Why People Say and Do Two Completely Different Things and How This Impacts CAFE

In a recent Consumer Reports survey, a whopping 93% of responders said that they would like to see higher fuel economy standards. In fact, 80% support CAFE's plan for a 55 mile per gallon average across all vehicles by 2025. In order to achieve CAFE's goals of 55mpg, 56% of those surveyed say they will  consider a hybrid or an electric vehicle for their next purchase. Even better, 80% said that they would pay more for a fuel efficient vehicle that would save them money in the long run. Such results paint a very rosy picture for the automotive industry as it appears that the public is certainly willing to adopt and pay for new technology to raise their MPG. Unfortunately, in reality the picture is completely different. According to the latest data available only a scant percentage of car buyers actually do buy hybrids, in fact hybrid market share of all cars sold in October was less than 2%. This means that only 4% of those considering a hybrid actually buy a one and everyone else was just pretending. Even accounting for the fact that not every model is available as a hybrid it is hard to explain the enormous discrepancy. Besides, wouldn't someone wanting to buy a hybrid make the sacrifice and buy a Camry hybrid versus an Accord? The fact of the matter is that talk is cheap and when real money comes into play people are reluctant to pony up the dough  to get a hybrid. While buying a hybrid or an electric versus a conventional internal combustion requires actual monetary and vehicular commitments, answering a phone poll does not.  In regards to CAFE, politicians and everyone else must remain skeptical regarding surveys of people's hopes about fuel economy and should instead take a good look at reality.

56% of people say they are considering hybrids for their next purchase

Yet Ford sold over 2.5 times more F series in October than all hybrids combined.

Best Green Car Designs

Over the past few years the number of green cars on sale has increased dramatically with new hybrids, mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars available for sale. While styling still remains form follows function the automakers are finally starting to spice up their green designs with additional details and styling elements. With that in mind let's take a look at the best hybrid/electric designs out for sale today. To keep out mainstream sedans we will only be looking at vehicles that are available only as hybrids, no Camry/Fusion/Altima hybrids here.

Sixth: Honda Insight

The car that invented "hybrid" hatchback styling (the first Prius was a sedan) is back but looks stale in comparison to its competition. Having grown in size compared to the original Insight the second generation model looks like a dead ringer for the second generation Prius. While both derive their shape from the aerodynamic kammback styling the newest Insight lacks the sharper styling of the newest Prius.



Fifth: Nissan Leaf

Using a more conventional hatchback/wagon shape than its Japanese competitors the Leaf looks more like a regular car. Nevertheless the big headlights upfront and swoopy design lines throughout give the Leaf distinct styling. Overall the design is interesting and lets people identify the Leaf as an electric car but it's also an electric car that does not look particularly great.




Fourth: Lexus HS 250h

If Toyota kept its second and third generation Prii as sedans the end result would have likely been very similar to the HS. Looking like a mix between the Japan only Toyota Allion and the Europe only Toyota Avensis the HS is by far the most ordinary looking pure hybrid available for sale in America. While the overall shape is fairly clean it lacks the overall design impact one would expect from a luxury oriented brand like Lexus.



Third: Lexus CT 200h

The first hatchback Lexus is clearly designed with Europe in mind as the Audi A3, BMW 1 series and the upcoming Mercedes A-class competitor would look more at home in Europe. Nevertheless the smallest Lexus hybrid has a nice design that does a good job combining an aggressive front end with curvy lines elsewhere.



Second: Toyota Prius

While the second generation Prius achieved instant recognizability as a hybrid and was the first (and essentially only) hybrid to achieve significant sales it is the third generation Prius that finally brought some styling to the table. The Prius gained sharp creases with the third generation and overall looks significantly better than the second generation blob.




First: Chevrolet Volt

Using a fairly conventional sedan styling the Volt looks like a smaller yet better designed Lexus HS250. Overall clean styling already puts the Volt ahead most of its competition but unique elements like the faux grille that looks real, sharp headlights and taillights give the Volt a unique design. The Volt takes first place by having the best combination of goods looks while still looking different enough to stand as an alternatively powered vehicle.

EPA Gives the LEAF 99 MPG

With the Nissan LEAF set to go on sale this upcoming December, the EPA has finally given the car its official fuel economy sticker. Officially the LEAF will have a city rating of 106 MPGe, 92 MPGe highway and 99 combined. Naturally because the LEAF is powered solely by electricity it doesn't use any gasoline, but the EPA is calculating its "fuel economy" ratings on energy consumption. Thus the LEAF consumes electrical energy at a rate equivalent to a gasoline powered car achieving 99 miles per gallon combined. The EPA also estimates that on a full charge the LEAF should be good for about 73 miles of travel. Needless to say these ratings put the LEAF ahead of any other mass produced car to date.

Volkswagen E-UP Electric Concept

Volkswagen has released its latest Up concept. This time the E-UP features all electric propulsion. The lithium ion battery of the E-UP is good for 80 miles of travel before requiring a recharge. VW expects to sell the all electric Up in 2013. The E-UP concept also foreshadows the styling of the upcoming Up cars which will likely come with conventional engines before 2013.





The 135 km/h fast 3+1 seater is driven by an electric motor with a peak power output of 60 kW (continuous power: 40 kW). The motor of the front-wheel drive car, which is mounted in front, develops a maximum torque of 210 Newton-meters right from rest. The driver activates forward or reverse gear via a rotary knob in the centre console. The fact that the E-Up! will also quite clearly offer driving enjoyment is demonstrated by a look at the car's classic 0 to 100-km/h sprint time: 11.3 seconds. The E-Up! develops even greater responsiveness in the intermediate sprint from 0 to 50 km/h in city driving: 3.5 seconds. This dynamic performance is based first on the electric motor's excellent torque characteristic and second on the low kerb weight of the E-Up!, which is just 1,085 kilograms.

Lithium-ion battery: The car's low weight is quite astounding, given the fact that 240 kilograms are taken up by the lithium-ion battery. The implemented battery's energy capacity of 18 kilowatt-hours (kWh) enables driving distances of up to 130 kilometres, depending on driving style – enough for the city and the drives of most commuters. The E-Up! will be "refueled" in the garage at home, in a parking structure or on the road at one of the future municipal recharging stations that will be enabled by chip card. Depending on the available charging infrastructure and the battery's momentary charge state, the storage battery could be charged to up to 80 percent of its total capacity within an hour.

If the batteries are recharged in a home garage, for example, by plugging it into a 230-Volt household outlet, this would take a maximum of five hours. Generally, off-peak night-time electric rates are very inexpensive. So refueled at night the E-Up! could be driven 100 kilometres for just two Euros in electricity costs (about 14 Euro cents / kWh).

The batteries themselves are housed in the underbody of the E-Up! To optimally distribute the weight of the battery system, it is housed in a special, crash-protected tray in the underbody frame. Air cooling ensures a constant heat balance within the batteries. The fans and heat exchangers needed for this are housed in the front section of the underbody.