At the End of Route 66

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October 9, 2009

Seemed fitting last week that at the endpoint of that icon to America's love story with the automobile - Route 66 - the sun-kissed, sandy beach City of Santa Monica hosted its fourth annual AltCar Expo. The famous U.S. travel corridor, which begins in Chicago, ends at the historic Santa Monica pier, where the road literally meets the Pacific Ocean.

The two-day AltCar Expo, a open-to-the public event, offered an update for local folks on what's new and available in alternative-powered transportation, focusing on the usual round of well-known candidates: electric, hydrogen, biodiesel, natural gas, propane, hybrid, plug-in, ethanol, and cycling technologies. Familiar OEMs GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and BMW were joined by such lesser-known alt-tech companies as Wheego Electric Cars, Good Earth, and Electrorides.

In the Ride & Drive area, expos visitors tried out all manner of alt-powered vehicles, including the Toyota Prius and Nissan vehicles, as well as a number of futuristic, primarily electric cars.

In the Alt-Car Rally, a stream of various alt-powered vehicles - and their enthusiastic drivers - made their way from the Santa Monica pier (celebrating its 100^th year anniversary this fall) to the Expo site, a few blocks away at the city's civic auditorium.

"We aren't just presenting ideas of the future, but rather showing that there are solutions available today that allow us to use less energy and reduce our carbon footprint without making big changes to our lifestyles." said Rick Sikes, fleet superintendent for the City of Santa Monica.

Even California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came by to offer his stamp of approval on such green transportation educational efforts. That's Rick Sikes on the right, greeting the Governor (center).

In addition to coordinating a "Focus on Fleets" panel discussion, featuring NAFA Fleet Management Association and Motor & Equipment Manufacturer's Association (MEMA) members, Rick helped arrange a NAFA Pacific Southwest Chapter meeting on the Expo's opening morning.

The NAFA meeting offered presentations by California state and federal environmental figures. Peter Ward, a California Energy Commission member, discussed the state's recent legislation AB 118, that earmarks more than $100 million for new greenhouse gas emissions-reducing technologies, vehicles, and fuels and development of clean, energy-efficient transportation technologies.

Another speaker, JoAnn Armenta, a U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) coordinator, updated the NAFA crowd on Clean Cities projects in California. This DOE-sponsored alliance is a network of some 90 volunteer coalitions that develops public/private partnerships to promote a host of alt-fuel and advanced vehicle technology development projects. A great resource for information, "green" guidance, etc.

Ms. Armenta described herself and Clean Cities colleagues as "foot soldiers" in the campaign to develop those mutually beneficial public/private partnerships on behalf of cleaner air, water, and earth.

"The transformation of our transportation industry is going to happen by just one fleet at a time," she said. Critically important is educating the America public, even in the K-12 classrooms, she asserted.

In the drive to salvage this "Big Blue Marble" of Planet Earth, from carbon and other toxic emissions, we are "no longer in an era of competition, but of collaboration," said Ms. Armenta. The time is too short, she warned, for short-sighted and competing self-interests.

(Expo photos courtesy of City of Santa Monica.)