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60 MILES PER GALLON?  SEATTLE AUTO SHOW SHOWCASES
THE MOST FUEL-EFFICIENT CARS

Source:  Journal Newspapers
Date:  November 4, 2008
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

By:  Jeff Meisner, Journal Newspapers

In years past, the marquee vehicles at the Seattle Auto Show have had names like Maserati,
Lamborghini and Ferrari.

Not this year. Gas prices may have come down in the past few weeks, but car buyers today only
have three words on their mind when they sign on the dotted line for a new set of wheels -
miles per gallon.

When the Seattle Auto Show kicks off on Nov. 5 at Qwest Field Event Center in Seattle, fuel-
efficient automobiles will take up 25 percent of the floor space, triple last year, said Jim
Hammond. Hammond has managed the show, the largest car exhibition north of San Francisco and
west of Chicago, since 1975.

"The year, it's green, green and more green," Hammond said.

Some of the high-mileage cars on display will be the Toyota Prius, which gets 46.6 miles per
gallon, city- and highway-mileage combined; the Honda Civic Si, which gets 42.1 and the
Nissan Altima, which gets 34.1 miles per gallon.

But there's one little car - the EMC3 - that blows the competition away in terms of gas
mileage - a three-wheel vehicle that was designed in Seattle and is manufactured by Chinese
auto maker Geely.

The EMC3 gets 60 miles per gallon, seats two and costs between $14,000 and $15,000, depending
on whether you buy the manual shift or the automatic.

"We'll have two three-wheel prototypes there," said the car's designer, ECO Motor Co. CEO
David Joner. "One of the motors will also be on display."

The EMC3 has air conditioning, AM/FM radio, an MP3 player, power windows and most of the
other trimmings American car buyers have come to expect in their everyday vehicle.

Joner said the car's engineering is a throwback to a German engineer who discovered in the
1930s that cars with three wheels - two in the front and one in the back, like the EMC3 - are
more aerodynamic than the traditional four-wheel vehicle and, thus, get better gas mileage.

The EMC3 hasn't been reviewed by any major auto magazine and won't be available until 2009.
Joner said the car will be sold by as many as 400 dealerships throughout the United States.
ECO Motor Co. has 20 employees in Seattle, other U.S. markets and in southern China, four
hours south of Shanghai.

Though once the domain of Asian car makers and niche players here in the U.S., several major
auto makers from Detroit will be bringing an unprecedented number of fuel-efficient models to
the show, including Cadillac, Chevy, Ford, Saturn and General Motors.

"GM has cut back all their truck production and put all their energy into the green cars and
they're bringing them all to the show," Hammond said.

Despite the green-ness of this year's auto show, Hammond said there will be plenty of "eye
candy" at Qwest.

"If you want the high end, there'll be plenty to see," he said. "Muscle cars, exotics, luxury
cars. The Nissan GT-R is the one that the young guys like the most. It surpassed a Porsche in
terms of performance and even gave a Ferrari a run for its money."

The GT-R is just one of several "super cars" that will be on hand at the show. Others include
the Porsche GT2 (there are only 200 in existence), the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and the
Chevy ZR1 Corvette, which goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds.

Then there's a neat little play toy for the high-end consumer called the ACE Cycle Car - a
three-wheel vehicle armed with a Harley Davidson motor.

"We're going to show some real beauties all done up in chrome at the show," Pete Larson,
owner of Seattle-based Liberty Motors, the ACE's maker, said. "Even though it's designed like
a motorcycle, it's far more like a race car. The top speed is 120 miles per hour, depending
on which engine design you go with and what your level of bravery or stupidity is. They're
made to order."

The ACE Cycle Car also costs about $50,000.

The Seattle Auto Show runs Nov. 5 through 9 at Qwest Field Event Center. Admission is $11 for
adults; children 12 and under are admitted free with a paid adult. Too much to see? Come
another day free by registering with photo ID at West Hall/Occidental St. or Qwest Event
Center Field parking garage entrances. 

 Journal Newspapers link:  http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm

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