Subaru asks, Pogo or PZEV?
Subaru doesn't have any hybrids in its line up and its electric car program, based around the R1e, is still in its (seemingly never-ending) infancy, but it does have partial zero-emission vehicles (PZEVs) and , apparently, pogo sticks. In an effort to promote the sale of its PZEV vehicles in Canada, the company offers a website to explore the two options. It's a close call but we really have to go for the PZEV, if only to avoid any sudden onset of motion sickness.
Although we have our suspicions about whether the car maker is actually a pogo provider, we are certain they make PZEVs. They are already on sale in the US but are mostly sold in California so as to to meet that state's SULEV (Super-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle) exhaust emission standard. The provinces of Quebec and British Columbia are said to be wanting to adopt those same standards. Seeing which way the wind is blowing, Subaru is offering the PZEV system as standard in its Legacy model and as an option in the Outback. It doesn't change the horsepower rating but it does reduce smog-producing emissions by some 90 percent, when compared with the average new car. Same power with cleaner air sounds like a great combination to us and we only wish it was much more widely available since the benefits would be astounding. No pogoing required.
[Source: The Canadian Press / Subaru]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark 6:17PM (8/10/2008)
I hate the term 'Partial Zero'...Zero is Zero! meaning none, nothing!. Anything above that IS NOT ZERO.
I think it's just a marketing gimmick more then anything..
Reply
Brent 7:01PM (8/10/2008)
Yeah, Low would be a much better term.
wumpus 7:51AM (8/11/2008)
The catch is that "zero" means NIMBY, not zero. "Zero" means that coal was burnt to make the steel, and coal was burnt to make the electricity. While you can argue that this is good for LA, it doesn't change emissions regionally or globally at all.
Ignatius 7:23AM (8/12/2008)
Everyone always assumes the entire grid is coal. Always. The grid is only 50% coal.
There's another 50% missing there and in some of the western states, alternatives (nuclear, solar, hydro-electric) are the majority in parts.
Bill 8:58PM (8/10/2008)
Where's my diesel Subie?
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Chris 9:52AM (8/11/2008)
Subaru offers the PZEV engines in New England...
I live in Connecticut and have a PZEV powered 2009 Forester.
Most of the new vehicles on the lot, legacys and foresters, seemed to have the PZEV engines...
The option for this engine is $300 to $400 bucks...
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George 6:32PM (8/19/2008)
We live in New Jersey and just bought a 2008 Outback 2.5i with PZEV. I'm reading the window sticker as I write this and there is no additional charge listed for the PZEV.