Co-op wants a plugged-in America
Co-op America has launched a campaign to encourage automakers to mass produce plug-in hybrid vehicles. This includes a demonstration outside the Washington Auto Show. Co-op America believes that the technology is ready and that customers deserve 100-mpg vehicles in 2010.The organization also states that not developing this technology will harm the U.S. auto industry because foreign automakers are already working on it and might have it ready (er... how about the Volt?). The Co-op directly points a finger at what they call "hot air solutions" (such as ethanol) which, according to them, don't really address the country's oil addiction and how automakers advertise their cars' power instead of efficiency. Plug-in technology seems to Co-op America as the readiest solution.
Co-op America is looking for supporters to send a letter to Ford and GM from the Co-op's website, joining their campaign to ask U.S. automakers to make plug-in hybrids.
While I think demonstrating is very good, I think that the Co-op's chances are small. Yes, plug-in technology is here and is very promising, but maybe the industry and, specifically, the battery industry isn't ready for large deployment levels. What's your opinion? You can read the full press release after the jump.
[Source: Co-Op]
Co-op America Encourages Automakers to Plug-In to Climate Solutions
Over 10,000 American Consumers Have Already Sent Letters, Postcards to Push American Automakers to Mass Produce Plug-In Hybrids
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Co-op America continues its campaign to encourage automakers to mass produce plug-in hybrid vehicles today outside the Washington Auto Show as members and staff encourage attendees to ask American car makers to "Plug-In To Climate Solutions." Over 10,000 consumers have already expressed to General Motors and Ford their wish that the companies devote more resources to mass-producing a plug-in hybrid and using already available technology to achieve over 100 miles-per-gallon.
Co-op America's Climate Change Program Coordinator Yochanan Zakai said: "Consumer demand continues to grow for fuel efficient plug-in hybrid vehicles, but for year after year automakers continue to display concept cars inside auto shows. We call on domestic automakers to keep their assembly lines open and meet consumer demand by mass-producing plug-in hybrids vehicles before 2010."
As the planet heats up, America's largest car makers are giving us a lot of hot air about solutions, but taking few real steps to meaningfully reduce carbon emissions. The technology exists today to make cars that get 100 miles per gallon and move away from dependence on foreign oil. Instead of mass-producing these vehicles, GM and Ford have promoted corn-based ethanol as a viable part of the solution to global warming and energy security.
American consumers have a growing appetite for fuel efficient cars. Domestic automakers could continue the strong legacy of American innovations by leading the industry and producing the next generation of plug-in hybrid automobiles. Instead, foreign automakers are capitalizing on this trend and threatening American leadership and jobs. Consumers are talking about global warming, and automobiles, a main source of carbon emissions, must be a part of the solution. The single biggest step we can take towards breaking our addiction to foreign oil is to mass produce cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars.
Detroit automakers have continued to push ethanol-fueled cars, which are less fuel-efficient and using current technologies can even produce more global warming emissions than gasoline-fueled cars. The corn that goes into ethanol takes massive amounts of energy, water, and land to produce, and using it for fuel could take away food from the world's poorest peoples. Instead of promoting ethanol, automobile manufacturers need to significantly improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles and increase their production of hybrid and plug-in vehicles.
A Civil Society Institute survey of Michigan households released in February 2007, with more than a third (31 percent) of households including one or more people directly or indirectly involved in the auto industry, showed that residents felt the U.S. auto manufacturers were falling down on the job when it came to fuel efficient vehicles. When asked to identify the three biggest problems facing the U.S. auto industry today, more state residents (60 percent) pointed most often to "the industry not offering the best available technology, including improved fuel efficiency."
The second most common response at 59 percent was an "over-emphasis on production of vehicles with poor fuel efficiency, like SUVs." (Auto industry workers in Michigan are not inclined to defend their employers; 60 percent of survey respondents in households with someone working in the auto industry cited Detroit's focus on SUVs and other fuel-inefficient vehicles as one of the biggest problems facing the industry.) The third most common response at 53 percent was that there was "poor U.S. auto industry vision and leadership."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CARazed 7:03PM (1/24/2008)
I think they are definitely on the right track. Plug-in hybrids are the most viable solution for today and the best bridge to an all electric car world. The other options require too much time and infrastructure. Hydrogen fuel cells although much cleaner at the car they still burn hydrogen; a fuel that 95% of today's commercial production comes from fossil fuel.
http://www.carazed.com/category/plug-in-hybrid/
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Bill 8:34PM (1/24/2008)
Sure we all want PHEVs, but realistically lithium battery costs per kWh need to drop by at least 2/3.
Hopefully by 2010.
Otherwise we'll need to plan on leasing the battery pack.
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Mike Z 8:38PM (1/24/2008)
Wow these guys are more behind the times than the NRDC when it comes to technology! And that is saying something, even the auto makers are pushing cellulose ethanol now instead of corn ethanol.
This is great news two years ago.
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fred schumacher 9:01AM (1/25/2008)
Co-op America has seen the future, and it's coal powered cars.
Ethanol has become everybody's favorite whipping boy, but the environmental impacts of battery/electric cars has hardly been touched.
With coal providing over half our electricity and with coal being the cheapest, quickest way for power companies to increase capacity, the extra demand of electric cars will most likely come from coal, the original killer app.
Neither has there been much thought given to the logistics and possibility of manufacturing and recycling batteries in huge quantities.
These PHEVs and BEVs are expensive and hugely complex vehicles. The speed of replacement of our present inefficient vehicle fleet with electric cars will be slow, and fleet average fuel economy will creep up incrementally.
A faster conversion to lower overall fuel usage would be by using the Tata Nano model. An inexpensive (let's say, for argument, $7,000 for a U.S. version) doable solution that would allow for rapid fleet replacement to triple the present fleet fuel economy average -- a leap instead of an increment.
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Mike Z 12:28PM (1/25/2008)
You are wrong in Two ways
1) Coal, while being cheap to operate is not the cheapest to build: Natural gas has much lower capital costs and quicker build times.
2) Just about every life cycle study done has concluded that EVs powered by coal fire power plants are, at worst case, producing about the same amount of CO2 as a gasoline engine.
So we trade a fuel with a 40 year supply for one with 250 years and have the same net CO2. I'm not in favor of coal power, but if the net effect is the same and it's cheaper, why not?
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Yochi Zakai 1:53PM (1/27/2008)
In addition to the point about equivalent or less carbon emissions, there is a huge untapped capacity in our current electricity gird at night. Without building a single new power plant, the US electrical grid has the capacity to power the daily commutes of 73 percent of our light-duty passenger vehicles at night.
I would like to point you to a Co-op America Quarterly Article that discusses, in-depth, the benefits of plug-in hybrids:
http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/caq/articles/Summer2007Fuels/electric.cf
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