Hello everyone, I hope your early autumn has been a good one. We’ve been busy “Pushing Bush” on fuel economy standards, getting our hybrid incentives page up-to-spec, and finding some new friends on “Who’s Got Hybrids?” So let’s get to it.
Take care,
Scott Nathanson
UCS National Field Organizer &
HybridCenter.org Administrator
In this issue:
 Back in July, I let you know that a number of UCS activists were heading to D.C. to testify at a public hearing on the environmental impact of the Department of Transportation's (DOT's) plan to implement new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. This was historic in itself, as it was the first environmental impact statement ever on global warming pollution. There was great turn out from the environmental community, faith-based community, students, and concerned citizens. Forty-four people, including a number of UCS activists who came from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C., stood up and gave compelling testimony about global warming and the need for the transportation sector to reduce emissions and reduce oil consumption through increased fuel economy standards.
UCS Washington Representative Eli Hopson testified, noting once again the flaws in the administration's implementation plan, and the significant emissions reductions we can get with existing technologies. Our technical assessment was bolstered by the personal stories of people like UCS activist Pamela Woodward, who gave her first ever public statement. She spoke about her travels around the world and seeing first hand the effects of global warming in Antarctica. Then she spoke about her recent experience in trying to buy a car with high fuel economy and her disappointment in the lack of choices. Combined with the comments of Adam Lee, a Maine auto dealer we have worked with extensively, who complained of dwindling sales due to a lack of fuel-efficient offerings for customers, these voices made an impressive chorus for real change.
More than 17,000 UCS activists backed up this impressive showing by sending letters to their members of Congress urging them to stop their myopic focus on oil drilling and instead put pressure on the Bush administration to "save CAFE." The letters urged their support for H.R.6643 / S.3403, the Accuracy in Fuel Economy Standards Act, which would require the DOT to use more realistic gas price estimates.
Our efforts have not stopped there, though. In August, Driving Change Network member Jay Zoellner of Walkerton, IN published a Letter to the Editor in the South Bend Tribune. And we have also been working with our colleagues at NRDC and Sierra Club to put together some cheeky, but very apt, online ads that are running in newspapers around the country. Here's the punchline:
We’re looking to keep the pressure on, so if you’re interested in writing your own Letter to the Editor or faxing a copy of this ad directly to your members of Congress with your own “Save CAFE” message, send me an email and we’ll do everything we can to help you out.
Thanks to the excellent work of Outreach & Program Assistant Leah Rose, you can now find a number of updates to our HybridCenter incentives page. As if $4.00 gas prices weren’t enough, there are still a lot of other perks out there to be had. Check to see if your state passed any new legislation or if some free hybrid parking opened up in your town.
Here are a couple of newsworthy updates:
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 Earlier this year, Colorado officially started allowing drivers of qualified hybrid vehicles to use the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and High Occupancy Toll lanes with single occupants. Qualifying vehicles must display the required HOV exemption decal and transponder. Click here for more information and to apply for a decal and transponder. If you want this perk, you’ll need to act quickly as there are only 2,000 decals available. -
The San Antonio City Council decided to extend the free hybrid parking pilot program indefinitely. Simply register your vehicle with the city to receive a display placard. Then you can park for free at street parking meters. The San Antonio City Parking Division is located at 243 N. Center Street. The registration form is available here (pdf).
Several states (including Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas) have pending hybrid legislation—so we’ll keep watching. We try to keep the list as comprehensive as possible, so if we’re missing anything, please let us know.
 New Honda Hybrid is “Back to the Future”: For Honda’s new hybrid, set to debut at the Paris Auto Show, rumor has it that the company decided to go “retro” for a name—it’s the Honda Insight. Yes, the vehicle that pioneered hybrid technology in America is coming back as the lower-cost, five-seat alternative to the Prius. Toyota doesn’t seem to be sweating the competition, as demand for the Prius is so high they don’t see the Insight cutting into Prius sales, especially with the Gen. 3 Prius on the immediate horizon. More on this story at the Hybrid News Center.
- GM Wants Volt Labled Electric: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and General Motors (GM) have been doing a little plug-in dance over what kind of fuel economy rating to give the Volt, which GM seems bound and determined to bring to market in 2010. Given the Volt can work only on electricity, and the gas engine is used not to propel the car, but to recharge the battery, there was some question as to what fuel economy rating to give it. GM wants the vehicle classified as an electric vehicle, which would give it the magic 100mpg rating. The other question remaining will be whether GM can meet another magic number—the under $40,000 price tag it says it wants to put on the Volt. More on the Volt, and its possible competitor from Chrysler, at the Hybrid News Center.
- Concept Hybrids Coming Out: Toyota has developed a Camry Hybrid concept that runs on natural gas, perhaps indicating their plans to ensure market competitiveness if Compressed Natural Gas becomes a larger part of the auto fuel marketplace. Kia is also picking the Paris Auto Show to debut hybrid versions of not one, but two different models, the Soul and Cee’d. Both are projected to get well over 40mpg, though it looks like these two cars will be intended for the European market, at least for starters. More stories on hybrid concepts can be found on the Hybrid News Center.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released their annual report on the fuel economy trends of American vehicles from 1975 until today. In it, they do a very interesting comparison of four model years: 1975, 1987, 1998, and 2008.
First and foremost, they look at the fuel economy of the vehicles.
Characteristics of Light Duty Vehicles for Four Model Years
Year: 1975 1987 1998 2008
Laboratory Test Fuel Economy mpg: 15.3 25.9 24.5 26.0
 Automakers love to note the fact that our fuel economy is actually on the upswing, as the EPA projects the real-world average fuel economy for model year 2008 cars and trucks to reach 26.0 mpg, a 2 mpg increase since 2004. The fact is, however, that we are only now starting to surpass the same place we were two decades ago, when fuel economy regulations really helped to boost America’s efficiency significantly .
Another unfortunate footnote to this story is the fact that the fuel economy values shown above correspond to mpgs achieved in a laboratory using an outdated government test procedure. This procedure doesn’t accurately capture today’s driving styles, including high speed driving, aggressive acceleration, and use of air conditioning (all of which reduce fuel economy). So the “on-road” fuel economies—those that you and I get when we drive—are in fact about 20 percent lower than these numbers.
There are some very telling other trends in the report as well. Of course, hybrid technology has risen from nothing to 2.5 percent of the market, and we all know that is going nowhere but up. (Though unbelievably, the Department of Transportation is telling us that hybrids won’t even exist until 2014 in their plan to implement the new fuel economy standards.)
But while hybrids are always the catchy story, the real news is buried underneath, with the cost-effective technologies that can boost mpgs in conventional vehicles. A solid 58 percent of vehicles now use variable valve timing to help save gas, with other technologies such as six-speed automatic transmissions, automated manual transmissions, cylinder deactivation, and turbocharging (which can help save gas when combined with engine downsizing) seeing increased use. As UCS has been saying for a while now, the exciting and catchy technologies always get the headlines, but the conventional technologies—the “boring stuff,” if you will—are a critical component in boosting our overall fleet mpg as we move forward.
Still, the automakers have significant room for improvement. Fuel economy has become increasingly important to consumers in a world of climate change and four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline, and we hope to see more and more vehicles designed with fuel economy in mind. The bump in average mpg is a sign of consumers’ interest in efficiency, but given the limited number of efficient models on the market right now, that bump can only go so high. Here’s what our Senior Engineer Jim Kliesch has to say about it:
Consumers are doing the best they can to buy more fuel efficient cars and trucks, but automakers are not providing enough options on showroom floors. The auto industry can and must do more to curb our oil addiction and save drivers money at the pump. The Bush administration's own analysis says automakers could achieve 35 mpg by 2015, but its new proposed fuel economy rules barely put automakers on the path to reaching 35 mpg by 2020. Consumers can't afford a five-year delay in getting to 35 mpg. The Bush administration needs to act on its own analysis and give Americans significantly better fuel economy, which will save them money and protect the environment at the same time.
Who’s Got Hybrids Now?
Thanks to Leah, we’ve got some great new additions to “Who’s Got Hybrids?” up and running!
 Adam Gottschalk of Portland, OR is excited about his ‘tricked out’ Honda Accord Hybrid. Besides fewer trips to the gas station, his favorite part is the big subwoofer in the trunk.
 Originally a Prius owner, Ralph Coleman of Nashville, TN became so curious about the Toyota Camry Hybrid, he went out and bought one. His Camry Hybrid has averaged 43 mpg for the past two years. He claims this car is the future!
 Sonny Bowyer of Richmond, VA is also recording fantastic mpg with her Toyota Prius. She’s averaging over 50 mpg. Plus with the Smart Key technology, Sonny doesn’t have to spend any time fumbling for her keys!
We're adding new members all the time. So go check them out yourself. And if you own a hybrid, or know someone who does, please ask them to join our “Who’s Got Hybrids?” family here.
That’s it for this month. Happy Rosh Hashanah to those of you celebrating the Jewish New Year, and we’ll talk more next month.
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