April 9th, 2008
I’m watching Oprah’s webcast with Eckhart Tolle, which is funded in part by commercials from Chevy. These commercials consist of a guy talking to a group of little kids, with a lot of happy whistling music in the background, showing the children how “environmental” they can be riding in a large oversized SUV hybrid.
I don’t care that the Chevy Tahoe hybrid gets 21 mpg, as much as a smaller car, so they say in the commercial. It’s still crappy gas mileage, and the car is still wayyyy too big. (more…)
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January 13th, 2008
Even if this automotive monstrosity drove on pure dog doo, it would still be an obnoxious, annoying vehicle.
The big automotive news out today is that automakers are now focusing on pushing fuel-efficient vehicles and “green alternatives.” More and more there are ads on television, filmed in the great outdoors, trying to showcase hybrid SUVs as if they were somehow good for the environment.
SUVs are not good for the environment. A hybrid SUV is the lesser of two evils…but it’s still a huge resource hog. It’s not just SUVs though. Consider the following from the article “Auto industry shows off fuel-efficiency“:
In 1987, for example, the average vehicle could accelerate to 60 miles per hour in 13.1 seconds, weighed 3,221 pounds and had a 118 horsepower engine, offering about the same power as a 2008 Nissan Versa subcompact, which offers 122 horsepower.
By 2007, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average vehicle weighed 4,144 pounds, boasted a 223 horsepower engine and did zero to 60 in 9.6 seconds.
What an advance in technology. Because we all know how totally important it is to do zero to 60 in our everyday driving, and that extra 3 seconds is worth polluting the air for. We’ve certainly had our priorities straight for the past 10 years…ummm…not quite.
Well, at least they are taking some baby steps in the right direction.
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