2008 marked the debut of SEMA’s “Making Green Cool Zone” with a wide range of environmentally oriented vehicles displayed at the rear of LVCC North Hall’s upper level. While I usually leave the camera in the bag at press conferences, this momentous occasion warranted video documentation, with luminaries including the George Barris – the King of Kustomizers, Jonathan Goodwin, and Seth Warren.
Production Note: I shot the Making Green Cool conference with the camera’s internal microphones … there’s echo and ambient noise, but the sound’s not too bad, considering. While the video had to be cut into chunks to deal with YouTube’s ten minute limit, I set up a specific YT player to string the segments together.
When a GM rep asked if I’d like to have a conversation with one of the new Chevy Camaro’s engineers at SEMA, I jumped at the chance. Although I’ve never owned a Camaro personally, I’ve always seen its merits. Looking at the upcoming car with a historic perspective made me pause to consider the change that the new model brings. Over the years, the Camaro’s gas mileage ratings have rarely been a selling point.
What that you say? A Toyota Yaris that just might be the (oh so green) apple of T. Boone Pickens’ eye? Toyota pulled out the stops for SEMA 2008 and rolled out a bright metallic green wide body five-door Yaris packed with spiffy surprises, including dual video screens, shaved doors, suicides, and a clamshell tailgate that revealed a CNG tank tucked away under the window-rattling sound system. Duel fuel is twice the fun!
With the aid of a gracious Toyota rep, we crawled all over the CNG Yaris to bring back this video for your viewing pleasure. Highlights include the under mirror door popper buttons, power clam shell, hidden CNG tank, low key CNG dash button control, Rotora brakes, and gargantuan DPE rims clad in Nitto rubber.
Of all the vehicles shown at SEMA 2008, PML Flightlink’s electric Ford F-150 sits proudly at the top of the hill when it comes to pure innovation. Don’t look for an engine under this F-150’s hood … the means of propulsion has been put out to the wheels, with PML Flightlink’s HI-PA Drive electric wheel motors (clad in shiny green metallic paint) nestled behind each of the conventional rims. This is four wheel drive (4WD) in its purest sense: four wheels, four permanent magnet brushless motors.
The 4WD PML Flightlink F-150 has a range of approximately 100 miles. A 40 kilowatt hour Lithium ion battery, weighing roughly 1000 pounds, is slung between the frame rails. While typical charge time is six-to-eight hours with the 110-volt charger, a fast three-phase charge can be completed in under an hour. Continue reading →
