CARazed

Let me show you why I think today’s hybrids, like the Honda Insight, might just be a greenwash. Honda has been building super efficient cars for decades. The emissions of the older cars was slightly higher than today’s cars but it seems fuel economy has remained relatively stagnant.

A 1988 Honda CRX HF was rated at 37 MPG City and 47 MPG Highway and it put 4.5 tons of greenhouse gasses per year. [source]

A 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid is rated at 40 MPG City and 45 MPG Highway and pumps out 4.4 tons of greenhouse gasses per year. [source]

I absolutely admit that this is a bit on an apples to oranges comparison since one car is much lighter in weight and only seats two people and the other car is loaded down with options and complex technology. But when you compare these two cars side by side when looking for an green commuter car the older car wins.

The other more important point I want to make is that whatever Honda has been doing in the engine development department hasn’t delivered any significant fuel economy, reliability, or environmental improvements. What have automakers been doing for the past three decades?

I must admit modern cars are much more luxurious and feature rich. They also do a very good job of telling us when they need a scheduled maintenance. Power and torque is also up, but then you’d have to make improvements there if you were going to load cars down with bells and whistles.

In their defense, this was not entirely the automakers fault. They are simply running a business and in an effort to remain competitive they have simply delivered what people want, which seems to be bells and whistles. In other words consumer demand, or lack there of, has contributed greatly to these stalled fuel economy improvements.

This is why I urge people to stop buying new cars until automakers deliver 100 MPG cars. If car buyers make it a priority automakers will make it happen. In the mean time buy good used cars that get hybrid-like fuel economy.