"Green cars" - Latest Automotive Marketing Scam
This past week, one of my editors at the Huffington Post asked me to explore, for a video project he was working on, the relative "greenness" of the Toyota Prius gas/electric hybrid versus the BMW Mini Cooper.
Then it occurred to me: What's a green car, anyway? The Prius is the "star of our green show" these days, and while the Mini may be green enough for most folks, and damn cute, too, it's also full of style, fun and performance. Owning a Prius, though, isn't exactly like having a Formula 1 car in your driveway.
We're all hung up on "green" when it comes to our cars, and car-makers tell us we have plenty of green vehicles to choose from. Well, at least greener than they used to be.
Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi both made major EV announcements last week (I posted a piece on it), so it's going to be more difficult for high-mileage gasoline engine-makers like Mini, hybrid-makers like Toyota and clean-diesel car-makers like Mercedes to make strong "green" claims once EVs start hitting showrooms in a big way. Which looks it may be a lot sooner than any of us thought.
The racing year 1964 went down as particularly memorable. Paddy Hopkirk and his co-driver Henry Lidding powered to a Monte Carlo Rally victory in a Mini Cooper S, to the astonishment of the rest of the field and the racing fraternity. This initial Mini victory was repeated in the following year and in 1967, but it's the first victory that sticks in the mind. The Grimaldi clan of Prince Ranier, Princess Grace and the rest greet the winning car. The win established the Mini as both racing and styling legend; there are few designs which remain absolutely contemporary year in and out without major changes, and Mini is one of them.
The "greenness" decision between Prius and Mini, and any other cars one might want to compare, ultimately is still more about opinion than hard fact, and that's because people are emotional about cars.
It's possible that if someone crunched all the objective numbers from the 2009 Mini Cooper and Prius (and all the numbers we'll use are from the base versions of the cars) some computer somewhere might have the balls to say which is greener.
But because those specifications supplied by BMW and Toyota are "interpreted" by various government agencies which provide more of a subjective result, then the rightly-derided "automotive enthusiast press" has their go at it and finally even those "results" and "conclusions" are evaluated by an emotional public ("Well, sure the Prius MUST be greener! It's a hybrid, after all!"), you can see the difficulty in coming up with a good, hard answer to: "What's the greenest car?"
This and other 2010 Prius plug-in hybrid concepts have been running around the US getting millions of real-world miles of driving experience. Of course, only this one has been used so heavily in promoting the new car.
In 2009, the facts are that there might not be a vehicle worthy of that title. "Green" is just another automotive marketing term which the public is beginning to see through. Took us over a decade to see the BS in SUVs and how they were sold to us ... This time around, "green" better start meaning something real.
Comparing the greenness of a Chrysler 300 and a Tata Nano might be an easier assignment - but even then, you'd still have to find two people to agree on what "greenness" is in the first place. There is no "official" definition.
Both Mini and Prius depend on gasoline, which to me makes them both pretty ungreen.
Seems if we can buy, starting in 2011, a pure plug-in rechargeable EV for $25K, one which offers more than 100 miles per two-hour charge, the green label loses a lot of luster when applying it to cars still using fossil fuels.
About a year ago, Chrysler showed these EV concepts based on some of their existing models. Currently, the company makes no EVs or even a gas/electric hybrid; whether these EVs will ever see production, even if Fiat takes over Chrysler, remains a big question mark.
Here are some hard numbers, from the base Mini Cooper and Toyota Prius for 2009:
Prius' 1.5 liter gas/electric hybrid powerplant makes a not-exactly-throbbing 76 horsepower, 82 ft. lbs of torque and uses an automatic-like CVT transmission (fewer than 5% of all cars and trucks sold in the US are ordered with standard, stick-shift transmissions).
Because electric motors exhibit all their torque immediately, Prius and its ilk are fun driving for the first 100 feet after the light turns green. After Prius beats that Porsche for the first two seconds of the Stop Light Grand Prix, hybrids settle down into a driving torpor; you better feel good about saving some gas, because there's little else about driving to enjoy with most of today's hybrids.
Mini Cooper uses a slightly larger engine than Prius, an all-gasoline four-cylinder unit 1.6 liters in size which makes 118 horsepower and 114 ft. lbs. of torque. The base car use a conventional six-speed standard (stick shift) transmission.
Mini's Clubman estate wagon stretches the mini-Mini from two doors to six and challenges some of the better carrying capabilities offered by Prius; Mini has also been showing EV versions of their cars, but actual production, even by a giant company like BMW, remains a highly-costly and questionable proposition in this economy - And what must come first? EVs or a smart power grid? And doesn't one without the other defeat the purpose of such a project?
Both are front-wheel drive. Prius is EPA-rated as a midsize car, Mini as a microcompact (so Prius can haul more stuff while using less gas).
Mini averages a combined 29mpg, in-town and on-highway, Prius a hearty-for-today 46. Prius can get 493 miles on one tank of gas; Mini 345. Prius weighs 2,932 pounds, Mini 2,546 (so there's more "stuff" making-up a Prius, all of which has to be dealt with when the car is "recycled").
Prius is a five-door hatchback design; base Mini a two-door coupe (the new Mini Clubman ersatz "estate wagon" makes a Mini bigger inside and out, but Clubman is pricey, too, with fewer mpg than our base Mini).
Mini Cooper's base MSRP is $18,550.
Prius base-price's at $22,000.
Mini's EPA "Annual Petroleum Consumption" is estimated at 10.7 oil-filled barrels, about 449.4 gallons. It produces 5.7 tons of CO2 annually, says Our Government, and rates a 6 on the EPA Pollution Score, a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.
Cadillac's Converj concept uses the same kind of "extended-range gas/electric hybrid system" developed for the Chevrolet Volt. Volt has the official backing of General Motors, and reports from Detroit last week have the Converj added to Caddy's near-term production pipeline; don't expect either car to go into production within the next two or even three years.
Prius uses 7.4 barrels of oil a year, about 310.8 gallons annually. It produces 4 tons of CO2 annually, and rates an 8 on that EPA Pollution Score.
Cars built in Europe (like Mini) are mandated to be made with a much higher recyclable content than those made in Asia or the US. This gives Mini a bit of a lead over Prius in that department. But true greenness can shine through when comparing the actual materials used in the cars. Metals, woods, glass, cotton and wool and plastics of all kinds are their basic building blocks, but cars using more easily-recycled versions of all that content will find themselves in a greener category. These days, that often means the Euro-made car has the green advantage because of the continent's tougher recycling laws.
Bottom line: Common sense would tell us that the Prius is probably the greener of the two. It gets 14mpg more on average than Mini, is larger inside and out, can haul more people and stuff, but it also weighs almost 400 pounds more than the Cooper; never a positive in the green world.
Prius has other drawbacks, too, especially when compared to the Mini's performance and overall excitement quotient.
The Prius image is greeny, but also boring and dull. I don't think those "qualities" necessarily have to go together. Why can't green cars be fun for people who love Corvettes and Ferraris, too??
Prius is slow, lumpy and looks like a high school auto shop project from the future (and just for the record, Honda's new Insight hybrid seems based entirely on Prius as far as styling, so Honda has nothing to crow about in that department, either).
Honda's new line of Insight hybrids owes a lot, perhaps too much, to Prius, when it comes to styling and size, inside and out. There must be more than one way to build high-mileage cars.
Mini, on the other hand, makes a lot more horsepower, has a much better suspension set-up, is infinitely more fun to look at and drive than Prius (or most any other car in any price range) and it's made by BMW, never a negative.
The numbers may tell one story, but because cars are still all about emotion, fun, sex and fashion, there's a large audience of drivers and car-buyers you'd have a hard time convincing that the Prius is "better" than the Mini, green factors considered or not.
Isn't "green" just another marketing scam when cars are still being powered by dead dinosaurs?
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Just like our Govt most citizens in US dont think ..but want gas guzzlers like Hummers, big SUV ..so GM, F produced them but last summer we paid $5/gallon that forced the Joe to drive less ..now that gas is $2 the stoopid Joe is back with big cars ..unless Joe realizes that it is in the interest of this nation to cut oil consumtion for our security & less dependence on the arabs nothing willchnage ..we are our own worst enemy ...lol
"Why can't green cars be fun for people who love Corvettes and Ferraris, too??"
Try visiting http://www.teslamotors.com/
Yes, it's expensive, but you aren't going to find a Ferrari for $25,000 either. The top Corvette model is over $100,000.
Less expensive electric models are coming in a few years.
I also agree, none of the dino burners deserve to be called green, unless you are talking about paint color.
Okay keeping this as simple as possible.
Green Car = Big LIe
The author is right, green is a relative term but he limits the argument to the emotional aspects of cars. The real problem with plug-in electrics is not miles per charge but rather charges per battery life. You can only deep cycle and recharge a battery so many times, and then its 400 lbs. of toxic waste. The current life expectancy of lithium diode is three to five years, and then expect a hefty replacement price which could exceed the value of the vehicle ( note the GM EV1). If you add in the pollution from raw materials, production, transporting, disposal and replacement, in addition to the millions of additional Kilowatt hrs. that will be required to charge cars on a massive scale.....plug-in electrics are an environmental disaster. Go green....take the bus!
Your argument is illogical and baseless.
The environmental disaster has been the result of the last 100 years with gas combustion vehicles. Petroleum is dirty and pollutes our air, water, and earth. You probably believe in the false advertising of such stupid thing as "Clean Coal". It's a bold face Lie.
No matter how you burn coal, the smoke and residue is Not Clean.
Plug-in Electric Hybrids are the present and future and are definitely environmentally friendly.
Go to Aperta.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Speaking about illogical. If your powerplant is fired with coal, then your green electric car pollutes more than one that is powered by a gas-fired plant. And more than a diesel or petrol car. So how "definitely environmentally friendly" is the hybrid? Not much really.
Does anyone remember the Datsun 210. No, not the inexpensive sedan from the 1970's, the electric drag racer that mean Mustang, Ferrari, Porche, anyone off the line?
Great video here: http://www.buildbabybuild.com/uncategorized/bmw-audi-porsche-ferrari-corvette-move-over-electric-datsun-owns-the-track
That was amazing ! Thanks for the link.
When truly electric cars arrive (the GM Volt is the next stage), the performance, simplicity, reliability, etc. will be outstanding. Electric cars + Nuclear power = REAL green---the impact on the environment will be miniscule, including mining uranium, building reactors, generating power, and disposing of 'waste' (future fuel) compared to any other technology, including wind, solar, biofuels.
Electric cars + Nuclear power = REAL green
You live in lalaland
There is nothing confusing about the term "Green" as it applies to vehicles. Such a vehicle would be a plug-in hybrid that gets 100+ mpg. I and thousands of eco-conscious individuals crave a truly Green 'in production' vehicle for sale, but alas, currently there are none.
In my humble opinion, there is only one company that is producing a true Green vehicle and that company is based in California and it's called APTERA.
Later this year, Aptera will start offering their 100% electric vehicles for sale; It gets 100+ miles per charge. In 2010, they state that they will release for sale their hybrid plug-in version. They claim through their road tests that it gets 300+ mpg. As a petroleum dependent nation, that is a very practical Green car. Unlike the Prius, the Aptera will use their electric drive train throughout 'the drive' , until the charge becomes 80% depleted; Thereafter the gas engine supplements the driving needs and also re-charges the batteries. For people who drive less than 100 miles per day, in reality, you could drive around town or commute between work and home without ever initiating the gas engine. All you would need to do would be to plug-in your vehicle to your wall socket at your garage at night and presto......you have another 100+ miles available for the next day.
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For me I'm very disappointed that Toyota/Prius has not launched a plug-in hybrid. The technology is available and they could easily produce this vehicle. So why doesn't Toyota and other major car companies produce a plug-in hybrid on a mass scale? Because their analysis concluded that such vehicles could last for up to 30 years and this would be detrimental to their business model as a car/parts selling company. Think about it for 30 seconds. If you were the CEO of a car company, would you be eager to produce a vehicle that lasts 30 years, whereby your customers that currently purchase approx. 7 new cars in their lifetime would then only purchase 2 vehicles? Not likely.
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On the contrary, as CEO you would do everything in your power to NOT produce such a Green vehicle. As CEO, you have to keep pushing the sale of Gas dependent vehicles. Why? Because you know that gas vehicles have a short life span because of all those moving parts and the violent explosions that occur in a combustion engine. You also know that your gas cars need more parts and maintenance than a Green vehicle and this is in line with your business model. So, if you are the CEO and your job is to increase sales of cars and parts, it would be sensible for you to keep producing gas cars. Even if you produce a so called green car with a lot of batteries, it would still mostly run as a gas car; For example......A Prius (The most over-hyped so called Green car, that STILL is primarily a gas dependent vehicle). Does this explanation seem logical? I think so. And I also think there are more sinister reasons why we as a public have not been offered a truly green electric vehicle. The reasons are..............Control and Money.
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Well, one can plead with their respective congressman and major manufacturers for greener vehicles, or you can take matters into your own hands and visit Aptera.com and check out the cleanest greenest vehicle to be launched this year, 2009. Because we still live in a petroleum/gas world and I'm not wealthy enough to buy two vehicles, I placed my $500 deposit for Aptera's hybrid plug-in version that will be available in 2010 (I hope). As most americans, I drive less than 100 miles per day, but there are weekends where you need to go a little farther and I'll unfortunately need the gas engine for the extra mileage.
Perhaps one day, we'll see charging stations next to meters or at the parking lot's of supermarkets and malls; Or just about everywhere. That's going to be a nice reality someday soon. I look forward to the disappearance of gas stations and the bemise of oil companies like Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and the rest of their ilk.
GO APTERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What marketing isnt a scam?
What big company doesnt employ an entire task force of secretive social science researchers to target their customers specifically emotively and psychologically the most accurate way to get them to be convinced to buy something they wouldnt if left to their own?
I think you are right that "green" is a marketing scam, however, I think it is a direct result of people demanding that the automotive companies make cars that respect the Earth. I think they are doing it as slowly as possible, and that's a shame. We should've been driving all-electric cars years ago, and we've all heard various snippets of stories about amazing cars with incredible fuel efficiency, but those designs have been bought and shelved by the car companies. Nevertheless, coal-burning electricity plants also put out a large amount of pollution, and while we do need to fix the transportation problem once and for all in this country, we can't effectively deal with the environment until the large companies with near-monopolies change their minds about it. Just like "clean coal," it's a distraction designed to keep us complacent about the changes that are needed.
There are several big issues about the impact of autos that were not mentioned. First, and I am a witness to this, it takes a tremendous amount of energy to manufacture an automobile. Also, the infrastructure associated with motoring, i.e. roads, parking, gas stations, refining, etc, are anything but green. The era of unlimited motoring is over, it is not green or sustainable, and we should stop pretending that the status quo can be tweaked with minis or hybrids.
I enjoy the photos and the historical info you have on your posts!
Raw materials mining for producing batteries pollutes the mining sites. Green?
Power to charge plug ins comes from where?
Here in the Rockies the answer is all electric with photovoltaic on the roof on the vehicle. Here comes the sun.
Ben from Boulder.
Yup, yup, photovoltaic is the way to go. It's a shame too little funding goes there.
Raw materials for photovoltaic pollute even more than batteries. Green?
I don't think so.
Sorry but people are not going back to living in caves. Anything else is going to have some impact on the environment. (Actually, even in caves we disturb the bats living there.)
Te best we can do is minimize the environmental impact. At least the lithium in batteries only needs to be mined the first time, when a new car is produced, not ever time you recharge. Gasoline has to be produced every time you fill up. The lithium can also be recycled when the batteries stop working. Once you've burned up gasoline, it's gone for ever.
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