Autoblog

The federal government has gotten more interested in greenhouse gases, and as a result there has been a lot of tough talk concerning raised CAFE numbers. Much less time has been devoted to reducing CO2, which is the single largest contributor to global warming. Now that the spotlight is shining squarely on emissions, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel has thrown out the 2008-2011 CAFE rating for light trucks. The 2008-2011 changes represented the largest jump in fuel economy in the history of CAFE, with MPG going from 22.2 to 24, but with the growing problem of greenhouse gases, that obviously didn't go far enough for the courts.

While better fuel economy and less harmful emissions coming from light trucks would be a welcome sight to all, changing the rules after 2008 trucks are already on the streets sounds a bit ridiculous. It isn't like automakers can easily change course for 2011, since much of the product plans are already set in stone. It has been 19 months since the new CAFE standards were introduced, which makes this seem more like an effort to get automakers to chase their own tails.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Although there is a lot of debate about what type of green technology will be the best for our environment and our economy into the future, plug-in hybrids appear to be growing in popularity. One of the concerns with this type of alternative energy vehicle is what will happen to our power grid when all of these vehicles plug in. Can the current infrastructure handle the greater load? Well, the newest AIADA newsletter tells us that we should be OK up to about 180 million plug-in hybrids. That's a heck of a lot of hybrids. That figure was part of a report by the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

With unstable and high gas prices, electricity becomes even more attractive, so understanding what we might have to do to handle an influx of plug-ins is important. Electricity is cheaper than gasoline, for sure, but it is not a zero emission solution. The extra load on powerplants simply means that emissions are transferred from the vehicle to the plant. So there is still some work to do on that front as well. But the good news is that making that change can have a positive impact on CO2 levels as well. The study included a finding that if 84 percent of our 220 million vehicles were running on electricity, our carbon dioxide emissions could drop by 5 percent. And CO2 is what many environmentalists are looking at when they discuss the problem of greenhouse gases and global warming.

In a separate but related news item, The Wall Street Journal reported that these plug-ins will probably cost an extra $6,000 to $10,000 more than our current crop of non-hybrid vehicles, even when mass produced. Batteries are a big part of that premium, so advances in that technology may make the differences smaller in coming years, but as most people already realize, hybrids aren't likely to pay for themselves for at least several years of ownership. Critics often say that hybrids will never pay for themselves on reduced fuel use alone, which is usually true. What most people fail to factor into that equation, however, is that consumers often value the "greenness" of their cars above dollars and cents. The feel-good factor is a big part of the ownership experience. Just like most people don't recycle their cans, bottles and papers for the money, as much as for the notion that they are doing something positive for the planet and cleaning up after themselves.

[Sources: EDTA via The Auto Channel]

Long at the front of environmental efforts, and often ridiculed because of it, California filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against six major automakers today. The allegation is that these automakers have caused millions of dollars worth of spending by the state due to increased greenhouse gases resulting from running their automobiles. State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California is the first to seek damages based on vehicle emissions. Named in the suit are Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Chrysler Motors Corp., and the North American branches of Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

California's regulations to limit greenhouse gases from vehicles through its California Air Resources Board (CARB) have often caused friction between the state and automakers. California, with an estimated 26 million vehicles on the road, often sets automotive and environmental trends because it accounts for 10% of national auto sales. Automakers frequently incorporate the more restrictive California requirements into the whole fleet rather than producing different versions of the same vehicle for California and other states that adopt its policies.

[Sources: Reuters, CARB]