Green Machines

Green machines

UP FRONT

David Edwards

IF YOU’RE A BIG FAN OF THE INTERNAL-combustion engine, the words land like a Riddick Bowe body punch. The author proclaims that the automobile’s “cumulative impact on the global environment is posing a mortal threat to the security of every nation that is more deadly than that of any military enemy we are ever again likely to confront.”

The statement was penned not by some posy-sniffing eco-weenie padlocked to a giant Sequoia, but by none other than Albert Gore Jr., recently sworn in as the 45th vice president of these United States, the man who is but a massive coronary away from being the most powerful individual in the world. The passage comes from Gore’s blustery, 407-page environmentalist tract. Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit, a national best-seller.

Just how dangerous is Al Gore to motorcycling, now that he and President Bill Clinton have taken office? Jim Bensberg, the American Motorcyclist Association’s Washington, D.C. representative, says the situation may not be all that dire.

“The key thing to remember about this administration is that there is an apparent rift between the Clinton folks and the Gore folks on what is practical and do-able. We are cautiously optimistic that the pragmatism shown by Clinton will soften the often-extreme views that Gore has expressed in his speeches and in his book,” Bensberg says.

Clinton’s appointment of Federico Pena as Secretary of Transportation is viewed as being positive. Bensberg calls Pena an “open-minded, intelligent leader who doesn't always go with the conventional wisdom.” Bensberg is more concerned about who gets named as head of NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, worrying that a “safetycrat du jour” or a “recycled Joan Claybrook-type” could do motorcycling some harm. Claybrook, you'll remember, proposed a back-wheelsteering, roll-cage-equipped motorcycle during her tenure as head of NHTSA in the late 1970s.

Bensberg believes that the best defense is a good offense when it comes to motorcycling, the environment and the federal government.

“It's up to the industry to be very visible during this administration, making people aware that motorcycles are a positive transportation alternative, that they’re great recreational, family vehicles and that they represent a large and growing sector of the economy,” he says.

An acquaintance of mine who works in the motorcycle industry and makes far too much sense ever to be taken seriously, agrees, and thinks that the manufacturers are missing a golden opportunity to make points. Certainly, it wouldn't do us any harm at this time to crank up the PR machinery and play up motorcycles’ good points vis-à-vis the environment. Remind administrators and the general public how efficient motorcycles are as single-occupant vehicles, how little space they take up on roadways and in parking lots. One of the buzzwords of the Nineties is “infrastructure.” Let’s point out that motorcycles are much kinder to our nation’s crumbling bridges, tunnels and highways than are cars and trucks.

In most states, it’s still illegal for riders to split lanes in traffic jams, a move that saves both time and gas. Ironically, some states don’t even allow motorcycles in HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) rush-hour lanes, or include motorcycles as part of organized commute-to-work plans. Surely, some effective lobbying is in order here.

We can do better-to borrow a favorite Clinton phrase. What about a “Green” motorcycle, highly fuel efficient, made of 100 percent recyclable materials? This would be a brand-new design, not some warmed-over econobike, with a high-tech engine easily capable of 50 miles per gallon. It would have at least a 10-gallon fuel capacity, giving it a 500-mile range, which would make it extremely attractive should we go through another oilembargo crisis like we had in the 1970s-remember the frustrating oddeven fill-up days?

Aluminum is highly recyclable, and current motorcycles use a lot of it-for frames, engine parts, wheels, etc.-but that fact isn't accentuated enough. Our new Green machine should use recycled aluminum for its hard parts and recycled plastic for its bodywork. Give it enough storage space for an attaché case or a good haul of rations from the local health-food shop. Price it to sell, even if that means losing some money on each unit, then put on the mother of all public-relations blitzes to get the word out.

Is a Green bike really necessary? Or, as the AMA’s Bensberg hopes, will the president put a bit of a muzzle on his second-in-command? Well, as a senator. Gore co-sponsored legislation that would have raised CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards for auto makers from the current 27.5 mpg to 40 mpg by the year 2000. Clinton originally supported such a hike, despite warnings from Detroit that it would hurt U.S. companies and cost perhaps 40,000 jobs.

Then Michigan became a swing state in the election. Clinton, from a state whose main industry, as Ross Perot so eloquently put it, is “chicken plucking,” had a lot to learn about the auto industry. But to the new president’s credit, he did more in Michigan and the Mid-West than just woo voters: He sought out experts and asked questions. Clinton soon backed off his earlier statements on fuel-economy standards. Not much mention was made of his running mate’s book.

And 1 just found out that President Clinton owns a 1966 Ford Mustang. There are few automobiles more politically incorrect these days than a good ’60s Detroit pony car. Good for him. Maybe good for us.

All the same, keep an eye out.