Who's The Greenest Of Them All?
Jeremy Clarkson thinks it’s a pile of wank. Bob Lutz thinks it was a crock of bowel movement. But say what you like about global warming, if you can get credentials which make you “eco-friendly”, that’s worth a lot of marketing money. Which is why Honda is probably feeling pretty chuffed with themselves.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has awarded Honda the title of “Greenest Automaker” for the fifth year running. The award is based on car makers’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions from its cars, by analyzing average per-mile smog pollution and global warming inducing emissions of the cars. With their natural gas-powered Civic and IMA hybrid technology, Honda narrowly beat out Toyota and Hyundai to the title. “Toyota was poised to take the lead but stalled in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Meanwhile, Hyundai’s fleet saw dramatic efficiency improvements, pushing the company into a title contender spot,” said Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicle Program (quote from The LA Times).
The whole program graded the main eight car makers in the United States. The final order was:
1. Honda.
2: Toyota and Hyundai.
4. Volkswagen.
5. Nissan.
6. Ford.
7. General Motors.
8. Chrysler.
As you can see, Chrysler didn’t do too well. In fact, in the five assessments the UCS have performed over the last 10 years, Chrysler came last 4 times. Mr Kliesch had some choice words for Chrysler: “When it comes to environmental performance, Chrysler managers need to get their heads in the game.”
The data used to compile this survey was based on models from the year 2008. Now that Nissan is launching the Leaf, GM’s Volt, Ford’s electric Focus and Toyota launching a slew of hybrids. This chart might change dramatically over the next few years. As far as Chrysler goes, they are green with envy,
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Funny, that list could almost as easily be titled "a list of automakers from healthiest to least healthy" - except Honda is higher on the list than it would be by business analysis. Perhaps in a time of less affordable oil, focusing on efficient cars is a smart business decision? Certainly the activities of all these automakers show they don't expect a return to the SUV glory days.
Honda's stubborn. Their steadfast refusal to match their competitors in terms of engine displacement and their relatively light car offerings mean that their fleet is greener overall even than Toyota. Despite model-bloat (unavoidable if you have to keep up with the Joneses), the Civic still doesn't have a 2.3 - 2.5 liter engine like the competition does (and their R18, despite being old, is still the best of the breed). Honda's ethos may hurt its market share... but you've got to admire a company that stays true to its creed. While other companies may be car companies that make engines, Honda is a motor-maker that just happens to make cars.