Eco-smart vehicles for 2010 are longer on mileage but still short on style
Buying a new vehicle is a huge decision, and not just because it’s the second largest purchase most people make. More than just transportation, your ride may also be your calling card, especially in L.A., so it could bring up all kinds of emotional issues.
There are political decisions to consider, too. For automakers GM and Chrysler, which were already teetering on the brink of failure, last year’s nearly 40 percent sales drop from a decade prior brought government bailouts and “cash for clunkers.” Thanks to the limited foresight of auto industry decision makers, each American taxpayer has now invested $12,200 in “Government Motors” and $7,600 in Chrysler, according to one report. So do we really want to up the investment in GM and Chrysler by buying one of their products?
The more restrained among us may prefer to ignore the stimulus impulse and stick with what we’ve got for a few more years. While some analysis suggests there’s a gigantic pent-up demand for vehicles that will push annual car sales back up from last year’s 10.4 million units to 16 million by 2012, the U.S. could function quite nicely without replenishing new car stock for a decade. Heck, look at Cuba. Some of their most popular models are 50-year-old Studebakers and Edsels.
Whether your old buggy is at the end of the line or last year’s lease is up, if you’re looking for a more enviro friendly vehicle, there are options.
GM
GM’s product lineup for 2010 at the recent L.A. Auto Show didn’t exactly scream green, but you’d never know it by all the happy talk at the show kickoff from GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz (who spoke in place of GM’s CEO who had, ahem, resigned the day before). Lutz spoke of the company’s “unprecedented focus on green technology.” The company’s two green bets for the year: Chevy Cruze and Volt.
Chevy Cruze
The 2011 Chevy Cruze should be available in the third quarter of this year. The mid-size compact sedan is already sold in Europe and Asia, and marketing materials tout its vigorous testing in Europe, with all those “lessons learned” applied to the U.S. model. Pricing is not yet available, but it will be built in Ohio and supported by plants in Michigan.
Biggest selling point
In the most efficient version of Cruze, the Ecotec 1.4-liter turbo engine is expected to deliver 40 mpg highway.
Good to know
More cabin and cargo room than Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.
Chevy Volt
Sharing a platform with Cruze later this year will be the 2011 Chevy Volt, described as an electric vehicle with a range extender. This means Volt is powered by electricity from a battery, but when the battery is depleted, Volt can go further on electricity created by a gas generator. Volt’s system “eliminates range anxiety,” as Lutz explained it. A Volt runs an estimated 40 miles on the electricity stored in the battery before the gas-powered generator automatically kicks in for an extended 300-mile driving range.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 Volts are planned for the first production year, with annual numbers ramping up to between 50- and 60,000. Pricing has not been announced for the Volt, which also will be built in America, but may be as high as $40,000 prior to a tax rebate of $7,500.
Biggest selling point
No more agonizing about who killed the electric car, because you can finally have one—with a fail-safe for range anxiety.
Good to know
The range would get many U.S. drivers to and from their jobs emissions-free, since the average U.S. commute is 40 miles or less.
NISSAN
Believing hybrid technology was just a bridge, Nissan has offered only one hybrid, the popular Altima, hybridized with Toyota’s tech. Meanwhile Nissan’s greener self has been working on electric vehicles, which CEO Carlos Ghosn expects will account for 10 percent of global sales by 2020.
Leaf
Ushering in Nissan’s commitment to green tech is the Leaf, an all-electric vehicle expected to have a 100-mile range, more than adequate for most
commuters. The medium-size, five-passenger hatchback will be powered by an 80-kilowatt motor and lithium-ion batteries for zero emissions. Among its interesting features are bumpers and interior trim made from recycled plastic bottles and fabrics, batteries that can be recharged remotely from a driver’s mobile phone, and a trackball that works almost like a computer mouse to put the Leaf in reverse or drive. And of course there’s no gas cap; instead, there’s a “recharge port” under the Nissan badging on the front end.
Happily, Nissan has partnerships in its key launch markets to develop an EV infrastructure, and the Department of Energy granted nearly $100 million for infrastructure to the Electric Transportation Engineering Corp.
Nissan will begin taking reservations this spring for the Leaf, making it available late in the year in Los Angeles and other select markets. The first Leafs (Leaves?) will be produced in Japan, but the company plans to begin Leaf and battery production at its Tennessee plant in late 2012, with capacity to build 150,000 vehicles. Pricing TBD.
Biggest selling point
Leaf is expected to be the first EV that will be mass marketed globally, so there’s little chance you’ll be left high and dry —there’s a major investment behind Leaf.
Good to know
It’s essentially noise free, but that has pros and cons. Engineers are researching sounds to give the Leaf, including one to alert pedestrians of its presence and one to give owners “emotional attachment.”
HONDA
Honda has the highest CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) of all major automakers and offers energy choices that are good (clean gasoline vehicles with ultra low/near-zero emissions), better (hybrids), best (natural gas) and ultimate (hydrogen fuel cell), with the last two requiring new infrastructure.
Insight Hybrid
The 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid fits in the company’s “better” category. It’s much changed from the Insight of 1999 that, despite 70 mpg highway, failed to capture buyer imagination. In fact, the new Insight more resembles the competition—comparisons to Toyota’s Prius are numerous. The 5-door compact seats five and is not just wearing hybrid clothing; it was designed and built as a hybrid.
A push of the ECON button on the dashboard starts Ecological Drive Assist and is the ticket to fuel-saving functions. Color-coded driver feedback (green when driving efficiently; blue when it’s time to lighten up) at the end of your drive gives you an “eco score.”
Biggest selling point
With an MSRP of $19,800, it’s the least expensive hybrid.
Good to know
43 mpg highway is official, but there are reports of more than 63 mpg.
FORD
Ford skipped feeding at the government trough, a position viewed favorably by consumers and reflected in the company’s stock price, which climbed from below $2 a share in early 2009 to more than $9 at year end.
Fiesta
Ford, like GM, is touting its international cred. The Fiesta racked up sales of more 500,000 units in its first year in the E.U. and Asia, making it Ford’s best-selling car in Europe. For the United States, Fiesta is Ford’s small-car solution in the company’s overall plan to deliver “vehicles with best-in class quality, fuel efficiency, safety and value,” according to Mark Fields, Ford president, the Americas.
Fiesta is expected to deliver 40 mpg highway with a 1.6 liter DOHC I-4 engine, advanced PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission. Fiesta has 15 class-exclusive premium technologies, such as keyless entry, push-button start and SYNC, a communications system that integrates the driver’s cell phone with the car’s onboard, voice-activated communications and entertainment system.
Offered as a four-door sedan or five-door hatchback, pricing starts at $13,320. Available this summer.
Biggest selling point
The mpg, which Ford says bests Toyota’s Yaris and Corolla, and Honda’s Fit and Civic.
Good to know
Colors are bold: Lime Squeeze, Bright Magenta, Blue Flame and Red Candy.
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the new lineup of eco friendly autos seems to be missing the visual wow factor. Any one of these new models would salve my conscience, but I still long for an energy-efficient EV with the eye candy of an early Porsche, Karmann Ghia or Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing.
Maria Fotopoulos plans on driving her 10-year-old car on the L.A. roads a bit longer.
