12 Greenest Cars of 2012

[Todd Burch]

Another example of journalistic incompetence: CNN Money's "12 Greenest Cars of 2012".

Among them: smart Fortwo (38 MPG), Scion iQ (36 MPg), Honda Insight, and Toyota Prius. No mention of the Model S.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/autos/1202/gallery.aceee-greenest-cars/

 

[Todd Burch]

Update:
"12 greenest cars of 2012
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has released its list of the most environmentally friendly cars of 2012, but there's one glaring omission."

Guess they're referring to the Volt, which ought to be in this list as well.

I've concluded this is an "advertisement"....

 

[Robert.Boston]

If you trace through the links, it seems to point back to GreenerCars.org. My guess is that they only included vehicles that had a published EPA MPGe rating; I don't believe Tesla has secured that yet.

 

[dsm363]

Everyone one of these articles has this basic comment
"ZolaHolt: There's nothing green about electric cars -- 55% of our electricity is produced from coal. And where are all those batteries going when they wear out, in the landfill?"

 

[Todd Burch]

If you trace through the links, it seems to point back to GreenerCars.org. My guess is that they only included vehicles that had a published EPA MPGe rating; I don't believe Tesla has secured that yet.

I can see that...but then where is the Volt?

 

[vfx]

Only a timid mention in the comments. How can they ignore the high end segment with cars like the Volt and S?

At least the LEAF was listed.

 

[richkae]

Everyone one of these articles has this basic comment
"ZolaHolt: There's nothing green about electric cars -- 55% of our electricity is produced from coal. And where are all those batteries going when they wear out, in the landfill?"

This comment is ill informed in so many ways, but the easiest one is the 55% number.
Coal has not been more than 50% of U.S. electricity production since 2003 - coal's share has been dropping steadily and it is currently only 43% of U.S. electricity production.

 

[dsm363]

I realize this is slightly off topic but I read that even in West Virginia with almost 100% coal, an EV is still about as green as a Prius. Don't have a source for that though.

Anyway, I don't see why the Model S was left out. It should definitely make and win every list next year.

 

[vfx]

This comment is ill informed in so many ways, but the easiest one is the 55% number.
Coal has not been more than 50% of U.S. electricity production since 2003 - coal's share has been dropping steadily and it is currently only 43% of U.S. electricity production.

I thought the easiest was. "So electric cars are half as air polluting as gasoline burning cars" That's bad?

 

[tdelta1000]

If you trace through the links, it seems to point back to GreenerCars.org. My guess is that they only included vehicles that had a published EPA MPGe rating; I don't believe Tesla has secured that yet.

What about the Roadster?

 

[Robert.Boston]

What about the Roadster?

No longer in production? Too expensive? Hard to know.

 

[dhrivnak]

I think the issue is the Roadster is offically out of production and the Model S is not yet shipping and does not have an MPGe. In my mind the model S is really a 2013 model and I bet it will make the greenest list next year.

 

[zack]

The whole coal argument is baseless. A Tesla's efficiency, plug to rubber, is so astoundingly much higher than an ICE that it will ALWAYS be greener than ANY gas car.

 

[MarkR]

Looks like the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has a set of ideas about what is "right." Most of us here would probably disagree about their priorities. The Council also seems to have a clear preference for ugly cars - it must be part of their selection criteria. No one here believes in ugly cars!

 

[Teslawisher]

So, we all understand the coal argument is pretty baseless. What is the answer to the "green-ness" of battery production methods, and then disposal at end of life? How do those factors affect a green rating?

 

[ckessel]

So, we all understand the coal argument is pretty baseless. What is the answer to the "green-ness" of battery production methods, and then disposal at end of life? How do those factors affect a green rating?

I can't imagine it's any worse than disposing of used oil.

 

[Teslawisher]

I can't imagine it's any worse than disposing of used oil.

Good point. Does used oil go through any kind of recycling? Can (or do) batteries go through something similar that isn't being brought up in the arguments of how ungreen battery disposal is?

 

[Robert.Boston]

Oil can be recycled, i.e. thoroughly cleaned and reused as motor oil. There's even a retail brand now that advertises that some fraction of the oil is recycled.

EV batteries can also be recycled and the component minerals reused. A better use for aged EV batteries, however, will be to combine and reuse them as grid-scale storage. While a 60% degraded battery won't generally be useful in an EV, it's more than ample when combined with 1,000 others for grid applications (e.g., providing real-time reserves, reactive power, voltage stabilization, and renewables integration).

Important take-away: you have to pay to get rid of old motor oil; you'll get paid to hand over your aging EV battery.

 

[dmckinstry]

If the smartForTwo is the car I'm thinking of, it shouldn't be considered at all. 38 mpg. I could get 55 mpg (cross country driving) with my '95 Geo Metro with two adults at least one teenager, a dog and luggage. The only Smart I've ever seen didn't look like it had room for a bag of groceries, if a second person was in it. Correct me, if they're talking about a different car.

 

[VolkerP]

At the introduction in 1998, the Smart forTwo had disappointing mileage of 39-47mpg (US). The public expectation was something around 3L/100km (=78mpg) instead of 5.5 to 6.5 L/100km. The Smart ForTwo has a tiny trunk, though.