Zoom's subtitle is "The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future." The book is a brief overview of the issues related to the impending oil crisis. Much of the book is spent documenting the history of the development of the car industry. Vait starts by setting up a comparison between the gas-guzzling Detroit steel companies like GM with the Japanese Toyota. He argues that in order for these stale American companies to match the successes of the foreign imports, they will need to adapt a more practical business model that focuses on improving fuel economy through hybrid and electric cars.
He dabbles in United States foreign policy. He brings up some of the controversial moves that the US government has made in securing its rights to the oil reserves in the Middle East, and how those moves will make us weaker politically as oil becomes scarce. He naturally sees renewable energy as the all-purpose solution to breaking the OPEC monopoly.
The last section of the book outlines his method for making the transition from Detroit steel to electric cars (By the way, if you haven't heard of the Tesla Roadster, go look it up. I know what I want for Christmas...). He believes that a moderate approach is best, balanced between government funding and private investment. He also advocates a general oil tax that will increase gradually over the next 20 years, which will wean the US off of Middle East oil.
Zoom seemed a little superficial at times, but that's to be expected from an overview text of this kind. I enjoyed it. Check it out.
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Very cool! I like where the Tesla is going with efficiency. It's a little pricey right now, though- $100K. Guess I'll have to wait a while before I can afford to be efficient.
Well, I suppose you could say that eventually the car will pay for its self. It a way it's basically free...
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