Travelling Light
There is a new smart urban hero in town - one that will save you money and turn you into a responsible motorist overnight.
And this new eco-warrior of the road has green credentials that will become the envy of other vehicles, turning heads while getting its environmentally-friendly motoring message across to a wide audience.
So what are we talking about? The smart lpg, of course - a car for the future that you can drive today. It is small, but perfectly formed, stylish, fun and cheap to run, but most importantly, it is pioneering the way for LPG (liquid petroleum gas), a low-carbon, kinder-to-the-environment fuel.
LPG has been around for a long time - the LPG industry has been producing systems for vehicles since the 1960s - but since the government stopped offering grants for LPG conversions in July 2005, LPG has become less-desirable to the budget-conscious consumer. But the people behind smart lpg are hoping to change all that.
smart lpg's managing director Rory MacParland said: "We need to develop a much stronger lobbying presence to demonstrate that LPG offers a genuine option for financially sensible, low-carbon motoring"
The move towards an alternative fuel was an obvious progression for the smart car, and there are few options available including electricity or hydrogen.
But LPG is easier to use than other alternatives and wih 50 per cent savings in fuel costs, the choice of LPG was an easy one to make. By using LPG, smartlpg achieves 15 per cent lower CO2 emissions, with no perceptible loss of performance.
Rory MacParland said: "No other fuel provides the benefits of LPG without sacrifice, and if you could give a customer something that gives them the same performance that is better for society and costs 50 per cent less, how could they say no?"
The smart lpg has proved popular and was named the country's best environmental car for 2005 and 2006 by The Independent, while last year, The Guardian named it the best city car behind the G-Wiz quadricycle.
So what is it about this little car that's getting so many people excited? As well as the 15 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions, the car also boasts an 80 per cent reduction in NOx emissions, has virtually no methane or particulates, is 50 per cent cheaper to run than petrol or diesel and is 100 per cent congestion charge free. The car offers all this without any perceptible loss of power compared to a petrol-driven smart car,
And the good news is that if you do have a petrol smart car, you can convert it to LPG using the Prins VSI LPG fuel system.
The conversions are undertaken by Prins Alternatech, the exclusive distributor for the internationally respected Prins VSI fuel system and the process takes just five days.
smart lpg has been given a big push recently with the launch of a media campaign in London, involving slogans including: "save the planet. Make a killing" and "Sod the polar bears. Get it for the cheap gas".
The company is hoping the message will get across to the car-buying public that you can be environmentally-friendly and still have a stylish, fun vehicle.
EcoLiving Magazine, April 2008
