Responsible Automakers? | Green Energy News

July 25, 2004 – Vol.9 No.18

RESPONSIBLE AUTOMAKERS?

Given the growing list of problems related to oil – pollution, global warming, depletion, terrorism – you’d think that the vehicle manufacturers would, on their own, take on the responsibility of replacing the current oil-reliant technology with something else.

What good are their products without a reliable source of energy to power them? What if their products are causing irreparable damage to the planet? What if their products are at the root of terrorism? What if ever-higher costs of fuel supplies for unnecessarily inefficient vehicles are already causing economic damage? Shouldn't they act on their own to help fix the problem instead of waiting for government to tell them to do so?

All this said, the automakers do actually recognize the need and the market for more fuel efficient vehicles, but it’s just not apparent in the U.S. market where big vehicles dominate.

Elsewhere in the world consumers are treated to a wide variety of fuel efficient gasoline and diesel vehicles. (The diesels, of course, can run on biodiesel.) And although many of these vehicles don’t meet U.S. emissions and safety regulations most could probably be modified to meet them.

In the past Americans had to travel overseas to see what models are available there that can’t be bought here. Now travel can be done by Internet to visit virtual showrooms around the planet. Most of the international websites for car companies can be found by a simple Google search. For example enter “Mazda” and find the world Mazda website that will connect to other market-specific websites.

Another way to take a look at what’s available elsewhere is a search of Verdict On Cars, a U.K. website focused on cars available in Britain. The British auto market is similar to many nation’s other than the U.S. The Verdict On Cars website offers a number of search opportunities including, responsibly, a search of vehicles with the least CO2 emissions.

Verdict on Cars also offers commentary on cars and the industry

From a Verdict on Cars article – United States-Different Country, Different Planet – they note that U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry has spoken of a $10 billion plan to encourage U.S. car makers to introduce more fuel-efficient vehicles. However, they wonder why US manufacturers have to be paid to improve fuel consumption figures, when their European divisions have already agreed to far more stringent targets - for free.

Visit Verdict on Cars at http://www.verdictoncars.com/ .