Zoom: The Global Race to fuel the Car of the future by Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaaitheeswaran is an insight into the Car and Oil Industry. Although this book was written in 2007, several developments in the past year have made this book seem more relevant and increased the importance of the issue many fold.
But that does not make this a must read or a great book. In fact, reading this book has made me become vary of the dangers of spreading false or misleading information.
"Oil is the problem. Cars are the solution." That's what the back cover says. Do not expect a true scientific study and analysis of the energy crisis here or an insightful overview of alternate energy cars.
It is pretty clear from the start that the authors dislike the oil barons of the world deeply. They describe the immense wealth of the Arabs, the share values of the companies and supposedly unethical practices of OPEC etc. Oil is running out. Fast they say. The companies are in trouble and have dug far enough down the ground. And then they mention that Oil was running out fast in the 70s too and experts claimed that it will hardly last the century. And three decades later, we are in the same situation. Just like fusion technology, oil depletion is always only 30 years away. They show criticism against new technologies which could develop fuel from natural gas, coal and tar fields. And show no respect for these oil companies which are funding and pursuing these technologies with enthusiasm. The book mentions that oil prices are rising and will never reach the levels during 90's. They were right in 2008 when oil prices touched $150 a barrel and showed no sign of going down. But only until they went below $40 in December. Economists should by now realize that predictions about the world markets will always be invariably wrong. The book discusses the men that led the Oil Giants in the past years. It shows their commitment and hard work to the cause of their companies. And then demeans it all with the failures. The book spends more time discussing the people than the ideas, clearly being mediocre.
When it comes to the Cars part of the book, this book has failed. It spends a lot of time demonizing Detroit and the Big Three, Ford, GM and Chrysler. They say that these 3 are down and out. And it seems all right too today considering the big loans deft out by governments to save the auto mobile industry. The book glorifies the Asian companies like Honda and is full of immense praise of Toyota. It shows the misguided path of cars running on oil followed by the American Giants. What's wrong with the claims, is the simple fact that Toyota and Honda today are in as much soup as the rest of the companies. The book pinpoints the weaknesses in the history of the Car giants but in Toyota and Honda's case, puts down failures as their stepping stones. It claims that these companies are great because of their involvement into alternative energy. The only car on alternate energy they have discussed with significant detail is the Toyota Prius. They have also mentioned the Tata Nano. The book claims a lot of future in ethanol fuels and cites the example of Brazil. What it fails to mention is how the sugar cane for ethanol is grown in huge plantations, destroying the rainforest. Sugar cane is an intensive crop and very quickly depletes the soil of nutrients. It is destroying the food economy of nations. Is that the answer?
But that does not make this a must read or a great book. In fact, reading this book has made me become vary of the dangers of spreading false or misleading information.
"Oil is the problem. Cars are the solution." That's what the back cover says. Do not expect a true scientific study and analysis of the energy crisis here or an insightful overview of alternate energy cars.
It is pretty clear from the start that the authors dislike the oil barons of the world deeply. They describe the immense wealth of the Arabs, the share values of the companies and supposedly unethical practices of OPEC etc. Oil is running out. Fast they say. The companies are in trouble and have dug far enough down the ground. And then they mention that Oil was running out fast in the 70s too and experts claimed that it will hardly last the century. And three decades later, we are in the same situation. Just like fusion technology, oil depletion is always only 30 years away. They show criticism against new technologies which could develop fuel from natural gas, coal and tar fields. And show no respect for these oil companies which are funding and pursuing these technologies with enthusiasm. The book mentions that oil prices are rising and will never reach the levels during 90's. They were right in 2008 when oil prices touched $150 a barrel and showed no sign of going down. But only until they went below $40 in December. Economists should by now realize that predictions about the world markets will always be invariably wrong. The book discusses the men that led the Oil Giants in the past years. It shows their commitment and hard work to the cause of their companies. And then demeans it all with the failures. The book spends more time discussing the people than the ideas, clearly being mediocre.
When it comes to the Cars part of the book, this book has failed. It spends a lot of time demonizing Detroit and the Big Three, Ford, GM and Chrysler. They say that these 3 are down and out. And it seems all right too today considering the big loans deft out by governments to save the auto mobile industry. The book glorifies the Asian companies like Honda and is full of immense praise of Toyota. It shows the misguided path of cars running on oil followed by the American Giants. What's wrong with the claims, is the simple fact that Toyota and Honda today are in as much soup as the rest of the companies. The book pinpoints the weaknesses in the history of the Car giants but in Toyota and Honda's case, puts down failures as their stepping stones. It claims that these companies are great because of their involvement into alternative energy. The only car on alternate energy they have discussed with significant detail is the Toyota Prius. They have also mentioned the Tata Nano. The book claims a lot of future in ethanol fuels and cites the example of Brazil. What it fails to mention is how the sugar cane for ethanol is grown in huge plantations, destroying the rainforest. Sugar cane is an intensive crop and very quickly depletes the soil of nutrients. It is destroying the food economy of nations. Is that the answer?
They praise China for intensifying technology development and creating strict controls in their road traffic. Forgetting that the Beijing Olympics were almost called off by athletes complaining about the air pollution. Forgetting their blasphemous economisation of technology by compromising safety. Remember the lead in children's toys?
Their writing style is not suitable to discuss a topic of such great value. Throughout the book they describe in great detail palatial homes, conference halls and board rooms. Maybe it is to show off their own high contacts and visits or maybe it is just their correspondent style. The use of clichés, original and not so original, has been overused obscenely. "Can Dinosaurs Dance", "Big Oil" and many more burst out ever so often in each line. They show great faith in the Green Revolutionaries creating the new cars while slightly mentioning of the failed prototypes built. But count out the models under research by the actual Auto mobile Industrialists.
In the end, this book has not lived up to its name. By carelessly tossing out terms like Global Warming, Oil Economy, Pollution, alternative fuels etc.. the authors are trying to lose their credibility. Books like these tend to gather a lot of popularity on their government/industry bashing approach. But in the hands of the aware reader, it is bound to reveal its true nature.
Written in January 2009 for NERD Magazine. With such a critical attitude, it was bound not to be published
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