Hello again everyone. May has been quite an exciting month, with some great (and not so great) news on hybrid models and policy, some major play on clean car standards, and some major success on our Earth Day Challenge.
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
Scott Nathanson
UCS National Field Organizer &
HybridCenter.org Administrator
In this issue:
I won’t belabor this update as most of you got my email last week about our petition to Toyota to bring a fuel-efficiency focused hybrid minivan here to the United States. Thank you all for helping us surge past 18,000 signatures! My original goal was only 14,000, so this will certainly demonstrate to Toyota that there is a large consumer demand in America for hybrid family vehicles. It has been great to see that the Driving Change Network truly is “driving change.” We still have a few days left in our campaign, so keep spreading the word!
As I wrote last month, our big Supreme Court victory on automotive global warming pollution triggered the Environmental Protection Agency to begin considering the long-delayed waiver that California and other states need to implement their clean car standards. Action began with a public hearing in the D.C. area this week. Our “Janie on the spot” Program Assistant Lindsay Vidal was there, and here’s what she reported back:
At this week’s waiver hearing in metropolitan Washington, D.C., top California officials joined stakeholders from a range of state governments and public interest groups to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow California to implement its precedent-setting tailpipe greenhouse gas emission standards. The standards, which would begin with 2009 model year vehicles, require an initial 25 percent reduction in car emissions and an 18 percent reduction in SUV emissions. Eleven other states are posed to implement California’s clean car standards—once the EPA finally grants the waiver.
The hearing was dominated by witnesses in support of California’s law, including Adam Lee, an auto dealer from Maine. In his testimony, Mr. Lee underscored the auto industry’s long history of resisting safety regulations and the need to give the automakers “a not-so-gentle nudge in the right direction of producing cleaner cars.” Our very own UCS Washington Representative Eli Hopson emphasized, in his testimony, that the automakers already have the technology to build affordable vehicles that meet or exceed California’s global warming pollution standards (for more information, see the UCS Vanguard). Eli also reminded the EPA that even if the administration moves forward with a national standard, California must retain the authority to set higher standards.
As expected, Steve Douglas of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers characterized the California rule as “unnecessary” and “patently counterproductive,” asserting that the automakers have already spent billions of dollars to improve fuel economy through advanced technologies and are committed to offering alternative fuel vehicles. Their “commitment” to fuel economy is on display in the recent series of misleading ads aimed at stopping Congress from implementing higher fuel economy standards. [See the next feature for more information about what the Auto Alliance is up to now.]
The next EPA hearing will be held May 30, 2007 in Sacramento, California. Although it is still uncertain whether the EPA will grant California a waiver to adopt the clean car rules, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already threatened to take legal action if the agency does not act on the state's waiver request—which was submitted 16 months ago.
The EPA has started a public comment period on the waiver that will end June 15. Next week, we will launch an online action allowing you to submit your comments to the EPA through our website. We’ll send out an action alert, but if you’re not on the UCS action network, be sure to check out www.ucsaction.org next week to send in your comments.
 We hoped that the somewhat softer tone the automakers have taken lately on fuel economy would translate into a more genuine dialogue from their main lobbyist and PR group—the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (a.k.a. the Auto Alliance). Indeed, you might remember that we asked you to get in touch with the new head of this group, Dave McCurdy, and ask that they stop their “spinning and suing” campaign against global warming standards on autos.
Well, not only is the lawsuit continuing on automotive global warming pollution, but the Auto Alliance has decided to go back to their tired old disinformation campaign in an attempt to scuttle the Senate effort to improve fuel economy standards. Yes, the same people who brought you the infamous “virtually emission-free” advertisement are now attempting to scare people into thinking that a 35 mile per gallon standard would force everyone into small, unsafe cars. You can read about it and hear their radio spots here. UCS is, of course, countering their misleading ads by clearly showing the utter and complete distortion of this campaign.
Given that the Senate fuel economy bill is currently far weaker than it should be—containing out clauses that could allow the automakers to do nothing to improve fuel economy—this ad campaign is truly reactionary. This is especially true in the face of current gas prices, and heavy consumer sentiment in favor of higher fuel economy standards in the very segment of the driving public they are targeting.
- NYC Cabs: 100 percent hybrid by 2012: In an aggressive move, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered that the full fleet of 13,000 yellow taxicabs in all five boroughs transition to hybrid technology by 2012. Initially a number of muscle hybrids and the Saturn Vue hollow hybrid models will be permitted, but the program includes a standard of 30 miles per gallon and above beginning in 2009. For more information, check out the Hybrid News section.
- GM “Volting” forward: General Motors has reportedly put plug-in and fuel cell versions of its Volt into the official production pipeline. The Volt will most likely be based on the next generation Delta platform and could go on sale as early as 2010, though no official production date has been set. This month, the automaker also unveiled hybrid versions of its two-mode hybrid Tahoe and Yukon SUVs, which will be out by the end of the year. New two-mode hybrid versions of the Sierra and Silverado, which were pulled last December due to paltry sales and fuel economy improvements, will be launched in late 2008. For more information, check out the Hybrid News section.
- A Hybrid with a Hemi?: The Chrysler Group will power its first-ever gasoline-electric hybrids, the 2008 Chrysler Durango and Dodge Aspen SUVs, with a 5.7 liter V8 Hemi. Both vehicles will incorporate the dual-mode hybrid system, which, due to the focus on vehicle power rather than efficiency, is expected to provide only a 25 percent fuel economy boost. For more information, check out the Hybrid News section.
- Toyota nears 1 million in hybrid sales: As of April 2007, the Toyota Motor Company has sold over 998,900 cummulative hybrid units. Thanks to ever-increasing production volume and cost-cutting efforts, the automaker anticipates eliminating the hybrid cost premium by 2010—when the automaker anticipates producing 1 million hybrid vehicles a year. Those of you with deep pockets and an appetite for muscle over mileage will be happy to hear that the $104,750 Lexus LS 600h L luxury hybrid sedan went on sale in Japan this month and will soon arrive in other markets. For more information, check out the Hybrid News section.
 It’s that time again! Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer driving season when more than 32 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more. With national gasoline prices at an all time record high of $3.23 a gallon (even adjusted for inflation!), I thought that now would be a good time to go over those fuel-saving driving tips:
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Drive less. Driving as little as possible is the best way to reduce the environmental effects of your transportation needs. Link errands, carpool, use mass transit, bike, or walk whenever possible.
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Drive moderately. High-speed driving and jackrabbit starts increase both fuel use and emissions.
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Keep your vehicle well tuned. Simple maintenance—such as regular oil changes, air filter changes, and spark plug replacements—will lengthen the life of your car as well as improve fuel economy and minimize emissions.
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Inflate your tires. Keeping your tires properly inflated saves fuel by reducing the amount of drag your engine must overcome. Also, consider replacing worn tires with low rolling resistance (LRR) tires which can also help maximize the amount of energy available to move the car forward.
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Keep track of your fuel economy. A drop in your car's fuel economy can be a sign of engine trouble. Keeping track of your fuel economy on a regular basis can let you know when something is malfunctioning. You can check your gas mileage by noting the odometer reading and number of gallons you purchase each time you fill up. Divide the number of miles traveled between fill-ups by the number of gallons purchased. (Of course many hybrid owners can check their monitors for this information, though doing it manually will confirm whether your computer is accurately monitoring your fuel economy).
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Don't let your car idle for more than a minute. During startup, your engine burns extra gasoline. However, letting your engine idle for more than a minute burns more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. Of course if your car has idle-off capacity, you don’t have to worry about this.
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Park in the shade. This minimizes fuel evaporation and helps keep your car cool in summer months.
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Be weight-conscious. Put heavy items in the trunk instead of on a roof rack, which creates drag. And don’t carry around items you don’t need; for every 100 pounds of weight in your car, fuel economy decreases by one to two percent.
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Limit air conditioning, which consumes fuel. At lower speeds, open the windows or sunroof to stay cool. At higher speeds, use the car’s fan instead (open windows creates drag that reduces mileage).
Now, those tips work well whether you’re in a hybrid or not (indeed, it just reminded me to get the t-ball equipment out of the back of my station wagon). That said, we all know that hybrids are a bit of a different animal. Be sure to check out “Who’s Got Hybrids?” for more useful tips that a number of drivers have shared on how to most efficiently drive current hybrid models. As this is our first official Summer 2007 issue of the DCN newsletter, I’ll ask you to email me your driving tips and techniques for our site. I’ve done pretty well in my Prius (currently getting about 48mpg) with the “pulse and glide” system of using the gas pedal, but any other tips and ideas would be welcome.
That’s it for this busy month. Drive safely (and efficiently) if you’re on the road this holiday weekend.
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