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> Shades of Green
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Shades of Green

Opens mid August 2008

As petrol prices continue to rise and responsible citizens, companies and nations are becoming more conscious of their environmental footprints, car design and technology is changing.

Shades of green at the National Motor Museum will introduce the history and some possible directions for powered transport.

Many people may be surprised to learn that some of the very first vehicles on the roads in the early days of motoring were powered by steam or electricity, such as the Shearer Steam Carriage and the Milburn electric, both on display at the National Motor Museum. Petrol-powered cars came to dominate in the first decade of the twentieth century, significantly aided by Henry Ford’s development of production line manufacture, which meant that he was able to build and therefore sell cars more cheaply.

Over the last century there have been a number of occasions on which Australians have been faced with needing to explore alternative fuels. The exhibition will feature a Second World War gas producer used to power a vehicle, and a steam car that was developed by Peter Pellandine for the State Government of South Australia during the petrol crisis of the 1970s.

Today car manufacturers are spending many millions of dollars to create cleaner, greener vehicles. As well as engines which are simply more efficient and offer better fuel economy, petrol-electric hybrids and diesel powered engines are now common in the car market. Experimental vehicles such as the cars that participate in the Solar Car Challenge are also changing our expectations of what the future might hold.

Greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, carbon footprints and peak oil are now common concerns for many Australians, and are thus firmly on the political agenda. It is clear that motoring is going to undergo significant change in the years ahead. Many alternatives to petrol already exist – some renewable, some not.

At a personal level, driving choices can also make a difference to the environment – some cars are more fuel efficient than others, and driving styles (such as rapid acceleration in traffic and tailgating (which requires unnecessary braking and acceleration) can also increase an individual’s fuel consumption. And sometimes we use our cars when alternative transport is available.

Shades of green aims to explore the issue of motorised transport and the environment and introduce some of the possible future directions. It will be marketed to schools as a way of introducing the topic and to the public as a chance to familiarise themselves with the issues that are so frequently in the media.

This exhibition is proudly supported by