From the People Who Brought You Teen Angst

There have been over 620 entries from kids ages 16 to 21.  These are safety videos and the top ten are now open to your vote.  So check out the videos for yourself and take a look at what these young creators have produced.

Prius – No Free Lunch

And you should read this article on the environmental cost of the Prius.

Toyota Prius vs. BMW M3

The guys at Top Gear decided to see just which car was more economical.  So the task was to drive the Prius for ten laps around their track as fast as it would go and follow behind in an M3.  The Prius lost in terms of MPG, but the point to be made is that your driving style has as much to do with your fuel economy as the car itself.

 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Miles Per Gallon – Have We Got It Wrong?

 Carbon Footprint

There is a drive now, from many sources, to have the US achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  This is a laudable goal that, on the face of it, seems to be achievable.

We owe it to ourselves, though, to understand just what it means to reduce carbon emissions by 80%.

In 2006 the US emitted 5.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. That is about 20 tons a year for each of us.  That means that a US goal of an 80% reduction would put us close to 1 billion tons by 2050.  If the Census Bureau has figured things right our population should be about 420 million which means that per capita emissions would have to fall to about 2.5 tons per person.

The last time the US had carbon emissions of a billion metric tons was probably around 1910 when the population was 92 million people.  So even back then carbon emissions were about 10 tons per capita.

So how do you get to 2.5 tons per person?  The only nations that emit at that low a rate are so poor that you wouldn’t want to live there.  Somalia?  Belize?  Would you want to live in poverty without adequate sanitation and clean water for the sake of carbon emissions? 

Looking at the industrialized nations that have the lowest carbon emissions is an eye opener.  France and Switzerland both generate almost all their electricity from non-fossil fuels yet they still emit 6.5 metric tons per person.

Our cars and truck consume about 180 billion gallons of fuel every year.  This would have to drop to 31 billion gallons in order to meet the 2050 goal.  Even if everyone only drove Toyota Priuses we would still exceed the goal by 40%.

Much of the information I used above was gleaned from the 2008 Index of Leading Environmental Indicators which is available online.

 

Gallons per Mile

The old joke about measuring a Hummer’s fuel consumption in gallons per mile instead of miles per gallon may just be the better approach to establishing a vehicle’s fuel efficiency.  How can that be?  A couple of professors from Duke started posing questions to each other during their daily commute in a hybrid car.

For instance:  Which saves more money for the car owners – changing from a car that gets 10 mpg to one that gets 20 mpg or changing from a car that get 25 mpg to one that gets 50 mpg?

Doing the actual math provides a surprising answer.  In the first case the consumption goes from 10 gallons per 100 miles to 5 which save the cost of 5 gallons per 100 miles driven while the second case goes from using 4 gallons per 100 miles to 2 or a reduction of only 2 gallons per 100 miles.

Watch the video and see what they mean:

What This Country Needs… (No, I’m not dead)

Back in November of 2006 I wrote an entry on what I thought this country needed was a good mini-pickup truck that had a diesel engine.  I also wrote to Ralph Gilles of Chrysler Corporation with the same idea.  He was good enough to honor my email with a thoughtful reply where he articulated the realities of the costs of diesel engines given the ULEV requirements on them.  Diesel engine also require more costly fuel injectors more costly fuel pumps, more costly and larger catalytic converters, etc.  All these could result in another $2000 in costs that would have to be passed on to the buyer.

All true, but with today’s cost of fuel ballooning with no end in sight (including diesel fuel) the era of “Joe Everyday” driving a full sized pickup truck is gone.  Just ask Ford how many F150’s (once Ford’s biggest seller) they expect to produce and sell this year.  The full size pickup truck is still a necessity for the true business truck or someone who can still afford to haul a boat, but more and more a mini pickup truck makes much more sense.

It allows for the utilitarian capabilities that a regular pickup truck provides, but in a package that can weigh far less.  Weight, as we all know, has a direct effect on gas mileage.  Combine a mini pickup truck with a diesel engine and you could have a real winner.  Imagine being able to park your pickup truck in your garage and get 30% better mileage than a gasoline version.

As for the cost of developing an engine for the mini pickup a company like Chrysler could always partner with Isuzu.  Mitsubishi did so when they decided to enter the Thailand market in 1957.  GM is looking to sell off Isuzu at this point anyway, so their small diesel engines could be the most valuable asset they have – perfect for a company like Chrysler, given their own troubles.

So I’ll say it again – Americans are a ripe market for mini pickup trucks with diesel power.  Make them in 2WD and AWD and keep them as light as regulations will allow.  Don’t load them up with luxury that belongs in a $40K+ car.  Let the aftermarket customizer do that if customers want.  People fill find them excellent commute vehicles as well as perfect for weekend runs to the home supply store or hardware store.