Our
View: Nice cars can save the planet
The
Union of Concerned Scientists on Monday
said that technology already exists to reduce
automobile emissions of greenhouse gases.
The scientists urged expansion of hybrid
vehicles and other energy-conserving automobile
techonology.
Not
surprisingly, however, the automotive industry
immediately decried the statement, saying
that facts speak against the recommendation
of the scientists. Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers spokesman Charles Territo
noted that consumers have shunned the current
selection of fuel-efficient cars -- cars
that use technology the industry invested
billions of dollars to produce.
Territo's
claim is accurate; according to The Associated
Press, less than 2 percent of vehicles sold
in California last year get more than 30
miles per gallon. But it is unlikely that
buyers have some kind of abstract fear of
gasoline-electric hybrids.
The
real problem is that automakers make fuel-efficient
vehicles unattractive. For all its economical
sense, the newest fleet of clean-burning
cars has very little fashion sense.
Consumer
Reports' top-rated small car in fuel economy,
the Honda Insight, averages 51 miles per
gallon. We think the figure would be lower
if the hideous painted rear wheel covers
didn't cut down on wind resistance.
Toyota
added flashy taillights to its 2004 Prius,
the car rated second by Consumer Reports,
thus creating created the world's shiniest
egg that gets 46 miles per gallon.
The
top-rated American-made car, the Chevrolet
Cavalier, came in at number 12, getting
26 miles per gallon. It effectively combines
mediocre small car fuel economy with uninspired
American design.
The
industry's biggest mistake is trying to
maximize the fuel-efficiency of its hybrids
by cramming energy-efficient engines into
minute little pods. By simply installing
the cleaner burning motors into already-existing
and relatively attractive vehicles, automakers
could preserve good looks while increasing
environmental friendliness.
While
the industry is throwing its hands into
the air claiming that consumers don't want
alternative energy vehicles, consumers like
us are throwing their hands into the air
wondering why alternative energy vehicles
have to be so darn ugly.
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