It seems that size matters in the environmentally friendly car market.
Visitors to the Saturday, June 7, KABC Clean Air Car Showcase on the Third Street Promenade saw a range of 2008 alternative energy vehicles from Toyota, Mitsubishi, Chevy, Saturn, Subaru and Nissan. Unlike the smaller Zap and Smart cars seen at other eco-conscious events this year, those on display ranged from midsize cars to minivans and SUVs, including an ethanol Chevy Tahoe. One visitor said, “Thank you, Al Gore,” as she walked through the event.
Cars were available for test drives, including the E85 Chevy Tahoe (E85 ethanol) and the new General Motors hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the HydroGen 3. One test driver, Jeff U’Ren of Santa Monica, described the HydroGen 3 as very smooth but without a lot of power, and not near the acceleration of the EV1.