 | Hybrid Watchdog: Nissan & Hyundai's New Hybrids--Good Step or Greenwashing? |
Automakers Nissan and Hyundai are poised to enter the hybrid market in 2006 with the introduction of the Altima hybrid and Accent hybrid models, respectively. The Altima hybrid is going to be built in Smyrna, Tennessee, marking the first foreign company to produce a hybrid vehicle domestically. Hyundai is rumored to be offering its Accent Hybrid at a lower retail price than the current options on the market, thereby expanding the potential buying pool, and interest, in hybrid vehicles. The scramble of manufacturers to enter and expand their presence in the hybrid market shows how seriously they take the business benefits of establishing a “green reputation” for their automobiles. Those companies working to establish such a reputation, such as Nissan and Hyundai, should not associate with groups that stand for just the opposite.
Enter the Auto Alliance The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, (a.k.a. the Auto Alliance) lobbyists representing most of the major automobile manufacturers, (Ford, GM, Toyota, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler, Mazda, and Mitsubishi) is just such a group. The Alliance has a long legacy of lobbying at the state and federal level to prevent any significant movement forward on auto emissions, fuel economy, and safety improvements. Lately, it has been spending a tremendous amount of money first attempting to defeat, then suing to stop, California’s landmark regulations on global warming pollution from autos. The Auto Alliance led unsuccessful efforts in Washington State to block its adoption of higher auto emission standards, and have recently descended upon Oregon in an attempt to derail an auto emissions strategy that would encompass the entire West Coast.
The Auto Alliance reached new heights of deception earlier this year. In an advertising campaign targeting federal legislators, supplemented by a press campaign at auto shows around the country, it has been promoting “virtually emission-free” autos. This claim is an attempt to completely recast the pollution debate away from automobiles and is simply false. It pretends that harmful heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from new autos does not exist, however, it is a fact that there are more CO2 emissions coming from the average new car today than there were 20 years ago. Only 4 nations in the world emit more total heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution from burning fossil fuels than U.S. autos release alone.
The True Costs of Deception Switching the U.S. fleet over to hybrids that more than double fuel economy could cut our global warming pollution as much as 275 million metric tons of carbon equivalent emissions by 2025. Global warming pollution is expected to lead to worse smog, an increase in asthma-triggering pollen and molds, and a substantial rise in the number of heat-related illnesses and deaths. It is bad enough that the Auto Alliance is engaged in a lawsuit to block breakthrough regulations on global warming emissions from autos. To compound that anti-consumer action with this blatantly false and misleading claim is irresponsible. Click here for a detailed fact sheet on this issue.
Recent reports detail Auto Alliance attempts to bring Nissan and Hyundai aboard, calling the companies “critical components” of the U.S. industry. Neither company has taken a definitive stance on joining the Auto Alliance. A definite “no” from these two companies could help send a signal to others, such as hybrid makers Ford and Toyota, that their association with this lobbyist group only undermines the hard work they do to convince consumers that they truly care about the environment, public health, and high gas prices.
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