Green Car Poll

[Henry]

In honor of Earth Day, I have posted a new poll about green cars. Those include hybrids, electric plug-ins and the like. I have listed the most popular green cars here, although some other models, like the Toyota Camry and Ford Escape, also offer a Hybrid option. The question is: If you could own just one green car, what would you choose?

[corco]

I'd say I like the Volt the best of the options you listed, but I'd buy a Fusion Hybrid if I were out buying a hybrid.

If a company other than VW (who sucks now) would get their act together and sell a diesel passenger car, I'd probably go that route instead.

Another  car I'm intrigued by that is a heck of a lot more "green" than  the car you mentioned that would probably be my first choice is the Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Built in Lordstown, Ohio by an American company (one of the main principles to being "green" is to buy local), without any of those environmentally hazardous hybrid batteries or the remarkably long shipping process of a Prius. From a personal standpoint, 42 MPG is good enough for me, especially if I'm paying several thousand dollars less than I would for a hybrid.

I don't see the hybrid as being a sustainable long term car model. It's a neat stopgap until we come out with something better, but somebody who really cares about the environment doesn't buy a hybrid. The environmental costs of production are way higher, the disposal of the car after it's done being used is sketchy, if it's a plug-in you're likely just plugging your car into a coal power plant. The most "green" car a person can drive is a car that already exists. Go buy a twenty year old Ford Escort if you want to be "green"- that's much better for the environment.

A twenty year old Ford Escort isn't much of a fashion statement though- the world doesn't get to see "LOOK AT ME I'M GREEN!" but it's better for the environment. That to me is the most disgusting part about hybrids- the hybrids that sell the best are the ones that have unique bodies, like the Prius. There's no reason whatsoever why a Prius should sell better than, say, a Civic Hybrid other than the Prius says "LOOK AT ME I'M A HYBRID" instead of "LOOK AT ME SENSIBLE SEDAN THAT GETS GOOD GAS MILEAGE"- it's disgusting. Hybrids are a way for people to flaunt their own fashion.

[agentsteel53]

If you could own just one green car, what would you choose?

'83 Honda Civic.  53mpg without any particular effort.

the Prius is great for renting.  62mpg (with a lot of effort ... 52 if you're not paying attention) pays back for the extra rental cost after a few hundred miles.  I will be getting one for my 4th of July trip, which is budgeted at 3200 miles.

[Duke87]

None of the above, at least asking the question in the context of today. Electric car technology and infrastructure has not yet advanced far enough to be practical for long distance driving (although the Volt avoids this problem), and is still too expensive to really be cost effective. And, while I wouldn't mind driving a hybrid, I insist that my car be an American car, so Toyota and Honda are out.

Of course, my current car (Ford Focus) is only a couple years old, and I fully intend to run it into the ground. So I am nowhere near looking to buy a new car, and who knows what will be on the market by the time I am.

Let's also not neglect the potential for E85 and algae-based fuels. Conventional combustion can be green as well, depending on what you're burning.

[NE2]

a pair of shoes and a bike

[oscar]

Since I have no place where I live to plug in an electric or plug-in hybrid car, and expect there will be none for the foreseeable future (my condo complex's electrical grid is supposedly too fragile to add charging stations), that pretty much rules out an all-electric like the Leaf, and makes a plug-in hybrid like the Volt mostly pointless.

I currently drive a 2008 Prius and am satisfied with it.

[The Premier]

A diesel car, such as a Mercedes-Benz. An older, non V6 car would work too.

If a company other than VW (who sucks now) would get their act together and sell a diesel passenger car, I'd probably go that route instead.

IIRC, Mercedes-Benz makes diesel cars also.

[corco]

IIRC, Mercedes-Benz makes diesel cars also.

I forgot to say affordable. I want a diesel Ford Fiesta something fierce.

[Alps]

My car is green

[Dr Frankenstein]

Alps:  

Tesla Model S. http://www.teslamotors.com/models

2nd choice: Chevy Volt.

'83 Honda Civic.  53mpg without any particular effort.

Indeed. I miss my '92 Civic. It kicked ass of a brand new Toyota Echo in terms of economy. (We did an experiment.)

[Henry]

None of the above, at least asking the question in the context of today. Electric car technology and infrastructure has not yet advanced far enough to be practical for long distance driving (although the Volt avoids this problem), and is still too expensive to really be cost effective. And, while I wouldn't mind driving a hybrid, I insist that my car be an American car, so Toyota and Honda are out.

Of course, my current car (Ford Focus) is only a couple years old, and I fully intend to run it into the ground. So I am nowhere near looking to buy a new car, and who knows what will be on the market by the time I am.

Let's also not neglect the potential for E85 and algae-based fuels. Conventional combustion can be green as well, depending on what you're burning.

A diesel car, such as a Mercedes-Benz. An older, non V6 car would work too.

If a company other than VW (who sucks now) would get their act together and sell a diesel passenger car, I'd probably go that route instead.

IIRC, Mercedes-Benz makes diesel cars also.

You have some good points there. I only included the best-known models because I didn't want to make an exhaustive list of all cars that offer a Hybrid version, which would be moot anyway. And you are correct, good old gasoline can also be green, as E85 and other algae-based mixtures have shown.

[realjd]

I'm not paying in this hypothetical situation, am I?

It's no contest. The Tesla Roadster. If cost isn't an issue, why on earth would someone choose any of the others on the list?

[Brandon]

I'm not paying in this hypothetical situation, am I?

It's no contest. The Tesla Roadster. If cost isn't an issue, why on earth would someone choose any of the others on the list?

Range and charging time.  That's where the Volt wins and the Tesla and the Leaf fail.

[Truvelo]

Surely the best option would be a diesel hybrid. Diesel engines are already very fuel efficient and torquey. Couple it with an electric motor and you have the best of everything and I can't see why three digit mpg shouldn't be possible.

Of all the cars listed at the top of this thread the Tesla would be my choice. As others have said, it's not practical for those driving huge distances but if you're a trendy type who spends a few hours each day driving around a big city it would be the perfect car - quick 0-60 time to beat almost anything at the traffic lights, up to 300 mile range so you can use it for more than a couple of hours without recharging. It sure beats weaving through city traffic in a Range Rover.

[oscar]

Surely the best option would be a diesel hybrid. Diesel engines are already very fuel efficient and torquey. Couple it with an electric motor and you have the best of everything and I can't see why three digit mpg shouldn't be possible..

Since one of the benefits of an electric motor is its low-end torque, it seems that an electric motor would provide less help to an already-torquey diesel engine than a less-torquey gas engine.

[mightyace]

And, a diesel engine powering an electric motor is a time tested technology with the earliest prototypes appearing nearly a century ago.

What we commonly call diesel locomotives are really diesel-electric locomotives where the diesel engine turns a generator or alternator which then feeds electricity to the traction motors.

Most diesel-electric locomotives don't have batteries.  However, even that is not a new idea, several of the very early locomotives did have batteries.  This didn't last because, at the time, the diesel engines couldn't keep the batteries charged.

In recent years, hybrids have made a comeback.  However, the genset (2 or more engines in which only those needed are run) have gained better popularity.