Automakers Hurting As Consumers Abandon SUVs and Trucks

Every time I pass a used car lot full of SUVs and giant trucks, I want to do a little jig. It just warms my heart to know that people are abandoning these ugly gas guzzlers by the hundreds every day. Of course, it wasn’t the sudden realization that they’re bad for the earth that did it – it was the pressure on SUV owners’ wallets after gas prices rose so quickly – and that’s okay, for now. What’s important is, during the summer of 2008, people stopped buying SUVs.

Earth2Tech wrote about ‘The Summer We Stopped Buying SUVs’ last week:

Even Toyota failed to keep up with changing demands. It sold 17,806 hybrids in June, two thirds of them Priuses. But it sold three times as many light trucks: 53,957 of them. Even so, light-truck sales were down 32 percent in June. Toyota may market itself as a maker of fuel-efficient hybrids, but it’s just as exposed to America’s shunning of SUVs as any carmaker.

Toyota’s performance in June was so disappointing that General Motors was able to cling onto its title as the largest U.S. automaker. Only because GM’s 19-percent decline wasn’t as steep as Toyota’s, it still wears the crown.

That’s hardly a silver lining, it’s more like a string of tinsel. But in this economy, automakers will take good news where they can get it.

Call me a negative bitch, but uh – I really don’t care that automakers are suffering the consequences of their money-grubbing actions. They’ve been a major force behind holding back progress on green vehicles, for a variety of reasons, most of which involve greed. This whole situation is teaching them a lesson just like it’s teaching all of those SUV owners a lesson – it’s time to get green. If they want to survive, they better keep up.

Link [Earth2Tech]
Photo credit: Flickr user joguldi

Eco Fail: Hybrid SUVs Just Aren’t Selling

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Ah, sweet justice for the SUV. Detroit auto makers aren’t seeing the demand for hybrid SUVs that they thought would come this year as models like the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon were released. Only 1,100 have been sold since January, and the sales goal was 12,000 for the year, putting them pretty far behind.

The New York Times has it:

Giving a four-wheel drive Tahoe a gas-electric hybrid engine raises fuel economy for city driving to 20 miles a gallon from 14.

But to get the better mileage, consumers pay a high price: $53,000, at least $4,000 more than a conventional Tahoe.

Environmentalists see the jumbo hybrids as a small step forward in the effort to reduce America’s fuel consumption.

“Is this a green vehicle? I think it could be a lot greener,” said David Friedman, research director of the vehicles program for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit group in Washington that focuses on the environment. “The question is whether the improvement in fuel economy is worth the cost.”

Hybrid or not, large S.U.V.’s are fading fast in a market that is shifting quickly to smaller cars and crossovers, S.U.V.-like vehicles built on a car chassis.

While the hybrid 20/21 MPG is certainly an improvement over the 14/20 the non-hybrid SUVs typically get, the fact is that the Toyota Prius gets 46 MPG currently, and a new model set to be released next year will get over 100. That makes paying the extra money for the hybrid SUV seem like a pretty big waste. Consumers aren’t willing to pony up the extra cash, and with SUVs losing popularity in general, hybrid SUVs are looking to go the way of New Coke.

Hybrid SUVs may be a tiny bit better for the environment than regular SUVs, but that doesn’t make them an eco-friendly option. We were a bit afraid that hybrid SUVs would make people think they could have their cake and eat it too, using the ‘hybrid’ angle to defend dumb shit like suburban housewives with 2 kids driving behemoth vehicles to the grocery store. So, we’re happy that hybrid SUVs are an ECO FAIL. Down with SUVs!

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Mark Graham for the New York Times

Tom Brady Rewards Charitable Linemen with Gas Guzzling SUVs

Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots, is apparently a fairly generous guy. So generous that he gifted three of his teammates with expensive gas guzzling SUVs. He also gifted the rest of the world with increased air pollution and energy consumption. Way to go!

From Green Daily:

At a press conference celebrating the success of his collaboration with Best Buddies International, he thanked three of his teammates who had also donated their time and money to the cause. In return for their generosity (and for “their protection”), Brady gave the offensive linemen really expensive cars to drive around next season — which sounds nice (because hey, who wouldn’t be excited about a $50,000 automobile?), but when you consider that the Audi Q7 gets 12-14 mpg, these hot rides suddenly seem a little less appealing.

Especially considering that Audi has been working on a hybrid version of this model for almost a year, it seems silly to dish out that forward-thinking SUV’s gas guzzling cousins instead.

When this news broke, Green Daily prefaced their story with ‘No one wants to be a jerk about Tom Brady’. Well, I will- screw Tom Brady. I’m no sports fan and all I know about Tom Brady is he left his pregnant girlfriend for Leo DiCaprio’s supermodel leftovers. No doubt his charitable giving makes him a better man than a lot of people out there, but, hey Tom – why not consider future generations of children, too? These giant irresponsible vehicles are going to make the world a less pleasant place for your son’s generation and those that come after him.

Link [Green Daily]

Sound the Alarms! Treehugger Bought an SUV

Treehugger, we really hate to do this. We love you like family. You have always been the eco-conscious big brother that helped us make the right decisions. But your justification for purchasing an SUV – and it’s not even a hybrid SUV – just doesn’t seem to jive. We’re sorry to give you a big fat ECO FAIL for that, bro.

Treehugger’s Mark Ontush (MJO) is based in Boston, has a family of three and telecommutes. His wife rides the bus to work. When his car, used primarily to pick up large purchases and haul visiting family around, gave out on him, he went into the dealership with the intention of getting a hybrid or Smart Car and came out with a Honda CRV. The reasoning is mostly based around, er, moving dishwashers.

From Treehugger:

Having space in a car is a funny thing - you don’t need it all the time, but when you need it, there aren’t a lot of options; you aren’t going to get a dishwasher into a Prius, or transport your extended family around when you are all together and going somewhere. So then you are into renting trucks and vans for these types of situations - which we did for years - and these rentals can really add up.

The other big item was safety. We realized that SUVs are often overrated in this regard, but the fact was that the SUV felt safer. I don’t know why this is exactly; you are up a little higher, it is heavier; you sort of feel that if you get hit, mass will be on your side. Again, this is one of those ‘probably never need it but nice to have things’; environmentally, it’s a luxury item. But the effect is pretty powerful and swayed our decision.

A commenter points out a previous Treehugger article, “SUV’s not safer for Kids”, in response. Other commenters wonder how much stuff MJO is buying every year that he needs to rent vans and trucks to the tune of $1500 total to bring it all home. And, uh, can’t your family ride the bus like everyone else? Tell them it’s part of the city experience!

Treehugger commenters can certainly be an ornery bunch, so it’s not surprising that this post got an SUV-load of scathing comments, but most of them had good points.

Sometimes I’m amazed that the rest of the world can manage to raise families without SUVs, the way they’re talked about in the States. – Ross

This does not sound like good enough justification. I’ve heard this before from my ‘green’ friends — who’s wives ultimately pushed the decision to an SUV.

[there was a wife involved, yes mjo]

When all else fails, blame it on the wife, right? My husband likes to pull that sometimes, too. It takes two, baby!

I generally agree with making the decision that’s right for you at the time, and certainly none of us are saints – but imagine if everyone in America reasoned this way. The fact that Mr. Ontush lives in Boston and not a suburb makes it even worse, since convenient, efficient mass transit abounds. We’re trying to get even suburban people to give up the SUVs, MJO, so when ‘green’ city people do it, it don’t look too good.

Link [Treehugger]

Fsck Your Hummer, And His Hummer, and Her Hummer, and That Hummer Over by the Tree

10 Miles Per Gallon…
2 Soldiers a Day.

It’d be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. FUCKYOURHUMMER.com doesn’t mince word:

Welcome to FUCKYOURHUMMER.COM. This site is being set up as on omage to vandalized hummers. Whether it is a hard to peel off bumper sticker, slashed tires, keying, spray painted… we want to have your pictures of it! WHY you might ask? This grotesque monster of an SUV is a symbol that says “I could give a shit about the enviroment, wars over oil, global warming, energy independance, or any number of other issues.” You are the epitomy of stupid americans, and make the rest of us look like assholes. Some of us in this country actually do give a shit. Now I hope others will force you to give a shit.

While we don’t condone scratching up your neighbor’s Hummer, it’s hard for us to muster up any sympathy for the “victims” of such an act. Hummers are teh suck.

Link [FUCKYOURHUMMER]

SUVs Going Down in Value, Filling Up Used Car Lots due to Gas Prices

Praise be, y’all, sports utility vehicles are going down in value. Are people actually learning a lesson, here? SUVs are flooding the used car market as people realize that the behemoths are unnecessary, stupid environment killers – no, scratch, that, it’s because of gas prices. Well, whatever works, right?

Ridelust has it:

Most owners who go to a car dealership looking to trade their current ride in for something new usually come out shell-shocked when they learn what the dealership is willing to give them for their trade. Those choosing to turn in their SUV right now will certainly be finding their trade-in value far from what they had invisioned.

According to CNW Marketing Research and the AP SUV sales were down 14% in the month of March when compared to March of 2007. The darling SUV of the American Auto Industry no longer sparkles under the looming clouds of $4/gallon fuel prices. In the face of such a decline in value the only solution for many SUV owners looking to downsize may be to sell their vehicle themselves; a task many owners dread. Even diesel trucks are not immune to the declines in value.

All this has GM concerned that their ‘Green Car of the Year’, the Chevrolet Tahoe 2-Mode Hybrid will suffer a similar fate. The Tahoe Hybrid might get more miles to the gallon, but the $10,000-$15,000 markup probably doesn’t make it worth the cost, especially when depreciation is taken into consideration.

Don’t make any sudden moves, people. We are slowly sliding toward the edge of common sense and responsibility, but we don’t want to scare these SUV-loving folks into realizing they’re actually doing something good for the environment. They’re cringing as they trade in their cars, waiting for the chorus of I-Told-You-So’s, and rubbing it in could well make them want to keep their suburban monsters out of pure spite. The idea of doing things like those fruity Your-a-Peein’s doesn’t sit well with Middle America, no sirree.

Link [RideLust]

Photo credit: Flickr user reedbiotch

Common Sense Breaks Out: Car Buyers Dump Their SUVs for the Smallest Cars

With gas prices painfully high, buyers are replacing their SUVs with vehicles more like the one in the photo (probably not as fast as that one—probably. Was there a Prius in this race? Any golf carts?). The Daily Advertiser reports from Louisiana:

The smallest cars are making the biggest splash in a depressed U.S. auto market so far this year, with buyers flocking towards better fuel economy and lower sticker prices….

“We’re seeing many more people coming in with the fullsize SUV and pickups trying to trade out, and the problem is it’s almost like it’s flooding the used car market,” said Pat Tuminello, sales manager of Moss Motors Honda, whose Honda Fit hatchback showed the second largest growth in March sales.

“Customers are thinking of total ownership of car, factoring in total fuel costs with the monthly payment and insurance they’d pay.”

According to Cars.com, small cars like the Kia Spectra—up 41 percent—and Toyota Yaris—up 83 percent—had big gains last month, with similar growth for other automakers compact cars. Hybrid sales also grew.

In contrast, trucks like Ford F-Series and Dodge Ram were down 24 percent and 31 percent, respectively, as were most large SUVs.

A woman around the corner from me has a jet-black Hummer. She has a habit, probably unconscious, of creeping up on your back bumper while driving and chatting on the cell phone. When she does that, the Hummer looks, in the rearview mirror, like a skyscraper. It blocks out the sun. It must cost thousands and thousands of dollars a year in fuel. Maybe it will go away now.

Link [The Daily Advertiser]

Photo: Wikipedia commons

Excuse Me, I’m Going to Need This to Run My Car, Or The Insanity of Food Based Biofuels

I think this comic pretty much sums up the stupidity of using corn and other food crops to create ethanol to run in cars.

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

The Internet Saves 10 Watts of Energy for Every Watt it Uses

Geeks are great. And a new study now shows that they’re are also green.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy did a study on computer usage and found that for every watt of energy used by the internet, 10 watts are saved elsewhere. EcoGeek has it:

They [The ACEEE] have put numbers to what I have long expected to be true. Folks who complain about how much energy computers waste are crazy. Computers save tons of energy, while, themselves, using less energy than the light bulb used to light the workstation. And now we know how much.

The study focused on a metric called “energy intensity.” Basically, that’s the amount of energy necessary to produce a dollar of economic output. The first major drop in energy intensity occurred after the oil crisis in the 1970s. That was a cost-based drop, not generally the ideal.

So how do computers save us energy?

• They have allowed everything to become more efficient.
• They people and things to travel digitally, instead of physically. For example: meetings online instead of driving your SUV to the office.
• They allow us to do our shopping online instead of driving your SUV to the retail store. (Did I already mention the SUV?)
• And lastly they allow me how to tell YOU to put the earth first, instead of me driving over to your house in an SUV, knocking on your door and telling you face to face.

I knew there was a good reason that I have this weird relationship with my laptop. Oh, and on a side note, I do not drive an SUV.

Link [EcoGeek]

Photo: Flickr user NaOH