Last but not least, two mainstream car makers were there showing their latest hybrids, HEV and a look at the Green lap around the race track.
The gist is that Grand Prix are the best places to show off new technologies for mainstream car makers. So what technology did they show? It might not have been very avant-guard, mostly regular hybrids, HEV and one plug-in hybrid, PHEV.
Ford Fusion Hybrid. If the Ford Fusion HEV didn’t enthuse us at the Los Angeles Auto Show it was because the dark green just didn’t do it justice. But in white, the car is metamorphosed. Judge for yourself.
And as far as the famous dash that has been winning “awards”, there it is.
Toyota, Showing Off It’s Variety. The Long Beach Grand Prix is the Toyota GP and of course, Toyota cars were there. First and foremost the 2010 Prius. Strangely enough, the plug-in hybrid, PHEV version of the Prius was shuffled back, hidden away next to the even more hidden fuel cell project. It makes you wonder why Toyota is not showing the PHEV more prominently considering the acclamations.
The Green Lap. One of the most interesting part of the weekend was the green cars that showed up for a lap around the course. Aptera made it with one of its cars and we had a great talk with Tom Reichenback, its Chief Engineer. We got to test the seating position of the car which was low and very comfortable.
A Tesla Roadster, a Commuter Cars Tango as well as Michael Kadie’s electric Daytona Coupe took part of the lap. Unfortunately, Zero Motorcycles didn’t make it in time and our Electric Cutie friends weren’t allowed on the track in order not to offend Toyota since they had a Mazda, according to unconfirmed sources
Conclusion Of This Weekend. This race is different from others as it draw your usual Indy Car spectators and opens them to the virtues of the electric drive. We heard an electric sports prototype is dues to race next year and that Zytec has been working on an hybrid version. It was fun and we will be there next year.
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