SOLAR TODAY - June 2011

get started how to select an efficient vehicle

FouRTH;ANNuAL EFFICIENT CARS R O U N D U P

EVs and plug-in hybrids arrive, as
hybrids go mainstream and gasoline
prices go through the roof.

By SETH MASIA

Tom Moloughney of Chester, n.J., commutes in his Mini E 62 miles round-trip to the restaurant he owns in Montclair, n.J. he claims to save $5,000 a year on fuel and maintenance expenses. in February 2010, integrator GeoGenix installed an 8.8-kilowatt photovoltaic system at his home, with 39 Sunpower modules generating about 10 megawatt-hours annually, about half of which charges the Mini E. Follow Moloughney and his car at minie250.blogspot.com. warning: his april 1 post is an april Fools’ stunt.

GEoGENIx

32 June 2011 SOLAR TODAY solartoday.org

This was supposed to be the year we were flooded with electric vehicles (eVs). Major manufacturers have in fact introduced their mass-produced eVs, but batteries and other compo- nents are still in short supply — a situation exacerbated by the slowdown in japanese manufacturing after the March 11, earthquake and tsunami. Toyota, nissan and Honda closed a number of factories temporarily, in japan, europe and north America, during March, April and May, delaying delivery of most models.

The trickle of cars into dealer showrooms is real, however, and visible if you happen to live in one of the test markets. Carmakers naturally deliver first in areas where short-haul driving habits, recharging infrastructure and tax incentives make eV adoption a more attractive proposition. That means West Coast markets, new York, Washington, D.C., and a few cities in between.

Meanwhile, hybrid gas/electric cars have gone mainstream. Auto industry researchers report that sales of new hybrid cars rose 46 percent in March (over March of 2010), driven by

gasoline prices that rose 6 percent during the month to a national average of $3.60 per gallon for unleaded regular ( eia.gov). According to the research firm j.D. Power and Associates, about 275,000 hybrids of all kinds were sold in the united States in the first quarter ( 51 percent were Priuses, the fuel-efficiency leader). The company forecasts that hybrids will account for 4. 5 percent of the u.S. new-car market in 2012. In early April, Toyota reported the sale of its millionth Prius in the united States. At the same time, the price of a used Prius rose sharply: Dealers typically asked $23,000 for a 2008 or 2009 model with 25,000 to 40,000 miles on the clock — essentially the same price as a brand-new 2011 base model.

The spreadsheet on page 36, refined and expanded over four years, is our ongoing attempt to summarize the economic and carbon-foot-print efficiency of cars you can buy now or in the near future. note that it includes a few sample used cars. The carbon generated in manufacturing any car usually exceeds the carbon emissions for the first year of driving — and of course any new car loses value quickly within the first year.

This means, over the short haul, that operating an efficient used car puts less carbon into the atmosphere than buying and driving a more fuel-efficient new one, and buying a fuel-efficient used car is often the more cost-effective way both to save money and to reduce the household’s carbon footprint.

How to read the chart:

Cars are arranged on the chart by motor type, and then in order of their estimated cost to buy and operate.

Curb weight reflects the car’s general heft, in pounds. It’s what the car weighs with a full tank of gas but no passengers or luggage. Of course, an electric car has no gas tank, and the batteries don’t grow lighter as they discharge.

MPG is miles per gallon, according to tests conducted by the environmental Protection Agency (ePA). The ePA gives mileage for city driving, highway driving and combined; we’ve shown the city and highway figures. If you do mostly stop-and-go driving — neighborhood errands, deliveries or taxi-cab driving, for instance — the city number is more relevant. To convert mpg to kilometers per liter, multiply by