First it was London, then Paris and now green cars are taking Los Angeles by storm.
Eco-friendly vehicles have been the centre of attention at the LA Auto Show with the wait reaching an hour-and-a-half to test-drive one of 18 eco-friendly cars lined up outside the LA Convention Centre.
Honda’s FCX Clarity, a hydrogen fuel cell car that can drive for the equivalent of 60 miles per gallon, was the first to be removed from the waiting list due to its overwhelming popularity. It was followed by the BMW Group’s MINI E, which is an electric car that receives formal testing next year.
Also receiving attention were the Saturn two-mode hybrid and the Chevrolet Equinox, proving that the US carmakers have finally come around to the green vision.
Indeed nearly all displays put the focus on green cars. For General Motors (GM) it was the Chevrolet Volt and Saturn Vue Hybrid; for Toyota it was the natural gas Camry and the Lexus R450h; meanwhile, the Smart Fortwo, which has fuel consumption at 34mpg, drew a crowd of curious onlookers.
It’s clear that car manufacturers have realised that green cars are the only way forward, and the growing interest in the vehicles seems to justify their new strategy.
