SAN FRANCISCO — This year Debbie Yates came from her home in San Rafael to San Francisco’s 50th annual auto show because she heard there were more green cars than ever before.
“The good part of me wants a Prius,” Yates said, standing by a silver pine mica Toyota Prius hybrid that cost $27,734. “But the bad part of me wants a Porsche Cayman.”
SAN FRANCISCO — This year Debbie Yates came from her home in San Rafael to San Francisco’s 50th annual auto show because she heard there were more green cars than ever before.
“The good part of me wants a Prius,” Yates said, standing by a silver pine mica Toyota Prius hybrid that cost $27,734. “But the bad part of me wants a Porsche Cayman.”
But if Yates wants to go green, she will have to pay a little more. Chevrolet’s 2008 hybrid 4-Door Tahoe sports utility vehicle, fully-loaded, will run her about $53,000, $14,000 more than the low-end gasoline-run LS model with no electric component.
The Prius, Tahoe and Cayman 2008 models gleamed under the fluorescent lights of San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center Wednesday during this year’s international auto show sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle and Autotrader.com. Nearly 800 cars from 40 manufacturers will be on display here until December 2.
The cars shown range from motorcycles to scooters to road, sports and vintage cars.
This year, many are hybrid, electric, or run on a fuel other than gasoline.
“I didn’t count the number,” said Kevin Diamond, the auto show’s director. “But I can tell you we have the largest selection of alternate fuel vehicles we’ve ever had.”
The alternate fuel vehicles on display included General Motors’ 2008 line of cars which run on e85 ethanol fuel, and a set of new hybrid cars manufactured by Toyota, Honda and Ford.
An electric motor scooter called the Vectrix and the prototype for an electric motorcycle-sports car cross called the Tango were also at the show. The American Automobile Association conducted displays of how different fuels, ranging from vegetable oil to gasoline, make cars run.
More customers are interested in hybrids than ever before, Jhoanna Huntoon, a product specialist for Chevrolet, said. The Chevrolet Malibu and Tahoe that were on display at the show have electric motors that kick in when drivers brake or when their speed goes below 25 miles per hour.
Walking around in the sports car room, Sheila Hulse and Inga Brooks of Martinez said they were both interested in greener cars.
“The hybrids are why we’re here,” said Hulse, who had her eye on the 2008 Ford Escape, Toyota Prius and GMC Yukon. “Get a roof with solar panels and plug it in.”
Brooks agreed, but she said she wanted some style with her hybrid. “I’m probably going to walk out with one if the dealer gives me a bonus. I’m hoping for leather.”
For others, green cars were not the only draw at the show Wednesday.
Dorothy Birdline, a retired registered nurse from Pittsburgh who doesn’t drive, comes to the show every year because she loves sports cars. “I’m here just to see the exotic cars: BMWs, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Jaguars and Rolls Royces.”
Rene Garcia, 21, an automotive tech student at Skyline College, was there for the Corvettes. “I’ve been waiting for one for years,” he said from behind the wheel of an electric blue Chevrolet Corvette Z06 that goes up to 200 miles per hour.
Although he can’t afford the $71,000, 2008 model, he sat in the one on the floor anyway. “I’ll probably end up in a Trailblazer,” he said, shaking his head.
Johnny Lang, 20, a mechanics student at City College, gazed at a carbon-fiber body electric Tango. He thought the car, a cross between a motorcycle and a sports car which fits two 6′ 6″ passengers and goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in four seconds, was “pretty cool.”
“George Clooney has our first commuter car,” said the company’s Vice President, Brian Woodbury, who added that since the car was five inches narrower than a Honda, it could maneuver traffic better. “He’s trying to promote stuff that’s good for the environment.”
The Tango costs $108,000, Woodbury said.
Standing in front of a vintage 1939 Chevrolet, Luther Quezada, who is visiting his son-in-law from Oregon, can’t believe people spend so much money on their cars.
Still, gazing at the line of old Chevy’s on the second floor of Muscone South, Quezada thought they were beautiful. “It takes me back to when I was a kid.”
