The car wars are hotting up. Which is the best, most fuel efficient car? I've heard it said before that in terms of net energy, the most fuel efficient car is the Toyota Yaris. Building new engines and rolling our new infrastructure and energy systems also costs energy.
But it's good to see so many automakers coming to the Alternative Energy Party. The problem with the picture is we can't maintain our motoring culture. The answer isn't new, better cars, it's fewer cars, different living arrangements and retrofitting suburbia from the current caricature of country living to a more functional vessel embedded into sustainable organic systems.
Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor and Honda Motor in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
Automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have predicted for years that a technology called "clean diesel" would overcome many Americans' antipathy to a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor trailers. Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean or cleaner than gasoline and at least 30% more fuel-efficient.
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1 comment:
great post, many thx for sharing. i am a massive fan of diesel. why doesn't the US move to coal to diesel technology. given the US has the #1 reserves of coal in the world, it would transform the country and make us energy independent in a few short years!!
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