FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013 B3 - 1PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

Asean NCAP releasesfirst crash test scoresAUTO, the internation-

al journal of the FIA,reported in its second

issue that ASEAN NCAP, thenew car assessment programfor South East Asia, has re-leased the first crash test re-sults for cars in the region.

The testing is the result of a col-laboration between the MalaysianInstitute of Road Safety Research(MIROS) and Global NCAP. MIROSlaunched its crash test laboratorywhen it hosted the gathering ofNCAPs at the Global NCAP annualmeeting in May 2012. ASEANNCAP is also supported by themembership of automobile associa-tions from Malaysia (AAM), thePhilippines (AAP) and Singapore(AA Singapore).

ASEAN NCAP carried out frontaloff-set crash tests at 64 kph as it as-sessed results for driver, passengerand child safety. The Malaysiangovernment has applied the UN’s

regulation for frontal impact to allnew passenger cars in line with therecommendations on vehicle safetyincluded in the Global Plan of theDecade of Action for Road Safety2011-2020.

To be eligible for a five-star rat-ing, a vehicle must have at least twoairbags, electronic stability controland a seatbelt reminder, or its limitis four stars. All the cars tested werebuilt in Malaysia, except the FordFiesta and Nissan March, which areproduced in Thailand.

The cars tested under the ASEANNCAP off-set frontal collision werethe 2012 models of the Ford FiestaLX Ti-VCT with seven airbags, Hon-da City Grade S with two airbags,Toyota Vios 1.5J MT with twoairbags, Nissan March E MT withone airbag, Perodua Myvi SX withtwo airbags, Hyundai i10 1.1 Ep-silon with two airbags and the Pro-ton Saga Standard with one airbag.

Two models - the Ford Fiesta andHonda City - achieved five stars foradult occupant protection. The Toy-

ota Vios and Nissan March earnedfour stars each while the PeroduaMyvi got three stars, the Hyundaii10 two stars and Proton Saga onestar.

In child safety ratings, the HondaCity topped the list with 81 percent,followed by the Ford Fiesta with 66percent, the Perodua Myvi with 54percent and Proton Saga with 49percent. The Toyota Vios, NissanMarch and Hyundai i10 each scored48 percent in terms of child safety.

David Ward, secretary general ofGlobal NCAP, said: “Consumers inthe ASEAN region should expectthe same levels of safety as thosewith established crash testing pro-grams. These results show that it’sperfectly possible to produce af-fordable cars with top level safetyfor emerging markets. However, thedisparity (between them) and mod-els at the lowest end is worrying.”

The second phase of ASEANNCAP will feature side impact test-ing and is expected to begin in thesecond quarter of 2013.

MMDA GENERAL MANAGER TO SPEAK ATAAP Annual General Membership Meeting

The 82nd AAP Annual General Membership Meeting and Elections will be held

on April 24, 2013, Wednesday, at the Ang Bahay ng Alumni, University of the

Philippines Diliman, Quezon City with Metro Manila Development Authority

(MMDA) General Manager / Undersecretary Corazon T. Jimenez as the guest

speaker. Registration starts at 2:00 p.m.

THE 2012 Ford Fiesta and Honda City each earned five stars in the ASEAN NCAP frontalcrash test.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013B3 - 2 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

AAP Travel to organizeadventure tour in Negros

Occidental in May

Asian regional road safety seminarfocuses on safer walking and riding

ADVENTURE travel has nowevolved into a far richer, moreexperiential form of tourism.So what exactly is adventuretravel and tourism? The sectortends to be divided into ‘hard’and ‘soft’ adventures. Hard ad-ventures involve more physi-cally demanding activities.Whereas, soft adventureblends physical adventureswith such enriching activitiesas culinary pursuits, agri-tourism, cultural exploration,while offering comfortablestays in family-owned accom-modations with gourmet expe-riences.

On May 16 to 19, 2013, AAPTravel will organize its first fly-drive caravan in Negros Occi-dental with the support of Gov-ernor Alfredo Marañon throughthe provincial tourism office.With the theme, “A food expedi-tion, a walk through heritagesites and a farm tourism experi-ence,” AAP Travel will demon-strate what authentic adven-ture travel is all about.

A food expeditionNegrense cuisine is one of

the Philippines’ best. Chick-en inasal, grilled or barbe-cued chicken which is highlyaromatic and piyaya, a thinflat round bread with abrown sugar sticky filling,are two of the most populardelicacies of Negros. A fa-vorite among the locals and amust-taste for all visitors isthe guapple pie of El Ideal.After biting its crunch - flakycrust, you will taste the moistand flavorful guapple fillinginside laced with a dash ofcinnamon.

A walk through heritagesites

The Department ofTourism identified Silay asone of the 25 major touristdestinations in the country.The city of Silay is a placewhere one will seem to sud-denly travel back in time. Itswell-preserved ancestralhouses, collection of steam

locomotives, rich culturalheritage and resolute peoplecomplement its thrust to be-come the top destination inthe region.

A farm tourism experienceNegros is the country’s

leader in organic agricul-ture. In an organic farm,farmers don’t use artificialpesticides. Instead, the pestsare controlled by swappingthe crops around each year,and by using partner plantsto lure pests away. Wastefood in the farm could beused to raise poultry, pigsand fish. Organic farmingworks with nature ratherthan against it.

For further informationand inquiries about the cara-van, please call AAP Travel at551-0014, 551-0025 or0928-5074288.Contact Person: Eva F.CarmonaCompany: AAP TravelContact Number: 5510014,5510025, 09178409233

ABOUT 200 leading road safety ex-perts, practitioners, business repre-sentatives and government officialsfrom around the world gathered inManila for the Global Road SafetyPartnership’s (GRSP) Asia Seminaron April 2 and 3 and the InternationalRoad Assessment program (iRAP)Asia Pacific Workshop on April 4.This is a key annual regional eventthat was being held for the first timein Manila. Participants shared strate-gies for reducing road-crash relateddeath and injury as part of the UnitedNations’ Decade of Action for RoadSafety 2011-2020.

Automobile Association Philippines(AAP) president Gus Lagman deliv-ered a speech about GRSP-Philippines’Partnership at Work to Save Lives onthe forum’s first day. He talked aboutAAP’s activities to reduce the numberof deaths and casualties caused by therising frequency of road crashes in thePhilippines. On the fourth day, AAPvice president Johnny Angeles spokeabout the FIA Action for Road SafetyCampaign.

The other speakers focused on theserious issue of vulnerable roadusers. Across Asia the majority ofpeople killed or injured in road crash-es are vulnerable road users - pedes-trians and motorcycles, e-bike and bi-cycle users. “Asia has a critical role toplay in addressing the road safety cri-sis,” said Peter Venter, chief executiveofficer of GRSP. “As a region with di-verse cultures, growing economiesand rapid motorization, Asia is at thefront-line of the road safety crisis. Itsuffers heavily from a crisis thatclaims close to 1.3 million livesworldwide annually.”

“People are particularly at risk aspedestrians and when riding or as apassenger on motorcycles, e-bikes orbicycles. Fortunately, there are ways to

improve road safety and Asia now hasmany successful examples of innova-tive strategies to reduce death and in-jury on roads,” he added. “The seminarand workshop will provide an excel-lent opportunity for those working onroad safety in this region to share goodpractices and plan ways to save livesand reduce injuries.”

The highlight of the event was the“Long Short Walk” in the morning ofApril 2 where all the seminar partici-pants walked the street outside the Di-amond Hotel in high visibility safetyvests and carried banners and signscalling for action to improve safety forpedestrians. This is in support of aglobal campaign as part of the UnitedNations’ Decade of Action for RoadSafety 2011-2020 and to promote UNGlobal Road Safety Week that will beheld May 6 to 12, 2013.

ObjectivesThis year’s theme for the GRSP Asia

Seminar is “Targeting Vulnerable RoadUsers - Safety for Pedestrians and Mo-torcycle, E-bike and Bicycle Users”.The seminar’s key objectives are to:

• Provide capacity building oppor-tunities to participants on good prac-tice in road safety

• Showcase research and effectiveroad safety programs within Asia andother regions

• Stimulate support for and actionin the United Nations Decade of Ac-tion for Road Safety

• Develop networks to support in-formation, good proactive and knowl-edge sharing

• Inform representatives on global,regional and country developments inroad safety

The seminar has been supportedover the years by GRSP through itscorporately funded Global Road Safe-ty Initiative (GRSI) programme, withfunds this year provided by Michelin,Renault, Shell, Total and Toyota. It is

also supported with funding from theInternational Road Assessment Pro-gram (iRAP), FIA Foundation, NestlePhilippines and Federal Phoenix As-surance Co. Philippines. The seminarwas also run with assistance frommany key organizations, including theWorld Health Organization (WHO)and the Australian Road ResearchBoard (ARRB).

GRSP is a global partnership ofbusiness, civil society and governmen-tal organizations collaborating to im-prove road safety conditions aroundthe world. It was initiated by theWorld Bank Group in 1999, and is ahosted program of the InternationalFederation of Red Cross and Red Cres-cent Societies (IFRC). GRSP under-takes a range of activities in low- andmiddle-income countries worldwide,ranging from program delivery anddemonstration projects to capacitybuilding and advocacy.

AAP VP JohnnyAngeles and AAPAdvocaciesexecutive assistantCynthia Reyes withPGRSP and Vietnamseminarparticiapants.

AAP presidentGus Lagman and a

Red Crossvolunteer join thewalk “For Filipino

Kids”.

DAVID Milling of the Australian Roadand Research Board displays his reasonfor marching down Roxas Blvd. with theGRSP group. “Safe Walking for Children- Our goal is safe roads for all.”

PHOTOS FROM GRSP

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013 B3 - 3PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013B3 - 4 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

MAKING MOTORING FUNBy GUS LAGMAN,AAP President

Maintaining the quality of AAP’s towing serviceEVERY time a friend, or quite a fewtimes even a complete stranger, ap-proaches me to thank me for thewonderful service AAP’s towingteam has provided them, I obvious-ly feel a very strong sense of pride.Those occasions tell me that wemust be doing the right things andthat the volunteer services that we,the members of the board, provideare well-worth the effort.

But I also feel a certain amount oftrepidation because maintaining asatisfactory level of service is not aneasy task. While they are extremelyinfrequent, we have in fact receivedsome complaints in the past. The

challenge before us is to reduce thosecomplaints to zero.

What this entails is, first and fore-most, providing our staff with a con-tinuing training program, which wedo. Our program covers the dispatch-ers, drivers, and helpers - the mostimportant in the team, as they areour frontliners - the people whocome in contact with AAP’s membersand customers. Then, there are themanagers, the motor pool mechan-ics, the administration and financestaff, and everybody who has some-thing to do with towing service, nomatter how small and seemingly in-significant.

Then there is the equipment,which must be of the right quantity,quality, capability, and variety. Here’sa list of what we have today:

• Tow trucks - 18• Flat beds - 16• Crane trucks - 6In addition, we also have smaller

units that can tow vehicles from thebasement parking of shoppingmalls, condominium buildings, andother places with width and heightspace limitations. Our crane trucksare capable of recovering large ve-hicles, including container vans,which have fallen into a ditch alongthe highway.

AAP drivers are also equipped withtrunked radios and cell phones; andthe trucks, with GPS. The dispatchersall have computers that track themovements of our units.

I dare say that AAP has the mostnumber and the most sophisticatedcombination of equipment in thebusiness.

But we do have problems, some ofwhich we do not have control over.Heavy traffic is one of them. It is forthis reason that many years ago, westarted deploying our trucks instrategic places in Metro Manila. Andto cover tows along the tollways,where AAP is the exclusive towingservice provider, we have deployed asufficient number of trucks of differ-ent categories.

In order to avoid delays, we wentto the trouble of securing a franchisefrom the LTFRB, for our towing oper-ations. Still, once in a while, ourtrucks are apprehended by MMDAenforcers for not having a certifica-tion from their office. AAP has paidfor the MMDA accreditation - andour trucks carry a copy of the officialreceipts - but it’s been months sincewe paid, and yet we have not re-ceived the proper certificates. Makatiis another problem area. Our truckshave been stopped many times and

told that they cannot tow stalled vehi-cles in the city. That’s despite the factthat we only tow members’ vehicles,which is different from the business ofproviding towing services for a fee.

I am, of course, confident that thesegovernment-related concerns will be re-solved soon. AAP makes it a point to fol-low the rules and tries to establish goodrelations with the agencies that governits operations.

We aim to serve our members better.The continuing improvement of our ser-vices is, for us, a never-ending task.

AAP honors the best race drivers of 2012 18th Annual MotorsportsAwards awardees:

2012 Driver of the YearCircuit - William Tan

Karting - Vencer Jon SubaDrag - Jonathan Tiu

Hillclimb - Carlos AntonSlalom - Peewee Mendiola

2012 Philippine Touring Car Championship Series (PTCC)

Division 1 (200hp) Champion - William Tan

1st Runner-up - Joey Pery2nd Runner-up - Enzo Pastor

Division 2 (150hp) Champion - Leo San Juan

1st Runner-up - Jeff Borja2nd Runner-up - Jon Mark Ong

Division 3 (100hp) Champion - Alan Arguelles

1st Runner-up - Paul Aris Anguluan2nd Runner-up - Dominic Uy

Rookie of the Year - Dondon Portugal

2012 GT Series Class championsGT 100 Class champion - Allen MacaraigGT 130 Class champion - Dondon Portugal

GT 200 Class champion - Arnel CarlosGT 300 Class champion - Jody Coseteng

2012 National Karting Class championsCadet Novice - Luigi LachicaCadet Expert - Tai ZulbertiMini ROK - Flynn Jackes

Formula SL Novice - Carl LuigFormula SL Expert - Justin Monzones

ROK Junior - Estefano RiveraROK Senior - Vencer Jon Suba

2012 BAC Rallycross SeriesOver-all Champion - Jess Garcia

THE AUTOMOBILE Association Philippines(AAP) awarded the best race drivers of2012 at the 18th Annual Motor SportsAwards Night on April 5, 2013 at the Philip-pine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.The awards night was part of the country’sbiggest car show, the Manila InternationalAuto Show (MIAS) scheduled from April 4to 7 at the World Trade Center Manila.

Due to its membership in the FederationInternationale de l’Automobile (FIA), theParis-based organization that governs all

four-wheel motor sports worldwide, AAP isthe only auto club authorized to organize,supervise and sanction four-wheel motorsport events in the Philippines.

AAP awarded championship trophies to thebest drivers in 2012 in five FIA-sanctionedmotor sport disciplines: circuit, slalom, kart-ing, hill climb and drag racing. No 4x4 off-road awardee was nominated for 2012.

AAP also gave recognition to the differ-ent Class champions such as the PhilippineTouring Car Championship, National Kart-

ing, GT Series and the rally cross,which was revived last year.

AAP director Mandy Eduque,who chairs the AAP Motor SportsCommittee, expressed his apprecia-tion to all the race organizers and

competitors for accomplishing an-other racing season. “The raceswere well-organized and safe,”Eduque noted. “All the drivers wentout of their way to be more compet-itive and shared camaraderie in the

sport while making safety theirnumber one concern.”

Eduque congratulated everyonewho made it to the top and thankedall who supported motor sportevents in 2012.

AAP also awarded Jess Garcia as the OverallChampion for BAC Rallycross Series whocame all the way from Cebu to attend theawards night. With him are AAP vicepresident Johnny Angeles (left) and MotorSports chair Mandy Eduque (right).

THE 2012 Driver of the Year (from left): Peewee Mendiola, William Tan, Carlos Anton, and Vencer Jon Suba claimtheir awards as this year’s top drivers in each motorsport discipline that they represent. Standing with them are AAPvice president Johnny Angeles (far left) and Motor Sports chair Mandy Eduque (far right). Not in the photo is JonathanTiu for Drag.

NATIONAL Karting Class Champions (from left): Tai Zulberti, Carl Luig, Luigi Lachica, VencerJon Suba, Estefano Rivera, and Justin Monzones show off their award at the MotorsportsAwards Night on April 5, 2013 at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City with AAPpresident Gus Lagman (far left) and Motor Sports Committee chair Mandy Eduque.

THE Philippine Touring Car Championship Series awardees (from left): Dennis Uy represents his brother Dominic Uy, Leo San Juan, DondonPortugal, William Tan, Enzo Pastor, Joey Pery, Jeff Borja, Alan Arguelles, and Jon Mark Ong claim their awards at the Motorsports AwardsNight on April 5, 2013 at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City with AAP treasurer Jacinto Mantaring (second from left) anddirector David Arcenas (far right).

THE GT Series Class Champions (from left): Allen Macaraig, Jody Coseteng, Arnel Carlos, andDondon Portugal receive their award with (far left) AAP vice president Johnny Angeles andMotor Sports Committee chair Mandy Eduque.

ERS crew members at the SLEXskills development trainingprogram.

TWO of the three newly purchased tow trucks of AAP.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013 B3 - 5PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

Delivering customer delightat Hotel Centro, Palawan

A 28-MAN tour group from theCzech Republic worried abouttheir breakfast if they leave HotelCentro in Puerto Princesa City,Palawan at dawn. The travel toget to the wharf for banca ridesto the Underground River in sitioSabang takes about 1.5 hours.But the hotel’s cafe opens at 5a.m. Not to worry, said KharlaLuneta, the hotel manager of Ho-tel Centro. The hotel kitchen staffcooked and packed the breakfastand by 5 a.m. the hotel guestswere on their merry way. It wasjust another day at the office forthe Hotel Centro workforce. De-livering customer delight -- or go-ing beyond customer satisfaction-- is the mantra at Hotel Centro,Luneta said in an interview. “Tocreate customer delight, we an-ticipate the needs of guests,” shesaid. “Customer delight is whenwe deliver the right product forthe right person at the righttime.” she said. Customer delightfor Luneta, is key to encouragingguests to return or spread theword around about Hotel Cen-tro. Making a lasting first impres-sion supports in marketing thehotel because the P300-millionhotel is only two years old. Thevision of its owner, Green Moun-tain Philippines Corp. and thehotel workforce is to make HotelCentro the preferred choice --“The Top-notch Hotel” - in Puerto

Princesa City by individual andtour groups on holiday andleisure and by business travelers.In a 1.4-hectare property in theheart of the city and a few min-utes from the airport, the four-storey hotel creates the environ-ment of a resort right in the heartof the city. The hotel positioningblends with the attraction ofPuerto Princesa City as a natureand cultural destination. Knownas the city-in-a-forest led by itsecology-warrior Mayor EdwardHagedorn, Puerto Princesa Citylures tourists to its beaches, sea,and mountains. But within ahalf-hour radius from Hotel Cen-tro are cultural, historical andecological sites for tourists to ex-plore and enjoy.

Once in the resort-hotel, theguests’ views are focused on theturquoise-blue, wide swimmingpool (with a bar), landscapedgarden, spacious lobby, windingstaircase, and cafe. Even sweetfragrance waft at the hotel corri-dor. Hotel Centro, which hasbeen awarded the Cleanest andGreenest Hotel in 2011, offers111 rooms, conference center,cafe, souvenir shop, businesscenter and gym. The conferencecenter has a ballroom, meetingrooms, and the most modern au-dio-visual equipment in PuertoPrincesa. It is also the recipient ofTripAdvisor’s Certficate of Excel-

lence and Agoda.com’s Gold Circle Award.According to Luneta, these hotel facilitieshelp the business travelers make their trans-actions a success.

The Czech tour group, booked by AAPTravel, the subsidiary of the Automotive As-sociation of the Philippines, went back inthe evening after their video and photo

shoots in the Underground River. As if thebeach scenes at Sitio Sabang were notenough, some swam at the pool to relaxand enjoy a drink of San Miguel beer.

PAL supports DOT, DFA tourism promotion projectPHILIPPINE Airlines, in coopera-tion with the Department ofTourism and the Department of For-eign Affairs, brought ten finalists ofthe Miss Czech Republic 2013 toPasay, Puerto Princesa and Cebu.

The sponsorship supported theinternational tourism promotion ofthe DOT and DFA to Eastern Eu-rope. PAL’ sister airline PALexpressflew the Czech guests to theirPhilippine destinations.

Philippine landscapes and inter-action by the finalists with Filipinocommunities in the three key citieswere filmed and later shown duringthe widely-telecast Miss Czech Re-public finals.

Co-organizers were AAP Travel,subsidiary of the Automobile Asso-ciation of the Philippines, and theESO Travel, biggest tour operator inEaster Europe focused on bringingEuropean vacationers to exotic va-cations.

Host cities were Pasay, Puerto

Princesa and Cebu. Other majorsponsors were PGA Cars (for Audiluxury vehicles), San Miguel Brew-ery, Resorts World Manila, LegendHotel (Puerto Princesa), HotelDaluyong (Puerto Princesa), HotelCentro (Puerto Princesa), and Plan-tation Bay (Cebu).

DEPARTMENT of Tourism Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon Jr. (center) spoke at the UsapanAAP Travel on March 21, 2013 on what the DOT is doing to meet the Philippine tourism industry’schallenge to become world-class. The other panelists were (from left) Philippine Tour OperatorsAssociation (PHILTOA) president Cesar Cruz and South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) Internationalpresident Avelino Zapanta, AAP president Gus Lagman (beside Bengzon) delivered the welcomeremarks while AAP director and AAP Travel president Mina Gabor spoke about Drive Tourism andthe forthcoming Fly-drive Caravan to Negros Occidental.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013B3 - 6 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

Is the car of the future here?By Aida Sevilla-MendozaReprinted from AQ Magazine Vol. 3, Issue 4

YOU begin to think that the carof the future is here when youread the news that driverlesscars were legalized in Californialast October. Plus they were al-ready legalized in Nevada andFlorida before California. Thenthere was the recent Reutersphoto showing a Nissan proto-type that parked itself automati-cally. Based on the Nissan Leafelectric car, the self-parking carwas demonstrated at an elec-tronics show in Chiba, Japan.

But self-parking technology isalready commercially availablein some automotive brands andmodels.

Although we live in a ThirdWorld market where driverlesscars and all-electric vehicles arenot available and probablywon’t be for many, many years,it’s good to know what’s in storefor motorists in the future, espe-cially automotive innovationsthat will make driving substan-tially safer and easier.

Some of the innovations thatmake motoring safer for all roadusers are already offered inhighend brands that are import-ed CBU (completely built up)and sold locally, such as thePedestrian Detection with fullauto brake, Collision Warningwith auto brake, Driver AlertControl, Lane Departure Warn-ing, Blind Spot Information Sys-tem and the City Safety standardthat lessens or avoids low-speedrear-end impacts by automati-cally braking the car if the driveris driving too fast towards a sta-tionary object. These innova-tions are either standard or op-tional in Volvo vehicles.

In the 2012 Ford Focus, Es-cape and Explorer, the optional

Active Park Assist with electron-ic sensors and electronic powerassisted steering parks the carwith almost no driver input. Thethird-generation Toyota PriusFive has an optional advancedtechnology package that in-cludes dynamic radar cruisecontrol, pre-collision system,lane keep assist and advancedparking guidance. The 2012Lexus LS460 and LS460L park-ing guidance package for thou-sands of dollars more.

The sixth-generation BMW 3Series launched this year offersnumerous assistance systemssuch as optional parking assis-tance. In some Mercedes-Benzmodels, the Parktronic’s ultrason-ic sensors in the front and rearbumpers provide signals and illu-minated displays to help the driv-er navigate tight parking spots.

But these advanced technolo-gy options are nowhere as dra-matic as the driverless car, a.k.a.autonomous vehicle, robotic car,automated automobile or self-driving car, a concept that hasbeen experimented with by Gen-eral Motors, Mercedes-Benz,Volkswagen and Audi aside fromuniversities and an agency of theUnited States Defense Depart-ment. Mobile robotics R&D isled by Google, the Web searchengine based in California,which in 2010 equipped six Toy-ota Prius hybrid cars and an Au-di TT for a successful 250,000-kilometer driverless car testingprogram on roads in California.Each driverless car had a “hu-man chaperon” to override thesoftware in case it stalled, plusanother Google employee moni-toring the equipment from thefront seat.

The Google researchers claimthat driverless car technologycan eliminate human error, theleading cause of accidents, andthereby cut in half the frequen-cy of road crashes aside fromtransforming car sharing andreducing car usage, which inturn results in less air pollutionand less dependence on foreignoil.

They envision the creation ofa new “highway train” in whichfuture cars are controlled bycomputers to drive in tight con-voys at high speeds, preventingaccidents and improving fueleconomy.

Meanwhile, the fully electricbattery-powered plug-in carseems to have lost its promise asthe car of the future. Critics saythat electric vehicles (EVs) aretoo expensive ($41,000 for theChevrolet Volt, $33,000 for theNissan Leaf) , take too long torecharge (eight hours for theLeaf) and don’t provide enoughdriving range (about 160 km af-ter a full charge) to be practicalfor most consumers and themass market

The EV’s marketability wasnot helped any when a Voltcaught fire and the battery packsin three others ignited weeks af-ter a crash test conducted by theNational Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration (NHTSA). Even-tually, after a congressional in-vestigation of the Volt in Wash-ington and GM’s vow to makethe necessary safety improve-ments, the NHTSA cleared theVolt of any safety risk. After this,GM suspended production ofthe Volt for five weeks. Sales ofthe Leaf, meanwhile, remainsluggish.

The disappointing sales ofbattery-powered cars made byGM, Nissan, Renault and Teslahave shifted the focus to plug-in hybrids, which can travelshort distances on battery pow-er alone and switch to gasolineor diesel for longer trips andcan be fully recharged in a littleover an hour. While carmakershave not entirely dropped

plans to develop EVs, manylike Volkswagen, Audi andPorsche are now focusing onplug-in hybrids as a mass mar-ket product and as a viable al-ternative to reduce greenhousegases.

Yet the plug-in hybrid cannotbe called the car of the futurebecause it is already present.Toyota, the acknowledged pio-

neer and leader in hybrid tech-nology, began selling the PriusPlug-in last March 2012 at se-lected dealerships in 15 launchstates in the U.S.

In 2013, the Prius Plug-inwill be available in all otherstates. So in answer to thequestion: Is the car of the fu-ture here? One may answer,“Not quite yet.”