Can car guys be environmentalists?
Nobody likes to be labeled, unless they truly embody everything that a specific group stands for. For instance, many people who try and live their lives in an eco-friendly manner would not label themselves as "tree huggers", but for some, the label fits perfectly and they have no problem with it at all. Car guys, though, generally readily admit to their fascination with all things automotive. Perhaps it's because being a "car guy" doesn't often carry along a negative stigma. Regardless, an interesting debate has sprung up on the Karl on Cars blog, where Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief of Edmunds.com, happily accepts the "car guy" label while rejecting the "environmentalist" tag, despite his admitted provocation to conserve resources whenever possible, including with the automobile. The debate of whether or not someone could be both an environmentalist and a car guy is an interesting one. Perhaps one could claim to be a "green car guy" in lieu of actually being labeled as a tree-hugging environmentalist. Splitting hairs? Maybe, but it might make sense to have a category for those who want to drive clean for reasons other than saving the planet.
[Source: Karl on Cars]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MBM 1:53PM (7/13/2008)
Car guys, even serious hot-rodders, have to buy fuel so they are not above considering fuel saving techniques. This alone gives them somewhat of a greenish tinge, if only by default. Of course the sum total of fuel used by the enthusiast and collector car community is tiny so the overall effect on the country's gasoline usage is negligible but 4 dollar a gallon fuel hurts the individual rodder more than most so although tree-hugging may be out a soft shoe on the loud pedal is more frequent now than before.
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jeffzekas 2:26PM (7/13/2008)
Can you be an environmentalist and a car guy? I would argue you MUST be environmentally aware, if you own a car! Even before the gas crisis of 1973, my dad said, "Why can't a car be fast AND get 25 mpg?" (he drove an Austin Healey Sprite-- 30 mpg and fun!). Since our family has always driven "small" cars-- VW's, Toyotas, Hondas, Subarus-- with large cars for work duties-- to me, "ecological car guy" means: drive a automobile that gets good gas mileage, buy a used car instead of brand-new, go to the junkyard for recycled parts (and it's fun and cheaper!) and recycle YOUR car, at the end of its life. Keep your car tuned-up (so it pollutes less) and well-maintained (noise pollution is just a bad as air pollution!). So, I see NO conflict between being a "car guy" and an ecologist... after all, except for folks living on communes and desert islands, most people in the modern world drive cars. As for me, I plan on retrofitting my '64 Chevrolet C-10 truck with a clean-running, quiet, plutonium-fed nuclear motor in 2030!
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a.brien 3:29PM (7/13/2008)
Im not really environmentalist nor green. Im cheap, that's what i am. The futur cars will be like the computers and microwaves and t.v's, better and especially cheaper. T.v's are 4 time better then 20 years ago but actual cars are 5% better and the price have been raise ??? With the money they save at the factories and in the administration office and in the engineering department i can say that we are rob of a ton of money. They can conceive parts and fabricate them and assemble all that for 2 time less money and workmanship then 20 years ago, all because of computer aids at all level of the process. They checks the tolerance of the parts and the fit and finish with laser machine in seconds with 100% accuracy, yet they didn't pass the savings to the consumer.
Im here in this site shopping for my future car that will need water as a fuel, be electric with an hydrogen electrolyser machine inside the car where we feed the water. It will have 200-300 h.p and with the use of carbon fiber, aluminium an titane will cost 20 000$ and last 30 years so the resale value will be great when i will purchase my next generation car that will be a flying car so no more short run in traffic jam.
For the old technologies that is been sold as of now like toyota with their criminal internal combustion engine that need a ton of gasoline or the trucks that need toxic petroluem diesel we can make the fuel with green algae farming, bio-diesel a direct replacement of petroluem diesel and ethanol or even butanol, a direct replacement of gasoline so no need to re-tune the engine.
All the problems that are not solved yet are because too much people are plain incompetants and when they have a job then they just protect it. The staff of gm, exxon mobil, the army, the president, the scientists, the journalists, the paid artists, the parts suppliers, the truckers and drivers, the school teachers, the internet chatters, are not understanding current technologies and are just repeating automaticcally the few things their been told when they were 10-15 years old.... The few that have build actual water powered car have succeeded because they can think for themself but they don't know that 99% of the people
are more interrested by social-economic security instead of anything else.
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Chris M 5:44PM (7/13/2008)
You want a 300 hp carbon fiber aluminum and titanium car that costs only $20,000? Unlikely anytime soon, unless some real dramatic breakthroughs happen - and by then inflation might well push even basic transport above that price.
If you had a good electricity supply on your future car, why waste it with onboard electrolysis? You'd loose at least 40% of the energy in electrolysis, and 50% more using fuel cells to get back only 30% of the electrical energy you started with. Better to use electricity directly, save energy, and save the quarter million dollar cost of fuel cells.
Ah, but you're one of those scientifically illiterates who think that going round and round a closed loop can somehow magically create loads of free energy. Sorry, that only works to siphon money from the pockets of dupes. While you're waiting for the impossible "water fueled" car that will never come, the rest of us will seek out practical workable solutions for our transport needs.
Chris M 5:13PM (7/13/2008)
There is a wide range of "environmentalists", as anyone concerned with having a clean and healthy living space is by definition an environmentalist.
Most environmentalists are willing to strike a balance between the environment and human needs, willing to preserve some wilderness and allow housing development, willing to dam some rivers for hydropower and let others flow freely, willing to allow burning of fuels for heat and power as long as pollution doesn't exceed tolerable levels. Not suprising that many car buffs are in this category.
But there are more extreme environmentalist who think we should all go back to an agrarian lifestyle without mechanized transports. What is overlooked is that widespread adoption of that "no car" luddite lifestyle could not support the current world population and would result in massive deaths,
A far more extreme environmental fanaticism would only be happy if the rest of humanity bacame extinct, allowing them to commune with nature in splendid isolation.
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Joce03 8:22PM (7/13/2008)
I would love to see a 996 Porsche Carrera 911 GT3 powered by an electric motor. So, I believe you can be both a "car guy" and an "environmentalist" if you stretch the definitions a bit!
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Jimmy 1:32AM (7/14/2008)
I call myself both. It is very important for "car guys" to see the value in clean cars and alternative fuels. It is also important for "tree huggers" to see the value in private automobiles as science, art, fashion and culture. To many "environmentalists" have become anti-car. Private automobiles are the most flexible, comfortable, safe and convenient method of transportation yet devised. BUT our cars need to be improved. There are real environmental and political effects from our current fleet, but with better technology these problems can be solved.
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TEG 3:36AM (7/14/2008)
I am surprised this story hasn't mentioned the Tesla Roadster customers, many of which are trying to live in both camps.
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brn 10:49AM (7/14/2008)
"T.v's are 4 time better then 20 years ago but actual cars are 5% better "
Can we make the number 30 years?
RCA, Curtis Mathis, Zenith, and Westinghouse made TV's designed to last 20+ years. It didn't help them, as they no longer exist (you'll see the names, but the names have simply been purchased by other companies). TV's today are designed to last 5-8 years.
Cars on the other hand, last a lot longer than they did 30 years ago (foreign and domestic). Longer warranties, with fewer warranty claims, is a good indicator. 30 years ago, 100K miles was quite an accomplishment. Today, 200K is par for the course.
Both cars and TV's have more frills, but from a solid design and reliability standpoint, TV's have gone down while cars have improved.
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porschedevotee 5:17PM (7/14/2008)
Certified nut and environmentally conscious lady here checking in. It's nice to come to ABG every once in a while and take a break from the green/liberal-bashing that goes on regularly at AB. Fortunately, there are starting to be more options available to those of us who are concerned about the planet/emissions/fuel prices/whatever but want quick, non-boring cars. I think this is a very exciting time we live in, and look forward to the new technologies making an appearance in cars we can actually buy!
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