Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future

by Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran and Iain Carson

Book Overview

The auto and oil industries are at a crossroads where financial and geopolitical troubles will force them to change as never before. Two industry experts describe why and how this is going to happen

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044658004X
• ISBN13: 9780446580045
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Twelve
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Why you want to run your cars on something other than oil

Authors Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran depict "Big Oil" and "Big Auto" as the engines behind much of the world's climate problem. Rather than condemn both, they look ahead and describe how China or the U.S., with the help of major car manufacturers, could lead the way to an oil-free future. They understand that personal transportation is too beneficial to dismiss out of hand, but that it must change. They acknowledge that the world will not run out of oil any time soon, but caution that the remaining concentrations are in the hands of countries that are unfriendly to big oil companies and the West. Moving away from foreign oil, requiring greater fuel efficiency and using biofuels look like the right first steps, they explain. The authors expect the batteries, fuel cells and even hydrogen - their particular long-term dream - to dominate in the future. They note alternatives to their vision, but express their opinions quite firmly. You may bristle if you disagree with a point or two, but getAbstract finds their overall emphasis on weaning cars from oil and driving into a prosperous postcarbon future quite interesting, along with their plea to readers to become part of grassroots movements for change.

A call for arms in the environmental and clean car race!

Reviewed by Andrey Bilko for RebeccasReads (12/08) For those who expect this book to solely focus on cars, and most importantly cars of the future, I have some bad news; this book does not exactly cover future cars. The main idea and purpose of the book is to make readers aware of the situation that America and the rest of the world is in due to our dependence on foreign oil, how we all got to this point, and what steps can be taken in the near future to try solve our current problems, like greenhouse gases and climate change. The book covers a brief history of the automobile industry, which was very interesting (at least to me!). It talks about the oil companies, OPEC, and also our continuous "blood for oil" policies, which were originally started by FDR. "Zoom" spends time discussing the situation with China and India's arrival at the global stage with hungry desires for cars. It is just hard to imagine how much damage countries the size of India and China, with populations of over a billion each can do, as more and more people in these countries are able to afford and buy a car. However, both nations have shown major interest in alternative fuels, realizing the upcoming environmental damage. The book uncovers artificial governmental policies that actually ended up hurting the American goal of "going green" and exposes big oil companies' and Detroit's lobbyists in D.C. It is just amazing to see how counterproductive the government has been in some cases. Alternative fuels, like ethanol, hydrogen, and natural gas are also discussed, showing how non-efficient American corn-based production of ethanol is. The authors want to make the reader beware of the current situation that we, Americans, and the whole world is in, having to alter our current habits of spitting out carbon dioxide left and right. Everyone needs to realize and take a stand for the environment and oil-independence. And the last chapter of the book gives clear insights into what every person has to do in order to stand up for the environment and change current governmental policies addressing the automotive impact on the environment. The book is well written, very easy to read and follow. In some cases, repetitive material is present, which I thought was unnecessary. Overall, a great read to get more understanding about how oil and cars work in our society and what impact they have on our lives. "Zoom" is a great opportunity for all young adults and adults to further educate themselves on the current energy situation and make their voices heard by pressuring the government into changing current environmental protection rules, especially the ones concerning cars. Again, the main purpose of "Zoom" is to discuss various alternative fuels, which will help America and the world to rid themselves of foreign oil dependency, stimulating local economies by making alternative fuels locally, reducing the environmental impact, and simply starting a new automotive revolution, thinkin

The scope of the oil problem - and its likely solution

Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran's ZOOM: THE GLOBAL RACE TO FUEL THE CAR OF THE FUTURE comes from an engineer and economy magazine editor who together consider the scope of the oil problem - and its likely solution, which lies directly in common transportation choices.

Zooming Ahead - 'Making the Transition'

ZOOM is a very well written and informative book with some interesting insights on our energy and transportation challenges, and possible solutions. Clearly the biggest challenge is getting the public and Washington aware of how serious our future energy issues are, and reducing our dependence on hydrocarbon fuels for transportation. I learned alot from this book about the 'behind the scenes' issues and the overall world energy 'drivers', and how the US is no longer the primary market influence, except for pollution and Global Warming, where we lead the world! China will clearly become the influencing force as their citizens clamor to enjoy the benefits (and impacts) of owning their own cars, with 2 Billion people standing in line to share the (American) dream. This is MUST reading for politicians, particularly those who think we can save Detroit by keeping the CAFE standards low. We don't need CAFE standards if the American public wakes up to the Reality of trying to Save our Planet! Toyota and other high efficiency imports are demonstrating that 50 mpg should be the Minimum efficieny Target, not 35 mpg as congress jokingly set for 2020! The Wake-up Call may be $5/G gas for many, but should be the CO2 levels at 384 ppm, as we are dangerously close to the Tipping point, where there is NOTHING that we can do to save the planet, once we cross 450 ppm. The authors should send a free copy of this inciteful book to every congressman and presidential candidate, so they understand that time is running out for our citizens, our economy, and our civilization.

Zoom Zooms

Two authors from the Economist take the complex issues of our love for the automobile and the energy crisis and boil it down to the simple realities of the problem - the entrenched economics of the auto industry and the oil business work in tandem to prevent the change that's required for further economic growth. The current almost $100/barrel oil are creating the conditions that will unleash technology that will change this dyanmic if we let it. We face the choice of dependency and decline or independence and sustainable growth. The choice is simple, but will we make the right choice? Do we even recognize the choice we are making through neglect? This is a must read for anyone who is concerned about our dependency on unstable oil sources.