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Wow, what a month. The Senate actually calls for stronger fuel economy standards for the first time in a generation. The Earth Day Challenge nets an invitation from Toyota to visit their Headquarters and discuss the future of hybrid technology. All that, some contest winners, lots of news, and one excellent hybrid cartoon.
Enjoy your summer!
Scott Nathanson
UCS National Field Organizer &
HybridCenter.org Administrator
In this issue:
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Senate last week passed a substantial increase to the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard of the nations' fleet of cars and trucks by setting a target of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. That's up 40 percent from the 2006 car and truck average of nearly 25 mpg (the current requirements are 22.2 mpg for SUVs and small trucks and 27.5 mpg for cars—though the actual car average is about 29 mpg).
The fact that a majority of the Senate supported an actual fuel economy mpg number is a huge step, especially considering that since I was lining up to see Star Wars (the first one!) all legislative efforts to improve CAFE standards have failed. We have often noted that fuel economy has never been a partisan issue, so the sea-change in this debate could be seen by the change in long-time opponents of higher standards such as Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Ted Stevens (R-AK), and Thomas Carper (D-DE). Indeed, Senator Mikulski detailed her transformation in her fascinating floor speech on the issue.
Fully implementing this higher standard would reduce 206 million metric tons of global warming pollution (the equivalent of taking 30 million cars off the road)—so clearly overcoming years of stalemate on this issue is a step toward addressing the serious problem of global warming. While some have said that a 35 mpg standard does not go far enough, citing fuel economy in Europe and Japan as example, we see this as an opportunity to take an important first step toward reducing our oil dependence, and finally prove automakers can deliver the same or better performance, size, and safety while making a more efficient vehicle fleet in America. Indeed, these standards are what can make the UCS Guardian SUV design a reality. Also, as I noted in this blog, strong fuel economy standards will also push automakers away from muscle hybrid applications, as they’ll want to make the most out of hybrid technology to help meet these stronger standards.
 That said, this bill is not perfect. The Senate bill does not guarantee the 35 mpg outcome in 2020 since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the discretion to lower the standard. A bad administration could set interim standards in a way that could guarantee the discretion will be used. The only way to increase the likelihood of guaranteed reductions over the next 10 years is by continuing to enlist congressional allies who are willing to take on the auto industry and refute their outrageous claims. Our short-term goal will therefore be to significantly curtail this discretion when the House is expected to consider fuel economy legislation in mid-to-late July. In that effort, we are once again gearing up our “Receipt Revolution!” campaign, asking you to mail or fax a gas receipt with a message for fuel economy to your representative. Even hybrid owners can do it, so click here to get the details and help make this July 4th a revolution from gas guzzling!
But no matter what is enacted by Congress this year, there is no doubt that all those concerned with cleaner cars will need to press for tightening up NHTSA's fuel economy rulemaking process—both with this administration and the next—in order to ensure that significantly higher standards are actually realized. This continued vigilance is especially important in light of GM and Ford’s ability to convince NHTSA to roll back CAFE standards in the 1980s, despite Chrysler meeting the standards while making a profit.
So, in short, have no doubt that we’re making a difference, but also have no doubt that we need to keep the proverbial pedal to the metal in our race for cleaner cars.
First and foremost, let me announce and congratulate the winners of our Earth Day Challenge contest!
Grand Prize Winners
• Carrie Basas of Schuyler, VA
• Adele Gershater of Palo Alto, CA
• Jim Malone of Evergreen, CO
• Stephanie White of Silver Spring, MD
Second Prize Winners
• D. Bouton Baldridge of Wilmington, NC (check out D. Bouton Baldridge’s submission to "Who’s Got Hybrids?")
• Lisa Fiedler of Washington, DC (check out Lisa Fiedler’s submission to "Who’s Got Hybrids?")
• Laura Fisher of Somerville, MA
• Alan Lau of Oakland, CA
• Sondra Randall of Higginsville, MO
• Diane Zipper of Portland, OR
The second prize winners will receive a UCS HybridCenter.org "Cool Car-Cool Planet" T-shirt and 10 UCS HybridCenter.org "Cool Car-Cool Planet" window stickers. The grand prize winners will get all the second prize loot plus a one-year basic membership in the Better World Club. Remember, you too can drive change with your own T-shirt by heading here. Thanks again to everyone who participated and helped make our petition a success.
 Everyone was a winner in this contest because our letters targeting Toyota had a real impact! A couple of weeks ago, UCS engineers had a preliminary conversation with Toyota representatives regarding our campaign. We were invited to their Torrance, California headquarters to meet directly with executives on this issue. It seems that there is quite a bit of support within Toyota U.S.A. for expanding the hybrid vehicle lineup to include a minivan. We will discuss that issue with them, but, as importantly, have a broader discussion about the future of Toyota’s hybrid applications, and the need to focus it on fuel economy. This campaign has given us the standing and access we need to continue to push the automakers in the right direction, so thank you once again for all your support and participation in Earth Day Challenge ’07.
- Hybrid market roundup: Honda will discontinue the Honda Accord Hybrid after the 2007 model year. The victim of a high sticker price and unremarkable gas mileage, only 439 models were sold in May 2007 (compared to 24,009 Toyota Prius models). Citing safety concerns, Toyota announced that it will likely not use lithium-ion battery technology in the next generation Prius—at least not at first. Instead, the automaker will use higher capacity nickel-metal hydride batteries. Ford plans to expand its hybrid vehicle lineup beyond the Escape and Mariner Hybrids, but the company acknowledges “deep-seated engineering problems” facing the launch of a new generation of rechargeable electric cars. General Motors is pushing forward with its “top priority” Volt, recently awarding two contracts for the development of the lithium ion batteries for the vehicle. For more information, check out the Hybrid News section.
 CA falls out of compliance with tougher federal HOV congestion rules: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) may limit hybrid solo driving in High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in order to ease carpool congestion. Limiting solo hybrid driver privileges is one of four solutions Caltrans is currently considering after the Federal Highway Administration notified the state that it didn’t comply with federal rules regarding carpool lane congestion. Caltrans insists that increased carpool lane congestion is not attributable to hybrid HOV perks, given that solo hybrid drivers comprise only six percent of the vehicles in California carpool lanes. Instead, Caltrans points to the state’s burgeoning population and increased vehicle miles traveled. For more information, check out the Hybrid News section.- Google “plugs-in” to PHEVs: Google’s philanthropic arm has pledged $11 million to help spur the development and production of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Google will invest the money in technologies and companies featuring plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicles and components in addition to the use of renewable energy and fuels to green transportation. Google has already announced six initial grants this month for a range of efforts focused on Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle research, advocacy, and education. The company will request grant proposals for the remaining $10 million this summer. For more information, check out the Hybrid News section.
One of the fun things about working at UCS is being privy to the amazing campaigns that other programs here come up with. One of my favorites, now in its second year, is the “Science Idol” scientific integrity editorial cartoon contest. Michael Halpern, the UCS Scientific Integrity Program’s outreach coordinator, gave us a preview of the top 60 cartoons out of the hundreds submitted this year. There were a lot of great ones, but, as a hybrid guy, this one tickled my fancy especially:
If you don’t get the joke, it refers to the egregious policy of this administration to close Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) libraries and destroy documents that could be critical for future environmental protection litigation. While sadly this toon did not make the top 12, I thought it was well worth passing around to DCN members and asking the artist, Kym Teslik from Highwood, Illinois what inspired her to use hybrids as the “vehicle” for her cartoon. Here’s what she had to say:
When I read the email from Scott Nathanson asking me to explain what I thought when creating this editorial cartoon, the first thing that came to mind was "Um, I really want a hybrid." However, the fact that ever-evolving hybrid technology makes me drool on myself is not exactly sophisticated commentary from an aspiring cartoonist. The truth is, I love editorial cartoons. I think the art and humor in them are amazing at affecting change, especially when highlighting the absurdity of events in our world. When I heard about the EPA closing libraries and destroying documents, I sensed something absurd that could be drawn.
The only way I, a recent graduate (and therefore hopeless optimist), could see the EPA's actions as moderately sane was if they served a constructive purpose, like fueling a car (granted, not the most plausible explanation, but it made sense at the time). That, and I'm nuts about recycling and couldn't stand the thought of that much paper being wasted. These random thoughts fit together, and this piece was born. My environmental resourcefulness, hippie liberal arts education idealism, and frankly unnerving admiration of hybrid technology connected and spawned the spiffy editorial cartoon seen here. So enjoy, fellow hybrid aficionados! Oh, and if you know where I can get a good deal on a used Civic Hybrid, please heed this shameless plug and send me an email.
There are a lot of other great entries that did get the nod from such notable judges as Tom Toles of the Washington Post and Doonesbury’s own Gary Trudeau. To cast your vote for the 2007 Science Idol winner, head over to the Science Idol Voting Center now.
Here are a few of the latest submissions to our “Who’s Got Hybrids?” feature:
 Julia MacPete of San Diego, CA just loves her Toyota Prius Gen.2: “It has everything a driver could want and is still great for our environment!”
 Edna Cureton of Newport News, VA bought her first car, a Toyota Prius Gen. 2, in 2007. She admits that after years of walking, biking, and relying on public transit, making the switch to driving was a hard one. But, she notes that “the idea that was terrifying to me became acceptable through owning a hybrid car. I feel almost good driving it. Even though I only fill up my tank every two weeks, have a near zero emission vehicle, and love my Prius, I only drive when necessary.”
 We’re in the midst of a HybridCenter.org revamp, so we haven’t been able to get our Altima Hybrid submissions up and running quite yet on the website, but Collin Burnell of Henderson, NV thinks that his Nissan Altima Hybrid is “wonderful.” He reports an average of about 37 miles per gallon.
Be sure to check out all the other pictures and testimonials at “Who’s Got Hybrids?” We’re always looking for new people, so please encourage your hybrid-owning friends to join us!
That’s it for this month. Have a great July 4th, and don’t forget to help U.S. oil independence by being part of the “Receipt Revolution!”
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