When Will American Automakers Wake Up!!!
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently released its list of the environmentally "greenest" and "meanest" cars, using a scale of Zero to 100 based upon emission levels and mileage. Of course, being "The American Council", we are talking about what is going on here in the good old USA. What car companies are looking out for Americans by providing low emission vehicles that pollute less and by providing high gas mileage vehicles so that we spend less on non-renewable fossil fuels for which we have to kiss up to sheiks and tyrants around the globe.
Well, the results are in and NOT A SINGLE AMERICAN CAR IS IN THE TOP FIVE!! How can this be that our own captains of industry don't care about polluting their neighbors or having to send our boys and girls oversees to defend the oil fields for Exxon!
Here are the greenest machines: #1: The Honda Civic GX. This is a car that does not make its driver look like a goober (sorry Prius), runs on natural gas and gets up to 39 miles per gallon! #2: The goofy looking but very efficient Prius at almost 60 mpg on regular gas. #3: the Honda Civic Hybrid topping out at 51 mpg. #4: The Nissan Altima Hybrid at 42 mpg and finally the Toyota Taris at 40 mpg.
All of these vehicles are Japanese. In spite of the fact that for the past 30 years small American companies have been touting hybrid energy, regenerative braking and electric drive, none of the not so big three have gotten off their duffs and delivered a car that would help our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce our need to buy foreign-made vehicles to save money and save our lungs, rather than support American workers and companies.
It just drives me nuts to see Rick Wagoner of GM up there bragging about the Volt CONCEPT car when they still have virtually no hybrids in their fleets. The flash bulbs are going off and the reporters are fawning all over him like he is some messiah when in fact he and his engineers are years behind their contemporaries at Toyota, Honda and Nissan. And you wonder why GM, Ford and Chrysler are losing billions!!! They all saw this coming and did next to nothing about it!
They are still trying to sell SUVs that get 13 to 18 miles per gallon, Hummers and pickups...and aside from the Ford Escape Hybrid that gets 31 miles highway, you won't find a hybrid in any of their fleets.
I guess that I just don't understand why the Japanese can figure out what Americans want and need and yet our "fellow Americans" either don't have a clue or just don't give a damn.
Well, the results are in and NOT A SINGLE AMERICAN CAR IS IN THE TOP FIVE!! How can this be that our own captains of industry don't care about polluting their neighbors or having to send our boys and girls oversees to defend the oil fields for Exxon!
Here are the greenest machines: #1: The Honda Civic GX. This is a car that does not make its driver look like a goober (sorry Prius), runs on natural gas and gets up to 39 miles per gallon! #2: The goofy looking but very efficient Prius at almost 60 mpg on regular gas. #3: the Honda Civic Hybrid topping out at 51 mpg. #4: The Nissan Altima Hybrid at 42 mpg and finally the Toyota Taris at 40 mpg.
All of these vehicles are Japanese. In spite of the fact that for the past 30 years small American companies have been touting hybrid energy, regenerative braking and electric drive, none of the not so big three have gotten off their duffs and delivered a car that would help our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce our need to buy foreign-made vehicles to save money and save our lungs, rather than support American workers and companies.
It just drives me nuts to see Rick Wagoner of GM up there bragging about the Volt CONCEPT car when they still have virtually no hybrids in their fleets. The flash bulbs are going off and the reporters are fawning all over him like he is some messiah when in fact he and his engineers are years behind their contemporaries at Toyota, Honda and Nissan. And you wonder why GM, Ford and Chrysler are losing billions!!! They all saw this coming and did next to nothing about it!
They are still trying to sell SUVs that get 13 to 18 miles per gallon, Hummers and pickups...and aside from the Ford Escape Hybrid that gets 31 miles highway, you won't find a hybrid in any of their fleets.
I guess that I just don't understand why the Japanese can figure out what Americans want and need and yet our "fellow Americans" either don't have a clue or just don't give a damn.
Labels: Energy Efficient, greenest, meanest cars, The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
posted by Jim at
2:17 PM
1 Comments:
so long as people continue to buy SUV's that serve nothing more than to boost one's ego, American automakers won't wake up. Not that it matters - it's too late. Imports are the new American car.
By
Anonymous, at 2:48 PM
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