Emissionless vehicles may _ be legislated _ into use by government OF rom page 36 Many buyers are switching from ‘cars to trucks, vans. sport-utility ‘vehicles and 4x4s — vehicles that typically are heavier than passen- “ger cars, consume more gasoline, and contribute more air pollution. ‘Sales of cars that run on alterna- .tive fuels, suchas propane and nat | ural gas, have been confined pri- marily to corporate fleets and : trucking companies. ‘Alternative fuels, while general- ly cleaner burning than gasoline, ~ have.a number of disadvaniages: - Fuel pumps are harder.to find, the ‘fuel tank often takes up valuable ” trunk Storage space and such fuels ‘sometimes downgrade. the resale value of the car. ’. . - 66 ‘Consumers _, just don't want “10 be guinea pigs. in an n experiment _-* Consumers just don’t want to be - guinea pigs in an experiment to find the cleanest fuels. . os Faced with worsening. air poltu- ion and an abundance of cars, . some governments have elected to force the sale of cleaner cars. The’ government of the siate of | California ‘got the ball rolling by . legislating the sale of low-emis- Sions and zero-emissions vehicles over.a 20 year period. The g govern- In most casés, emissions souls have been met without a significant , loss of performance or increased : ‘cost to the consumer. ~s,.But future requirements relating » to ultra low-emissions cars arid Zero-emissions cars will'not come ‘without cost or sacrifice. North American car manufacturers have ‘stated publicly. that they'll probably . have to recover the enormous - », development costs of electric cars -: by increasing the prices of conven- «tional cars? ..1. -And most electric vehicle proto- . types don’t look competitive —. they’re small, heavy, underpow- ' ered, expensive and untested in the real world. Unlike combustion “engines, batteries don’t produce ‘power; they just store il. So, there’s no way of recharging _y battery, packs without an external ‘power source. This could be unsafe “or dangerous in case of a break- : “down. ; Crash safety is another concern. What would happen to a car loaded with 800 pounds of lead- “acid batteries ina major collision? What would happen to the occu- pants? 3 ; Unless proposed zero-emissions “cars become comparable to con- ventional automobiles in price, fea- “tures and performance, consumers aren’ t likely to buy. them. Unless, that is, the scientific community can convince us that auto emissions will shorten our life-span consideraDy. ‘Then..1 suspect, people will ‘consider buying environmentally - friendly automobiles. Motorcycle awareness oromoted i in T May] WHEN YOU'RE riding a motor- eyele, one of the ereatest threats to sour safety is other vehicles on the road. For about 70° of all crashes invelving motorcycles, the conse- quences are usually serious. Three out of every four motorcycle crashes result in injury or death. In 1992 more than 1,300 94 Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x 4 -.V8 - Auto, White, 12 ‘km 393 93 Dynasty LE 4 Dr White, V6; Auto, Air Con.,§ Power Group, Only 21 km § $15,300 motorcyclists and their passengers were killed or injured. Since the cefurn of warm weather brings legions of motor cyclists back onto the highways and roads of British Columbia, May has been designated as Motorcycle Awareness Month to remind other drivers to start watching for motorcycles. There are several reasons why drivers fail to see moterevcles: First, motorists generally. look are looking for the double head- lights of approaching cars and therefore often miss the single lights of oncoming motorcyclists: Motorcycles also have smaller profiles than other vehicles. When taken together with the single ; ‘Luxury, 4 Dr Sedan, 3, 3L V6, * : Air Conditioning, Power Options | - INTREPID 4DR. 3.3L V6, Auto, Att Conlin, = Power Options « ST 555. . VOYAGER 1 Passenger, V6; Auto, Ait Conditioning, Floor Mats, Tuggoge. Rack ST966 “Sports Wagon 4 x4 6 Cyl; Auto,’ '93 Concorde _ 4 Dr Luxury Sedan Raven Black 3.3L V6 Power Option. Only 9 km. headlight. this factor mikes i hard for motorists 1o estiniate the dis- tance id speed of an oncoming motoreyele. Drivers should realize that a motorcyclists riding pattern dif- fers significantly {rom a driver of a car or truck. Strong gusts of wind can move motorcyclists across ao entire lane. * Special Edition, White 6Cyl, Auto, 7 Passenger, ’ - Luggage Rack, Air ‘Conditioning, Power Options Child id'Seas, 22 km’ $22,800 REGENCY PLYMOUTH CHRYSLER INC. 1177 Marine Drive, North Vancouver 980-8501 Brand New Le Baron Convertible V6 - Automatic, Full Load $27,230 rebates. Lease-payments on’A 93 Laser RS. Turbo ST126 All Wheel Drive _ $24,620 Graduation Program cash allowance. _ . Plus payments deferred for 90 Days* “ALL prices and payments quoted al are net Of dealer and factory incentives-and A;B;.C, D are based on'30 months with:down Saar oe noted with first payment and s security. deposit: ‘down O.A.C, dealer for details. : ;