric and gaso- line motor) burn far less fuel, but few models are available. In the US, the Union of Concerned Scientists took an SUV and made $3,000 worth of simple modifications to it that increased gas mileage by 71 percent. In Europe, new standards will see fuel efficiency improve by anoth-

Age: 22

No.

Name: Mariko

er 25 percent by 2005—and their cars are already more effi- cient than ours.

Fulton ended by saying that industry needed to work with environmental organizations and smart growth groups if we want North American cities to be healthy and livable for future generations. The audience, large- ly automotive executives and journalists, clapped. He sat down.

Then someone else took the stage and started talking about cars and sex. Executives sat up. Journalists started taking notes. General Motors unveiled a 1,000 horsepower Cadillac. Young women in tight shirts tossed keys to audience members and encouraged them to go for test drives. It’s that time of year. Consumers may be ready for bet- ter cars, but perhaps the industry is not.

Program at Douglas College: EASL

Last CD in your stereo? Beyonce

Have you been sick yet this fall?

Have you ever had a flu shot? Would you?

Yes, I have.

What do you do/take to feel better when youve got a bad cold?

I sleep.

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