As an environmentalist, I cherish the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay and all their little tributaries. Ann and I try to reuse and recycle things around the house. We plant native trees and bushes, to replace the exotic invasive jungle that covered our tiny Arlington homestead when we moved in 10 years ago. We composted grandma.
So the annual greenest car ratings of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) are my kind of thing. If you’re in the market, I urge you to check it. http://www.greenercars.org/
I phoned Therese Langer, ACEEE Transportation Director, when the annual ratings came out last week. She told me, “Each year, since 1998, we have rated the ‘greenest’ vehicles sold in the US (using a combination of tailpipe pollution, fuel consumption, and the greenhouse gases that cause global warming).”
The 13 “greenest” vehicles (listed below) include a wide range of cars from domestic and foreign makers, including Ford and Chevy: a natural gas vehicle, an all-electric, several high-mileage conventional gasoline vehicle, and a hybrid. Further down the list is the first “extended-range electric vehicle,” the Chevrolet Volt. http://www.greenercars.org/highlights_greenest.htm
They also rate the “meanest” (those whose outrageous fuel consumption or emissions put them beyond the pale of polite society). You know, your Bugattis and Bentleys, and hyper-extravagant sport utility vehicles, whose drivers are obviously trying to compensate for deep feelings of inferiority.
“But wait!” I opined. “Some of the top-rated cars only a nut would drive. Those two-seater Smart Fortwos from Mercedes, which gets 41 mpg on the highway, but is surely too tiny for safety out there. I’m also dubious about the natural gas fueled Honda Civic at the top of the list, since natural gas has lower energy content than gasoline and most people don’t have fueling stations for it in their homes.”
Langer said she agreed that they were not that realistic. “For that reason, ACEEE also identifies a selection of the most efficient gasoline-powered models in each vehicle class (from full size pickups to ultra-compacts). We call it Greener Choices 2011. We thought it would be more useful for most people.” A selection of gasoline vehicles that score well can be found at http://www.greenercars.org/highlights.htm
Also available at the site is The Best Vehicles by Class (from two seaters to heavy SUVs), which is quite exhaustive.
As for today’s politically-correct electric vehicles (such as the Leaf and Volt), Langer warned, their performance can be deceptive. “Vehicles running on electricity emit nothing from the tailpipe, but their ‘upstream’ emissions [the emissions of the power plants that generate the power] can be substantial, depending on where they’re charged. As U.S. power generation becomes cleaner, these vehicles’ scores will rise.” [For now most of America gets its power from coal, natural gas, or other fossil fuel. Those plants generate much pollution. That will take years to change, so your electric car will continue to spew that phantom pollution until the nation’s entire power system is replaced with cleaner stuff.]
Make and Model: Honda Civic GX | Specs: 1.8 liter 4 cylinder, automatic transmission [fueled with natural gas] |
Nissan Leaf | Electric (Li-ion bat.) |
Smart Fortwo Cabriolet / Smart Fortwo Coupe | 1.0 liter, 3 cylinder, manual |
Toyota Prius | 1.8 liter 4 cylinder, auto [constant velocity transmission] |
Honda Civic Hybrid | 1.3 liter 4 cylinder auto |
Honda Insight | 1.3 liter 4 cylinder, auto [constant velocity transmission] |
Ford Fiesta SFE | 1.6 liter 4 cylinder, auto |
Chevrolet Cruze Eco | 1.4 liter 4 cylinder, manual |
Hyundai Elantra | 1.8 liter 4 cylinder, manual |
Mini Cooper | 1.6 liter 4 cylinder, manual |
Toyota Yaris | 1.5 liter 4 cylinder, manual |
Mazda 2 | 1.5 liter 4 cylinder, manual |
Chevrolet Volt | 1.0 liter 4 cylinder, auto, with auxiliary electric drive (Li-ion batt.) |
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