Dear Editor,
It was with amazement that I read your article or rather infomercial about Motorworld’s car party for the new car brand GAC Motor (Daily Herald, January 19, 2024).
Anyone who was stuck in traffic during the last 3 months may have asked themselves the question: do we really need more cars or another brand of car on the island?.
The short answer is: Yes, just as much as we need another casino or supermarket.
I am sure that GAC manufactures good cars; probably just as good as the other 20 or so brands that the local dealership attempts to sell us daily.
My reservation is with the short-sighted strategic choice of Motorworld to flog the umpteenth internal combustion engine car while it is exceedingly clear that this technology does not contribute to a healthier environment due to the pollutants, contribution to global warming and extra dependency on fossil fuels.
We in St Maarten stand to pay a high price for the effects of global warming but yet we do so little to mitigate it.
Electric vehicles or EVs are a much better choice for our small island.
It is about time that we embrace this new technology and stop falling victim for car makers (and dealerships) who keep pushing the old polluting technology on us for profit.
Mind you, I am totally not against profit.
In fact, profit and I are good friends!!
All I am saying is let’s make a conscious choice for the technology that gives us a 90% efficiency and less pollution instead of the old 37% efficiency technology with lots of pollution and global warming.
Car manufacturers and their dealership friends should facilitate the change and not block the progress like they are now doing by dumping surplus inventory on St. Maarten.
With GAC’s bold slogan “GO AND CHANGE” both manufacturer and dealership should “walk the talk”.
Steve Duzanson
