By Adrian Imonti
November 20, 2008 -
Last year’s Green Car of the Year award was a cynic’s dream come true. Bestowing the annual eco-accolades upon the ginormous, environmentally challenged Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid could persuade even the most optimistic tree hugger to hang up his Birkenstocks for good. (Full disclosure: I do not now own, nor have I ever owned, a pair of Birkenstocks.) The current roster includes nominees that are both more credible and more diverse than the last. The 2007 event provided the choice of a hybrid, a hybrid, a hybrid, a hybrid or a hybrid. Now we have a couple of oil burners (BMW 335d, VW Jetta TDi) and something that could fit inside a duffel bag (smart fortwo), as well as a pair of the customary gas-electric hybrids (Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue 2). Drum roll, please: congratulations go to the VW Jetta TDi.
This new-for-America 2.0 liter model has finally discovered something that the red, white and blue version of the car has long been missing: power. Ponies have been bumped upward to 140hp. According to VW, you get 236 lb ft of torque, an MSRP starting at $21,990, and a low carbon footprint. According to the EPA, you can expect fuel economy of 30 city/ 41 highway if you choose a six-speed manual; shave 1 mpg from both figures if you’d rather remain shiftless.
Ken O. says:
How many gallons of water does it take to build one of these "green cars of the year"?
How many pounds of aluminum, steel, cotton, copper, plastic?
How much energy is used to construct a new "energy saving" Jetta/Prius/Volt/Tesla?
Answers:
"What is the total amount of water used to manufacture a new car, including new tires?
39,090 gallons per car" --USGS, http://ct.water.usgs.gov/education/trivia.htm
"The average car will consume during its construction 10% of the energy used during its lifetime..." and probably up to 12% assuming 17 years of life per car. So that is 27 to 45 barrels of oil. --LATOC, http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Research.html#anchor_72
Materials...? There are 7 gallons of oil in every new car tire. --Ibid.
So how is it that a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI wins a "green" item of the year award; this is propaganda. How is a "green car" better than walking, a bicycle, stagecoach or train?
It's not. It's not green. There IS no green car. Get yourself a bicycle while your dollars are still worth something.
POLL: how do you get to work? If by car, why? If not, why not?