Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran

This book feels very well researched. It provides a very interesting perspective of the symbiotic relationship between Oil Companies and Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, and offers perspectives on how this nexus may be broken.

Unfortunately the book is somewhat biased. First, it is very US-centric: apart from an analysis of how Toyota came to be number one there are only fleeting references to non-US players. Whilst a defect this is a forgivable one given the size and centrality of the US market.

Second, the authors appear to be in love with certain technological solutions. Hydrogen is repeatedly pushed as the "fuel of the future". This despite the fact that Hydrogen has been "only ten years away" for a long time now. Carbon Sequestration is also spoken of as if it was a proven and reliable technology when, in fact, it is still very much at the development stage.

Unfortunately these stances left me feeling that the authors were trying to have their cake and eat it too: lets git rid of that dependence on nasty foreign oil, oh but lets also keep our business model of transportation powered by some sort of chemical fuel.… (más)

Zoom is very much a story. It is a story about the rise and fall of the American auto industry. It is a story of the rise and decline of the American oil industry.

It's also a story of competition and the success of forces outside the U.S., particularly Toyota, and government owned oil companies such as ARAMCO.

Most importantly it is a story, a cautionary tale about arrogance and hubris amid a pending climate catastrophe, when innovation is needed to create the fuels and cars of tomorrow. It is a warning to Americans that the rest of the world won't wait to solve these problems, because they're already working on it.

Zoom is a great read. One need not be an engineer to make sense of it. The narrative moves right along.… (más)