Grist Feed: Big Auto

Cash-for-Clunkers returns from the dead ... until Labor Day

Russ Walker — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:12:26 -0700

by Russ Walker
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

The Senate celebrated the imminent arrival of the annual August recess by confirming Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination and ponying up an additional $2 billion for the highly successful (though dubiously green) cash-for-clunkers program. The vote was 60 to 37, with Democrats almost unanimously supporting the extension and Republicans nearly united in opposition. President Obama has said he will sign the bill ASAP.

That $2 billion, various news reports agree, will keep the program running through Labor Day. "Administration officials have said the extension will subsidize the sale of another 500,000 new vehicles. Consumers get breaks of up to $4,500 to help pay for vehicles with better mileage standards," the Detroit News says.

A couple of interesting nuggets:

The New York Times relays that transportation expert Lee Schipper concluded "the average fuel economy of cars bought in the first six months of this year was slightly higher than the average bought under the 'cash for clunkers' program in July." The same Detroit News piece quoted above says two senators -- Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) -- "introduced legislation Thursday to reward consumers who buy fuel-efficient vehicles through a tax break or rebate. The Efficient Vehicle Leadership Act of 2009 would give tax breaks or rebates to consumers amounting to up to thousands of dollars, the senators said. Meanwhile, manufacturers would be charged a 'fuel performance fee' to pay for the program." Autoblog Green says cash-for-clunkers "is boosting the number of new clean diesel cars on the road, says Biodiesel Magazine. Apparently, BMW's trick is working. Another side benefit: C4C is improving the overall safety of the vehicles on the road because a lot of rides with full-powered airbags and/or a tendency be involved in single-vehicle rollover accidents have now been disabled." Marketplace Radio says clunkers are flooding junkyards. Interested in taking advantage of the program? Check out cars.gov for the details. And the Sierra Club has a nifty tool to help you figure out if you can trade in your clunker.
Lastly, the Senate vote is good news for these fine folks polled by The Onion about the clunker program's sudden bankruptcy... . And HuffPo can stop wondering whether voters can trade in "clunker Republicans" under the program.

General Motors to start repaying government loans

George Voinovich (R-Ohio) [UPDATED]

Screwing up environment not so great for economy, studies find

David Roberts — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:34:16 -0700

by David Roberts
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Let's take a look at a few studies that have come out recently and see if we can find a common thread.

A West Virginia University researcher found that "coal mining costs Appalachians five times more in early deaths as the industry provides to the region in jobs, taxes and other economic benefits," reports the Charleston Gazette.
The Mountain Association for Community Economic Development found that "the coal industry takes $115 million more from Kentucky's state government annually in services and programs than it contributes in taxes," reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.
A recent peer-reviewed paper in the journal Science found that areas of Brazil that cut down their rainforests to sell the wood or plant crops "do see a short-term boost in per-capita income, life expectancy, and literacy rates," reports The Vine. "But once the trees are gone, those gains disappear, leaving deforested municipalities just as poor as those that preserved their forests." The International Fund for Animal Welfare found that "in 2008 whale-watching generated $2.1 billion of tourism revenue worldwide ... more than double the estimated $one billion generated by the industry in 1998," reports Agence France-Presse. Said Australia Environment Minister Peter Garrett, "Whales are worth much more alive than dead." The University of Michigan found that "the Detroit Three automakers can become more profitable and slow the growth of their Japanese rivals if they simply meet tougher new government-mandated fuel economy standards," reports the Detroit Free Press.

These are disparate areas of study and disparate conclusions. One thing they all have in common: an environment-degrading practice often defended as necessary to economic health is revealed, upon closer inspection, to be uneconomic. I wonder how many other allegedly economic environment-degrading practices would also be revealed uneconomic if examined with a fresh eye?

It's almost like the economy is embedded in an environment, and degrading the latter ultimately degrades the former.

Prologue to Copenhagen

Making buildings more efficient: It helps to understand human behavior

‘Clunkers’ debunkers attack Democrats’ auto trade-in plan

Jonathan Hiskes — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:58:32 -0700

by Jonathan Hiskes
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Should the clunkers plan be junked?Support “cash for clunkers” as an auto-industry bailout if you must, but don’t call it green.

So say the Wall Street Journal, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and U.K. environmentalist George Monbiot, all critical of the environmental benefits of the proposal President Barack Obama endorsed yesterday.

Obama and Democratic House lawmakers reached compromise on a plan that would pay drivers $3,500 to $4,500 to trade in gas-guzzling older vehicles for more fuel-efficient new ones. The idea has been tossed about as a way to give automakers a boost and retire the nation’s dirtiest vehicles.

But the House plan, which could end up in the larger Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, sets almost laughably low standards.

A House Energy and Commerce Committee fact sheet [PDF] reveals just how low. The plan would require a new passenger car to get only 22 miles per gallon (according to EPA “window sticker” estimates) and be at least 4 mpg more efficient than the car it’s replacing. For light trucks, the threshold drops to 18 mpg and a 2 mpg improvement. For large light-duty trucks, it’s 15 mpg and a 1 mpg improvement.

“Toothless,” the WSJ’s Keith Johnson calls the plan:

The problem with all this, as Duke’s Bill Chameides pointed out last month, is that making a new car produces, on average, about 6.7 tons of carbon dioxide. By his calculations, it would take at least five years to “pay off” the environmental impact of building the new car with a 22-mile-per-gallon purchase. That SUV might be even worse -- the estimated payback time is almost 20 years.

ACEEE, an efficiency advocacy group, preferred the ‘clunkers’ plan put forth earlier this year: “Unlike the scrappage bill introduced in January, which aims to accelerate the modernization of the U.S. fleet to a more fuel-efficient one, the program just announced aims primarily to clear Detroit’s unsold inventory from the storage lots,” it said in a press release.

“I can’t see using taxpayer dollars to sell a Hummer H3T,” ACEEE Transportation Program Director Therese Langer said in the release. “We would welcome incentives to retire gas guzzlers and encourage the purchase of efficient vehicles, but the proposal just isn’t there yet.”

The Guardian’s George Monbiot tore apart a similar U.K. proposal and a German cash-for-clunkers program already in effect:

A paper published in 2000 by the journal Transportation Research comes to even grimmer conclusions: that replacing old cars with new ones increases carbon pollution. Because between 15% and 20% of a car's emissions are produced during its manufacture, the optimal age for a car, the paper says, is 19 years. (The average age of the UK's fleet is 4.9 years). If the paper's assumptions hold (they may be out of date now), it would make more sense for the government to pay us to keep our old bangers on the road.

Wonkette's analysis is less heavy on the numbers: “Congress Will Buy Your Crappy ‘Ride’ For $4,500!”

And more debunkery, for good measure, from Common Tragedies.

Ask Umbra on ditching dirty things

Obama headed to Copenhagen, sets the bar for success

U.K. subsidizes EVs, Amory Lovins talks trucks, and more green auto news

Sara Barz — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:05:59 -0700

by Sara Barz
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Photo by Sara Barz.

Last Thursday, the UK government announced it would offer British citizens subsidies of 2,000-5,000 pounds ($2,900-7,500) for electric vehicles. To facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles, the government will set aside 20 million pounds ($30 million) to invest in electric-vehicle charging stations in city centers and high-traffic regions.

This is welcome news for many enviros and electric car manufacturers who lobbied hard to include electric-vehicle subsidies in the U.K.'s green recovery plan. But from the perspective of U.S.-U.K. relations, doesn't it seem a little like an anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better gesture? President Obama announces a plug-in hybrid tax credit of $2,500-7,500, and two months later the Brits see us and up the ante with EVs. Maybe Gordon Brown is still miffed about the DVDs...

In other green auto news ...

• The EPA found that greenhouse-gas emissions pose a danger to the public and need to be regulated. Considering the automotive sector accounts for 20 percent of GHGs, the struggling industry will almost certainly be targeted.

Dave McCurdy, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said in a release that the automakers are willing to work with Obama, but he added one dig with respect to their distaste of multiple emissions standards: "We are hopeful that the Obama Administration can find ways to bridge state and federal concerns, and move all stakeholders towards an aggressive, national, fuel economy/greenhouse gas emissions program administered by the federal government."

• What do you get when you combine a Vespa with an old VW bus? A Thai motorized hauling tricycle that will soon be carrying goods and people around the Americaninterstate system. Tuk Tuk North America just announced it has received DOT and EPA approval to bring its 55-mpg, three-wheeled scooter-van (scootan? vanooter?) to the U.S.

• When it comes to clean vehicle R&D, the Obama administration has little patience with the Chevrolet Volt, but it is more than willing to throw $41.9 million at hydrogen R&D.

• Chrysler's restructuring plan indicates that the Dodge Circuit will be the company's first EV vehicle in production.

• Amory Lovins' research organization, the Rocky Mountain Institute, held a three-day design confab on improving the efficiency of long-haul trucking. Increases in transportation-sector GHGs can largely be attributed to the trucking industry, but there are many technological and regulatory obstacles -- 14, according to RMI -- that get in the way of improving efficiency.

• According to the New York Times style section, we should all go (like the) Dutch, and accessorize for the Great Downturn with a "glossy black Dutch bicycle."

General Motors to start repaying government loans

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Chrysler opens with a Fiat at the New York Auto Show

Sara Barz — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:11:39 -0700

by Sara Barz
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Photo courtesy of the New York International Auto Show.

How will Chrysler save itself (and maybe even the auto industry)? With a tiny blue coupe tricked out with italian-leather seats, of course.

If there was any doubt about how large a role Fiat will play in Chrysler's restructuring, Chrysler vice chairman Jim Press silenced those questions by driving on stage in a cobalt blue Fiat 500 at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday. The point of Chrysler's press conference was supposedly to announce the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, but Press took a few minutes to make his bravissimo arrival and wax poetic about the virtues of Fiat.

"Saving the environment and gas money never looked so good ... and don't you think this would be the perfect car to get around New York City?" said Press, playing to the New York audience. He also said that President Barack Obama was "happy" with Fiat's role in Chrysler's restructuring plan, which might be a small exaggeration of the Obama administration's actual attitude toward the American automakers.

Press made no indication of when the Fiat 500 would be available in the United States, but he hinted that it might be included in Chrysler's plan to launch eight new vehicles in the next 18 months.

Depending on the engine and transmission, the Fiat 500 gets between 37 and 56 mpg in Europe.

General Motors to start repaying government loans

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Obama considering ‘cash-for-clunkers’ program

Russ Walker — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:09:17 -0700

by Russ Walker
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

President Obama discusses the latest efforts to aide the U.S. auto industry. (White House photo)

Did President Obama endorse a "cash for clunkers" program today? Maybe.

In detailing the government's latest efforts to shore up General Motors and the U.S. auto industry, Obama said this:

Finally, several members of Congress have proposed an even more ambitious incentive program to increase car sales while modernizing our auto fleet. Such fleet modernization programs, which provide a generous credit to consumers who turn in old, less fuel efficient cars and purchase cleaner cars have been successful in boosting auto sales in a number of European countries. I want to work with Congress to identify parts of the Recovery Act that could be trimmed to fund such a program, and make it retroactive starting today.

Pulling older-model cars off America's freeways could do a lot to improve air quality, as studies have shown that a large portion of air pollution can be attributed to these cars.

Ask Umbra on ditching dirty things

Obama administration officials grateful for early spring

Let’s call a gas tax the ‘All-American Energy-Independence Assessment’

Robert Stavins — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:10:19 -0700

by Robert Stavins
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Whether they are called "revenue enhancements" or "user charges," fear of the political consequences of taxes restricts debate on energy and environmental policy options in Washington. In a March 7 post on "green jobs," in which I argued that it is not always best to try to address two challenges with a single policy instrument, I also noted that in some cases such dual-purpose policy instruments can be a good idea, and I gave gasoline taxes as an example.

Although a serious recession is clearly not the time to expect political receptivity to such a proposal, the time will come -- we all hope very soon -- when the economy turns around, employment rises, and a sustained period of economic growth ensues. When that happens, serious consideration should be given to increases in the federal tax on gasoline.

A gas tax increase -- coupled with an offsetting reduction in other taxes, such as the Social Security tax on wages -- could make most American households better off, while reducing oil imports, local pollution, urban congestion, road accidents, and global climate change. This revenue-neutral tax reform would exemplify the market-based approaches to environmental protection and resource management I examined in previous posts.

Such a change need not constitute a new tax, but a reform of existing ones. It is well known -- both from economic theory and numerous empirical studies -- that taxes tend to reduce the extent to which people undertake the taxed activity. In the United States, most tax revenues are raised by levies on labor and investment; the resulting reduction in these fundamentally desirable activities is viewed as an unfortunate but unavoidable side-effect of the need to raise revenue for government operations. Would it not make more sense to raise the revenue we need by taxing undesirable activities, instead of desirable ones?

Combustion of gasoline in motor vehicles produces local air pollution as well as carbon dioxide that contributes to global climate change, increases imports of oil, and exacerbates urban highway congestion. Can anyone really claim that -- given a choice between discouraging work and discouraging gasoline consumption -- it is better to discourage work?

According to the Department of Energy, a 50-cent gas tax increase could eventually reduce gasoline consumption by 10 to 15 percent, reduce oil imports by perhaps 500 thousand barrels per day, and generate about $40 billion per year in revenue.

Furthermore, this approach would be far more effective than ongoing proposals to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which affect only new vehicles and lead to serious safety problems by encouraging auto makers to produce lighter vehicles. Also, remember that a major effect of CAFE standards has been to accelerate the shift from cars to SUVs and light trucks (so that overall fuel efficiency of new vehicles sold is no better than it was a decade ago, despite the great strides that have taken place in fuel efficiency technologies). As my Harvard colleague Martin Feldstein pointed out in The Wall Street Journal in 2006, the conventional approach "does nothing to encourage individuals to drive less, to use their cars more efficiently, or to shift sooner to new and more fuel efficient [and cleaner] vehicles." A more enlightened approach -- a market-based approach -- would reward consumers who economize on gasoline use. And that is what a revenue-neutral gas tax is all about.

The revenue from the gas tax could be transferred to the Social Security Trust Fund and credited to current workers. If $40 billion per year from new gas tax revenues were transferred to Social Security, the payroll tax -- the employee contribution to Social Security -- could be cut by perhaps a third: a worker with annual wages of $30,000 would take home an additional $750 per year! The extra income would more than offset the cost of the gas tax, unless the worker drove over 35,000 miles per year in a car getting 25 miles or less per gallon. Rebating the gas tax in this way addresses the greatest concern about higher gas taxes -- that they can hit hardest those workers who drive to their jobs. Further, a tax of this magnitude could be phased in gradually, perhaps no more than 10 cents per year over 5 years, allowing individuals and firms to adjust their consuming and producing behavior.

Proposals for gasoline tax increases in recent sessions of Congress would have dedicated the revenue to public spending (for transportation and other programs). A key difference is that the proposal I have outlined here is for a revenue-neutral change in which the gas tax revenue would be returned to Americans through reduced payroll taxes. To adopt some of the language I developed in my previous posts, such a change can be both efficient and equitable, and -- for those reasons -- perhaps even politically feasible.

Of course, such a scheme is not a panacea for U.S. energy and environmental problems. But it would make a significant contribution if enacted. On the other hand, political fear of the T-word in Washington may mean that it is never discussed seriously in public, let alone adopted. Most fear of taxes is due to politicians' anxieties about asking their constituents to pay more. But an increase in the Federal gas tax, rebated through reduced payroll taxes would not cost most Americans any more and would have significant long-term benefits for the country. Still, fear of the T-word looms large; maybe it should be called an "All-American Ecologically Sound, Fully Recyclable, Anti-Terror, Energy-Independence Assessment."

Top 25 reasons to give a damn about climate change

Cash for Clunkers brought us ... more clunkers!

Ford starts marketing campaign to emphasize fuel economy in new hybrid

Sara Barz — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:30:02 -0700

by Sara Barz
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Capturing the massive social benefits of fuel efficiency requires regulation

General Motors to start repaying government loans

Are the Big Three just ghostwriting WaPo editorials now?

David Roberts — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:25:57 -0800

by David Roberts
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Related Links:

On ‘climategate’

Capturing the massive social benefits of fuel efficiency requires regulation

General Motors to start repaying government loans

Sue me harder

David Roberts — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:28:00 -0800

by David Roberts
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Would You Like Carbon Insurance With That Latte?

LaHood on the auto industry and Obama’s clean-car moves

Kate Sheppard — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:15:15 -0800

by Kate Sheppard
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Approaching Copenhagen with a Portfolio of Domestic Commitments

Obama headed to Copenhagen, sets the bar for success

How will EPA move forward on revisiting Calif. waiver?

Kate Sheppard — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:04:10 -0800

by Kate Sheppard
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Related Links:

December 19—the day after COP15

E.U. pushes China further after pledge to slow carbon intensity

Approaching Copenhagen with a Portfolio of Domestic Commitments

Will state emission standards kill the U.S. car industry?

Peter B. Meyer — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:33:11 -0800

by Peter B. Meyer
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Obama administration officials grateful for early spring

Capturing the massive social benefits of fuel efficiency requires regulation

Toyota becomes world’s biggest automaker, Prius goes solar, and other green auto news

Sara Barz — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:12:30 -0800

by Sara Barz
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Would You Like Carbon Insurance With That Latte?

With Fiat’s technology, Chrysler will build more small and midsize cars

Joseph Romm — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:36:20 -0800

by Joseph Romm
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

General Motors to start repaying government loans

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Automakers parade EVs in Detroit, Ontario Betters itself, and more green auto news

Sara Barz — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:51:42 -0800

by Sara Barz
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Would You Like Carbon Insurance With That Latte?

Modernizing the auto fleet will benefit the earth and the economy

Dave McCurdy — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:41:50 -0800

by Dave McCurdy
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Top 25 reasons to give a damn about climate change

General Motors to start repaying government loans

A photo tour of the green concepts and cars from North American Int’l Auto Show

Sara Barz — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:34:48 -0800

by Sara Barz
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Would You Like Carbon Insurance With That Latte?

China’s BYD to bring plug-in hybrid, electric cars to U.S. in 2011

Grist — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:56:43 -0800

by Grist
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

DETROIT, Michigan, Jan. 12, 2009 (AFP)—China’s BYD Auto announced plans Monday to enter the U.S. market in 2011 with a range of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

It would likely be the first Chinese automaker to enter the highly-competitive U.S. market and beat many established automakers in offering an extended-range electric vehicle to U.S. consumers.

General Motors, Chrysler, and Nissan are expected to be the first to introduce electric cars in small quantities to the United States in 2010.

Toyota expects to introduce a plug-in hybrid at the end of this year and a two-seater electric car in 2012.

Ford plans to introduce a small electric car in 2011 and a plug-in hybrid in 2012.

Chairman Wang Chua-Fu said BYD will soon start developing a sales and distribution network in the United States.

“Our goal is to introduce BYD electric vehicles here in 2011 and set up our manufacturing facilities in U.S. when it is appropriate,” Chua-Fu said as he unveiled the vehicles at the Detroit auto show.

The lineup will include the F3DM, the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid sedan, which went on sale in China last year, and the battery-powered e6, a mid-size five-passenger crossover vehicle with a range of up to 250 miles on a single charge.

Chua-Fu was joined by David Sokol, chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, the energy wing of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which last fall acquired a 10 percent stake in BYD Auto’s parent company, BYD Company Ltd.

“For the electric-vehicle market to mature, the underlying charging infrastructure and technologies must mature at least simultaneously, if not first,” Sokol said.

“We are working with BYD on developing charging technologies and infrastructure that would help promote plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles.”

Copenhagen climate summit (part 1): the expectations

Wash. Times: “China vows to dramatically slow emissions growth.”

Rocker Neil Young says America can take lead in efficient autos

Grist — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:18:00 -0800

by Grist
Reprinted by permission from Grist. For more environmental news, humor, and inspiration, visit www.grist.org.

Dial up “Live Rust” on your MP3 player while you kick back to read Neil Young’s auto call to action over at Huffington Post. Young has gotten plenty of mileage lately off of his involvement with Team LincVolt, a 1959 Lincoln Continental outfitted to run on electricity. But if you’ve missed out on Young’s non-musical endeavor, here’s a taste:

If the Big three cannot agree to make only cars that are fuel efficient enough to get at least 50 MPG by 2011, 75 MPG by 2013 and 100 MPG by 2015, then they should go into bankruptcy and fend for themselves like all the other businesses that are having trouble. The truth is this can be done and innovators know the way to do it.

Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth”

Would You Like Carbon Insurance With That Latte?