How green is my Audi?

The facts on new, cleaner cars.

Kate McLeod | December 2006 issue

By 2030, if current trends continue, the number of vehicles on the world’s roads will double to 1.6 billion. Greenhouse gases from twice as many cars, trucks and buses will turn up the heat on global warming. And with even sober-minded experts acknowledging that we will certainly reach peak oil sometime before then, one wonders where we will find fuel for all those vehicles. These are the concerns behind efforts to devise new kinds of engines and fuels. Right now, in the real world, no foolproof solution to these looming problems has emerged. The problem is certainly complex. But it is by no means hopeless. We can all do things immediately that will make a difference.
But we’ve dug ourselves into a huge hole with our cars and it’s going to be a decade before we start to see major changes in the automobile industry. Toyota, the hybrid leader, has sold about 750,000 of the vehicles worldwide to date. Honda, which came out with the first hybrid in 1999, sold just a few hundred that year. Since then, cumulative worldwide sales for Honda hybrids have risen to about 160,000. But that makes only a tiny dent in the world’s 800 million vehicles.
General Motors, BMW and Honda are about to introduce hydrogen and fuel cell engines in test quantities. The engines look promising but are still years away from mass production; the promise, however, is beginning to look real. Brazilian cars are tuned to run on alcohol, and American carmakers are looking at alcohol-fueled cars.
But greening the car is not just the responsibility of the auto companies. Individuals can help power social change by modifying their behaviour, and buying cars with better fuel economy. Better fuel economy reduces pollution and carbon-dioxide emissions. No matter how much we love our bikes and walking trails, automobiles will not go away. They are a multi-functional tool, which explains why we spend so much to buy and operate them. But we can make better choices.
So what about choosing a car? Most people buy cars they need. Few have the resources to buy a car just to make a statement. If someone needs three rows of seats for kids and pets, there are no hybrid minivans. If people use trailers to haul a boat or a horse, they can’t buy a Prius. If workers need trucks to do their job, they can’t downsize. Money figures in here too. A hybrid may cost $26,000 [21,000 euros]. If buyers have only $16,000 [13,000 euros], should we ask them to spend more than they can sensibly afford to buy hybrids in the name of curbing global warming? Perhaps not, but they can buy affordable cars with advanced fuel management technology such as direct fuel injection; Active Fuel Management, which cuts off four of eight cylinders when they are not needed; and continuously variable transmissions that manage fuel consumption with the precision of a computer.

These kinds of energy-saving options are available to car buyers right now. We also can take steps in the direction of cleaner cars for the future. Ethanol made from corn and other grains (usually in a blend with gasoline) is available to power our engines. We have biodiesel, or a diesel fuel made from food byproducts, although it’s in the earliest stages of production. Plug-in hybrids that extend the use of the battery are also on the drawing board. And the signs are promising that our options may eventually expand to include easy-to-maintain cars running on electricity, fuel cells, hydrogen and even compressed natural gas.
Buyers have to look at what meets their needs, as well as what serves the greater common good. Some vehicles have been identified by various organizations as greener than others. Below, we have selected a few for consideration. As new models are introduced in the coming years, the choices will proliferate, so do your homework if you want to buy the best vehicle for both yourself and the planet.

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