On E85 Ethanol, Hybrids, and My Lack of Concentration
Okay, I started out actually reading the New York Times today, but my eye was caught by an ad by Chevy, preaching "Chevy. Gas-friendly to gas-free." It had some encouragingly green graphics regarding fuel efficiency, E85 ethanol, hybrids, and fuel cells, so I decided to go to their website to see what the hype was.
First, let me just say that I'm glad someone is finally taking a look at fuel efficiency. Many of the people in my community are driving huge, gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles, and I've never understood why they felt it necessary. I don't know, maybe they like the space the cars offer or all the accessories that come with it. Of course, when I see a Cadillac Escalade driving by with only one person in it, the space argument starts to lose foundation; our family Mazda Protege offers plenty of room with one person in it.
Anyway, for the longest time, it struck me that people weren't trying that hard to look for other, better fuel sources, or even just fuel-conserving cars. However, I am officially offering Chevy a round of applause for stepping toward this new, uncertain field. I do still see one glaring problem, one that Chevy will have to conquer if they want to remain in business and spread the eco-friendliness across the country.
Americans have been clinging tightly to their F150's for quite some time, which brings up the question, will the American consumer be willing to try more eco-friendly vehicles? Unfortunately, I don't think they will. Chevy is producing a 2008 Tahoe Hybrid, but the main deterrent for some buyers may be that most hybrids are rather pricey. True, I do not know of the price of this hybrid because the website didn't really hint toward anything, and hopefully this Tahoe will be cheaper than many of the other hybrids out. If it is not, though, than it probably won't be as successful as Chevy is probably hoping.
But indeed, I think this is a good effort and a great first step toward fuel efficiency in vehicles.
I know I'm late to this
I know I'm late to this party, but I wanted to throw in my two cents' worth.
I just finished reading a book by Dr. Robert Zubrin titled Energy Victory that deals with alternate fuel sources and weaning American off foreign oil altogether. It's an interesting read and you only have to know a little about science to get through it. And, yes, one of the things he brings up is ethanol and another similar fuel source, methanol. Zubrin's position is that either one of these could be utilized here with only some minor tweaking of existing technology and a desire to do it. If you get a chance, check it out.
"If history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly." --- Ronald Reagan
hold the kudos
Clafabio -
Thanks for bringing up a topic that's been dangling around in my head for a while. And thanks - for the sake of fun dialogue - for having such a different take on it from me.
You ask if Americans will take to Chevy's new green push. Okay, I haven't done the research on Chevy, but if their "greenness" has anything to do with just about every other corporation's eco-friendly PR, I don't think they're in the vanguard of Americans - I think, rather, they're just trying to catch up with them.
Today everyone's green - and corporations, ever sensitive to their public image, can't afford anymore to turn an anti-green eye. They've got to play lipservice to their enviromental cred.
But it's not just good PR car manufacturers are after - it's also economics. You doubt that Americans will buy more fuel efficient cars, but with gas over $3 a gallon, they already are.
Even so, the auto industry is pretty much in the caboose of the whole world when it comes to fuel efficiency. Congress is struggling to pass an energy bill this month; it's got lots of controversial measures, but the one part that has almost universal support would hike average gas mileage standards to 35mpg by 2020 (today they're at 25mpg). The auto industry is the only group that's not happy - nonetheless, they're throwing their towel in on this battle, knowing it's a loser.
I don't blame US car makers for being the last to join the green bandwagon. They're hurting - one reason is that it's hard for them to compete with foreign manufacturers that don't have to pay a gazillion a year for their worker's healthcare (one figure bandied about is that every American car takes $1,500 more to make to pay for health insurance). I haven't checked this out, but my guess is that the one place American car makers had the competitive edge was in making oversized gas guzzlers - or at least that's probably the reason they fought higher mileage standards.
In the end, yeah, it's great that Chevy's going green - even if they got there kicking and screaming.
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