My Dichotomy: Automobiles, Al Gore and the Environment

Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize--an honor he'll split with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Al Gore, whose dedication to environmental issues had earned him the nickname “Ozone Man” — “Ozone,” for short from President George H.W. Bush during the 1992 presidential campaign, is the controversial and committed icon to reduce carbon emissions.

He strives to create an environmental Camelot as the international knight in shining white amour; protector of the environment for all.

I struggle. The US is the car culture capital of the world and I am smack dab in the middle of it. How do I balance my dichotomy of car lover vs. protecting the environment and ease my conscience of loving the car culture and making a living in the automotive industry? US manufactures are laboring to design vehicles with 30+ MPG or better on all makes and models, yet many US car buyers are still in love with SUV's and V8 combustion engine speed and power under the hood.

How can I make a positive impact? With education. Yes, that's it, I can educate car buyers on the many choices of vehicles to improve the quality of our environment and keep them up to speed on new developments. It's all about personal choice and we have many affordable GREEN choices in today's car buying market.

Our US car industry is moving forward at a much faster pace with the introduction of many new Hybrid technologies, (Yes, you can buy a Hybrid SUV), Hydrogen Fuel cell, Natural Gas Fleet vehicles and many other solutions for environmentally cleaner vehicles in 2008 and the automobile industry at large is in a very hot race to bring to market electric vehicles that we will all actually want to drive and meet our lifestyle needs.

What does Al Gore drive?

Here's what Al Gore told CNN's Larry King last year:

"I drive a hybrid. Tipper and I got a Lexus hybrid. And we have a couple of Priuses in the family with our children. And I encourage people to make environmentally conscious choices because we all have to solve this climate crisis".

Apparently he traded this in for a new 2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid in order to show that he's going a bit greener and in support of US car manufactures as they strive to meet the demand for more fuel efficient vehicles.

I finally did get 'guilted' out and traded in my SUV for a slightly more fuel efficient vehicle two years ago. But is it enough? I still feel guilty. I'll be shopping for a new car after the first of the year and am looking at all the environmentally friendly choices. Will environmental guilt, styling , lifestyle choices or price win?

Congratulations Al Gore on the Noble Peace Prize and giving me yet another wake up call on vehicle choices and so much more.

Your comments on this post would be appreciated.

Jody DeVere
President
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com

Photo Flicker Alex Decarvalho

Submitted by Jody DeVere -- Ask Patty (view blog

) on Mon, 10/15/2007 - 4:44am

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The Struggle with Cars

Jody, we suffered over this at my house. See, my 85 Tercel got 40mpg and when it was abundantly clear that poor Theo needed more work than he was worth, we started shopping for a car. Whew, what a headache. We wanted fuel economy and affordability and there was so little available to us. We also wanted something that worked for our lifestyle - we're big road trip campers. We were hosed. The Escape hybrid cost much more and got lower mileage than the car we ended up with.

We're hamstrung by auto dealers in this. We don't demand higher CAFE standards from the legislature and we don't demand the newest technology from the manufacturers. You shouldn't feel guilty, you should be angry that we're not given the choices. Why are there so many more diesel options in Europe? Why are there so many more econoboxes in Japan? Why can't we have those choices? Why doesn't Detroit make a car for you (and me) that fills the niche we like - sporty, room for our gear and to crash in if we're scared of bears, and economical and green? I don't believe it's because they CAN'T.

FYI, we bought the Vibe. And it still chaps my hide that the car I drive, one a full generation plus newer than my Tercel, does not match the old car's mileage.

Nerd's Eye View

Submitted by Pam on Mon, 10/15/2007 - 05:46

Hybrid and Fuel Ecomomy Mindful Vehicle
Choices

Like the 2008 Pontiac Vibe you will see many new choices for greener cars announced so stay tuned!

Here is a list of 2007 Hybrid Choices now:

* Ford Escape Hybrid

* 2WD 36 mpg (city)/31 mpg (highway)
* 4WD 32 mpg (city)/29 mpg (highway)

* Lexus RX 400h - (AWD) 27 mpg (city)/25 mpg (highway)
* Mazda Tribute Hybrid - Twin of Ford Escape Hybrid
* Saturn "Green Line" VUE Hybrid - (2WD) 27 mpg (city)/32 mpg (highway)
* Mercury Mariner Hybrid - (4WD) 32 mpg (city)/29 mpg (highway)
* Toyota Highlander Hybrid

* 2WD 33 mpg (city)/28 mpg (highway)
* 4WD 31 mpg (city)/27 mpg (highway)

* Honda Accord Hybrid- 25 mpg (city)/34 mpg (highway)
* Honda Civic Hybrid- 49 mpg (city)/51 mpg (highway)
* Lexus GS 450h- 25 mpg (city)/28 mpg (highway)
* Toyota Camry Hybrid- 40 mpg (city)/38 mpg (highway)
* Toyota Prius- 48 mpg (city)/54 mpg (highway)
* Saturn "Green Line" Aura Hybrid- 28 mpg (city)/35 mpg (highway)
* Nissan Altima HEV - 42 mpg (city)/36 mpg (highway)

* Chevy Silverado Classic 15 Hybrid

* 2WD 18 mpg (city)/21 mpg (highway)
* 4WD 17 mpg (city)/19 mpg (highway)

* GMC Sierra Classic 15 Hybrid

* 2WD 18 mpg (city)/21 mpg (highway)
* 4WD 17 mpg (city)/19 mpg (highway)

23 GM non Hybrid Vehicles get 30 MPG see the list here:

http://askpatty.typepad.com/ask_patty_/2007/07/gm-takes-the-ca.html

Go here to download and print the 2008 fuel economy guide:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/feg2000.htm

Jody DeVere
President
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com

Submitted by Jody DeVere -- Ask Patty on Mon, 10/15/2007 - 09:13

Those Numbers Aren't Good Enough

Sorry, Detroit (and the rest of you) , that's not good enough. No, scratch that, I'm NOT sorry. The Camry Hybrid is publishing the SAME mileage that my 1984 Tercel got? What the hell? The Accord Hybrid is publishing lower mileage than my regular internal combustion engine?

No, that's not good enough by half. The Prius and the Civic Hybrid continue to be the front runners, but they don't fill the niche for those seeking an economy car, they're still too expensive. This might look like forward motion compared to the fuel hogging SUVs of the last few years, but in longer historical context, they're barely recovered the standards of the Japanese econobox of the 80s.

Not good enough. Go back and try again, car makers.

Nerd's Eye View

Submitted by Pam on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 06:24

The Struggle with Cars

I too, have been considering this dilemma and reading articles about the plug-in cars yet to come.
Is it possible to send a stronger message to auto manufacturers that we are unsatisfied with their sloth-like progress toward fuel efficient cars, let alone alternatively fueled cars?

Many people consider purchasing a new vehicle and are disappointed when comparing fuel economy standards. Car manufacturers make their highest profit when selling the new year's model. What if, instead of settling for a less than satisfactory new car, we stopped buying new cars and searched until we found the most fuel efficient used car for right now. Notifying the car dealerships, the manufacturers and the media, if we have to settle, we're going to settle for the best, fuel efficient used car we can find and we will wait to make that high profit purchase until you, car manufacturer, provide a better product for us to purchase.

My used Toyota Matrix gets 29 miles to the gallon in the City, more than the Saturn VUE which has the world's most uncomfortable back seat ever! I reduce my trips, car pool when I can and daydream of going 0 to 60 in my electric Tesla.

Cara
http://greentallahassee.blogspot.com

Submitted by cara mia on Mon, 10/15/2007 - 14:42

Who is Greener...well that depends...

Check out this post on AskPatty that compares a Hybrid driver to an SUV driver:

So in this post, we will compare the vehicle usage patterns of two drivers – one a hybrid owner (Driver A), and one an SUV owner (Driver B). At first glance, A appears more environmental because she drives a hybrid, but let’s verify whether this is true with some numbers based on these two drivers’ actual life styles.

http://askpatty.com/page.php?ID=1272&t=Is_a_Hybrid_or_an_SUV_greener?_We......

Jody DeVere
President
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com

Submitted by Jody DeVere -- Ask Patty on Tue, 10/16/2007 - 07:55