American automakers stuck with unsold gas-guzzlers 5

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1. 

   Timetrvlr Posted 9:06 am
   01 Jan 2007

   There is a solution, is Detroit ready?Amory Lovins: "A modern car, after 120 years of devoted engineering effort since  Gottlieb Daimler built the first gasoline-powered vehicle, uses less than 1 percent of its fuel to move the driver. How does that happen?
   Well, only an eighth of the fuel energy reaches the wheels. The rest of it is lost in the engine, drivetrain, and accessories, or wasted while the car is idling. Of the one-eighth that reaches the wheels, over half heats the tires on the road or the air that the car pushes aside. So only 6 percent of the original fuel energy accelerates the car. But remember, about 95 percent of the mass being accelerated is the car--not the driver. Hence, less than 1 percent of the fuel energy moves the driver. This is not very gratifying.
   Well, the solution is equally inherent in the basic physics I just described. Three-quarters of the fuel usage is caused by the car's weight. Every unit of energy you save at the wheels by making the car a lot lighter will save an additional seven units of fuel that you don't need to waste getting it to the wheels.
   So you can get this roughly eightfold leverage (three- to fourfold in the case of a hybrid) from the wheels back to the fuel tank by starting with the physics of the car, making it lighter and with lower drag. And indeed you can make the car radically lighter. We've figured out a cost-effective way to do that so you can end up with a 66-mile-per-gallon uncompromised SUV that has half the normal weight, has a third the normal fuel use, is safer, and repays the extra cost that comes with being a hybrid in less than two years."
   
   "Being an environmentalist is not about sacrifice," says Roots founder Michael Budman. "It's about change."

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2. 

   Steven T Posted 11:24 am
   01 Jan 2007

   Greenwashing and blue skySure, Toyota and Honda are doing a better job than the Not So Big 2.5 in "greening" their vehicle lineup.  However, remember that Toyota in particular is talking out of both sides of its mouth.  While it has been a leader in hybrids, it has also invested heavily in full-sized pickups and SUVs that aren't any more fuel efficient than Detroit's offerings.  Meanwhile, you can no longer buy a subcompact pickup because Toyota -- like all of the imports -- have supersized their trucks.
   Toyota is following in the footsteps of Nissan, who was the first of the imports to introduce a truck that goes head to head with Detroit's.  Even Honda is inching closer to the industry norm with the introduction of a mid-sized pickup (and is reportedly developing a V10 engine for its Acura luxury brand).
   These market shifts by the imports have important political consequences.  Once upon a time the imports squarely challenged Detroit's contention that tougher fuel-economy standards 1) could not be met, and/or 2) would end civilization as we know it.  Don't expect the imports to act as an aggressive political counter-weight anymore.  
   Regarding Amory Lovins, he makes good points about the potential for increasing the efficiency of automotive design.  However, his proposals can have a blue sky quality.  For example, his most radical fuel economy increases are based upon using high-tech materials that have their own trade offs and side effects.
   My sense is that technology alone will not save us.  Good, old common sense will go a long way to increasing automotive fuel economy.  One simple thing you can do:  Next time you are in a Toyota dealer, complain to the salesperson about the lack of small pickups.

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3. 

   jpfortier Posted 1:19 am
   02 Jan 2007

   Just how climate conscious is Toyota?We finally took the plunge, and purchased a 2007 Prius a few days ago, largely because of its environmental profile.
   Imagine our dismay to find out today that our climate-conscious choice will probably be negatively counterbalanced by the introduction of the Toyota Tundra:
   http://autos.aol.com/article/general/v2/_a/most-anticipat...
   
   
   
   Julia Fortier

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4. 

   Erik Hoffner Posted 3:05 am
   02 Jan 2007

   Of course Toyota can do betterNo doubt, Toyota is playing both games at once. My post is not meant to imply that it is an angelic company, but that they're showing Detroit an example of a new way to make cars, one that would work better for the bottom line, and keep a few hundred thousand guzzlers off the lot.
   
   http://www.orionsociety.org/ogn
   
   Toll free: 888/909-6568
   
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   Great Barrington, MA 01230

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5. 

   swozniak Posted 4:40 am
   02 Jan 2007

   I have an idea.And, if you've the means, feel free to capitalize on it.
   Why don't we push the automakers to work the price of carbon offsets into the purchase/lease of a new vehicle?
   
   Shawn
   
   http://thegoodthebadandthegreen.com

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