ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future provides readers a compelling overview of the global race to build the car of the future, as pioneers in Japan, India, China and the U.S. tackle the challenge of creating vehicles that will run on cleaner energy sources.

Hardcover, 352pp

Grand Central Publishing, October 2007

ISBN-13: 9780446580045

Barnes & Noble online price: $22.39

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SYNOPSIS

ZOOM takes readers inside the global race to build the car of the future, as pioneers in Japan, India, China and the United States tackle the challenge of creating automobiles that will run on cleaner energy sources. As the authors succinctly write: “Oil is the problem. Cars are the solution.” We are living in the midst of a “Great Awakening” in which environmentalists, entrepreneurs and political leaders are forming new alliances to end our addiction to oil and create new technologies. The days of Big Oil and Big Auto are numbered, according to the authors, who show how we are in the midst of a major transformation from carbon-based energy sources to new fuels and technologies.

ZOOM traces the history of the linked industries of oil and automobiles, the “industry of industries,” and how the two have shaped domestic capitalism and the international landscape, creating both progress and peril. They explain how Toyota vanquished American competitors to become the world’s largest automobile manufacturer and, more importantly, a leader in hybrid cars using electric power. They take us into the boardrooms of oil executives and show how some are boldly exploring new energy sources while others deny the dangers posed by oil and risk extinction. We meet the Thomas Edison of the 21st century, a legendary inventor whose revolutionary work is already having a positive impact on the environment and the economy.

With wide-ranging analysis and a keen view of the key players in the intersecting worlds of energy and automobiles, authors Iain Carson and Vijay Vaitheeswaran tell the story of what may be the most important challenge facing the industrial world: How to make the transition from the Age of Petroleum to a cleaner and better future.

KIRKUS REVIEWS
A stirring call to arms urging Americans to demand that the government act now to meet the challenges of global warming and to tackle the country’s addiction to oil. Carson, former industry editor of The Economist, and Vaitheeswaran, an engineer who for 10 years reported on environmental and energy issues for that magazine, take to task the automakers of Detroit and Big Oil, dubbing them “dinosaurs” facing extinction unless they change their thinking soon. The authors’ closeup look at the workings of the auto industry is sharp and pulls no punches. They credit Toyota with taking the lead in the race to develop the successor to the internal-combustion engine, calling the Prius a stepping stone to the car of the future. The chapters on oil trace the story of America’s dependence on Mideast oil from FDR’s pact with Ibn Saud of Saudia Arabia in World War II to the terror-threatened market of the present day, and they consider the serious problems now facing the Western oil giants, especially the restricted access to reserves as competition from national oil companies increases.

But there’s also good news, note the authors. Employing religious terminology, they envision a “Great Awakening” under way in the form of a new awareness of the need for energy reform and some specific actions being taken to achieve it. They offer engrossing stories about a variety of technology innovators and entrepreneurs with fresh ideas about clean energy, including the use of hydrogen to power cars that have clean fuel cells instead of dirty gasoline engines. The authors conclude with a manifesto stating five principles for a smart energy policy, including the necessity of individual action and a grassroots rebellion that will prompt action from the country’s leaders. A timely, authoritative book written in a punchy, easy-to-read style.