Going Green at the 2012 International Portland Auto Show
Posted on February 16, 2012 by Emmaline Pohnl
Tags, Emerging Technologies
The Portland International Auto Show , held on January 26-29, 2012, displayed the automobile industry’s newest and most popular car models. CUB Utility Analyst Gordon Feighner and I had the opportunity to attend the opening night of the show and participate in a special preview of the “Eco” section. A floor above the main show area, the ECO Center, which displayed approximately 40 “environmentally-friendly” vehicles that are certified as low- to no-emissions. Jeff Cogen, Multnomah County Chair, and Charlie Allcock, Director of Transportation Electrification at PGE, first welcomed us and 30 other visitors to the showroom. The focus of their introductory remarks was the advances made by the electric vehicle industry in the past year. Mr. Cogen briefly discussed the benefits of these vehicles for the environment and for Oregon. Mr. Allcock highlighted the lofty deployment goal our state is trying to achieve—30,000 plug-in electric vehicles by 2015—before inviting us to explore the vehicles on display.
Electric vehicles were the star of the show in the ECO Center. Gordon and I took turns sitting in each of the electric vehicles on display: a Nissan LEAF, a Mitsubishi i , a Coda sedan, and a Chevy Volt (a “range-extended” electric vehicle, which is a plug-in vehicle with an electric motor and a small gasoline engine that charges the battery pack when the battery runs low and cannot be plugged in). We also looked at a Transit Connect, an all-electric truck made by Ford and Azure Dynamics, and two locally produced models, a three-wheeled electric vehicle by Eugene-based Arcimoto and a one-wheeled creation (essentially a souped-up electric unicycle) by Ryno Motors, a company based in Portland. The Ryno electric vehicle was definitely Gordon’s favorite, as you can tell by the photo below.
Here I am sitting in a three-wheeled all-electric vehicle prototype designed by Arcimoto, a company based in Eugene.
Gordon approves of the Mistubishi i.
The Transit Connect on display, an all-electric van designed for business deliveries.
In addition to electric vehicles, the ECO Center had other efficient cars, such as the Toyota Prius (a hybrid vehicle with a both a gasoline engine and electric motor) and a Smart Car. Gordon and I, however, were surprised to see a Yukon Denali hybrid—a large SUV—included in the ECO Center. It is a hybrid vehicle, but with a gas mileage of 20 miles per gallon in the city and 23 miles per gallon on the highway (vs. 13 city/18 highway for the non-hybrid version), it’s a stretch to call it an environmentally-friendly car. The Denali hybrid is a perfect example of how some automobile manufacturers are trying to be “green” without alienating the part of their customer base that demands big vehicles like SUVs.
The contrast between the ECO Center and the rest of the auto show a floor below was somewhat shocking. On the main floor the emphasis was not on the environmental attributes of the cars, but their style, speed, and amenities. Most vehicles had dismally low gas mileages. Some of the models were gigantic—the hood of one Dodge Ram model was taller than I am! One SUV really took in-car entertainment to the extreme; it had 6 mini television screens: one on the back of each seat and two attached to the ceiling.
Yet, mixed in with the conventional vehicles on this floor were a few eco-friendly vehicles, including the Fisker Karma, a luxury range-extended electric vehicle. The Chevy Volt made another appearance on this floor as well. It is interesting to note that both these models resemble conventional vehicles in terms of their design and size—unlike other electric vehicles such as the Nissan LEAF and Mistsubishi i that have very unique, futuristic designs. It’s a demonstration of how different automobile manufacturers are approaching the electrification of transportation: while some are simply altering their current models to have electric drive trains, others are taking the leap and creating entirely new models.
The Fisker Karma. All the luxury and speed you could ever want
—all in an electric car.
This year’s ECO Center was the largest that the Portland International Auto Show has ever had, indicating a growing interest in alternative, more sustainable technologies that can break our transportation system’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. If deployed in conjunction with smart energy policy decisions, electric vehicles can be powered with renewable energy produced right here in Oregon. Perhaps in five years, the ECO Center will display an electric vehicle with an even more amazing capability: Vehicle-to-Grid (commonly referred to as “V2G”), which is the technological ability to store and release power back the electric grid, depending upon the demand or supply of electricity needed on the grid at any given time.
CUB is working now, through my project and with our public interest allies, to help develop this cleaner and more intelligent transportation system that will benefit our environment, our economy, and our quality of life. Check out my earlier blog entry to learn more about my project and keep reading our blog for future updates on our electric vehicle policy work!
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03/28/17 | 2 Comments | Going Green at the 2012 International Portland Auto Show