10 Jan 05
One of the TV show's producers, Havana Marking, told us about the kind of mind-sets she witnessed each day whilst filming in the States: "I don't think the six-car example is that unusual. That family was well off, but not rich. America has a way of making you think everyone is very rich - their houses are enormous and they have lots of cars, but compared to Britain, everything like that is very cheap. Most average Joes will have two or three cars per family. Cars are way cheaper there. More importantly, the car is part of the American Dream, and people will get into huge debt to have one (or two). There is a whole vocabulary such as 'weekend vehicle' that I had never heard here in the UK."
Havana says that she was in contact with members of ELF (elves?), but that they'd refused to be filmed for the project. Quite a few now sit in jail for their offences, dubbed domestic terrorists by the US government. But despite their clearly criminal acts, they still remained Havana's "heroes" for the change that they were trying to bring about.
But it's not as if Yanks don't take the impact of big gas-guzzlers seriously. "Many people said if there was a cleaner way to drive they would. As soon as the car manufacturers make affordable clean cars, the people will buy them," says Marking. Fact is, there wouldn't be such a problem with car over-use in America if the public transport system hadn't been disassembled many years ago, save in a city such as New York. Indeed, if British transport systems weren't so good (no jokes, please), we'd be facing many of the same choices (or lack thereof) that Americans face, even if having a car isn't as deeply woven into the 'British Dream'.
Environment on C4
Green Technology Today
4Car Writes: Our Choices
4Car Guide to Fuel Types
4Car Guide to Hydrogen Fuel Cells
4Car Guide to Hybrids
4Car Guide to Biofuels
