There are plenty of good ways to save fuel and electricity.

Buying a brand new car isn't one of them.

Sure, you could argue that higher mileage will "save the world". A more compelling argument is that newer vehicles tend to have lower tailpipe emissions, so even if they were on par with mileage, the exhaust gas is cleaner and "better".

But... that ignores two key sources of pollution.

1) You gotta make the new car. Yep. Believe it or not, auto manufacturing requires inputs of petroleum, electricity, and (gasp) toxins.

2) You gotta get rid of the "clunker". Recycling absorbs a portion of the wastes, but much of the old cars are bound for landfills or rust-heaps somewhere. Catch this: is is illegal to re-use the drivetrain!! Are you kidding? So the wreckers can't even pull parts off to keep them out of the landfill/smelter?

I don't have figures (yet?) on the embodied energy that is present in the average new car, but I'd love to know how many gallons of fuel/tons of CO2 are used/produced to make a new car.

Finally: the mileage figures are absurd. Under the current rules, someone driving a 19mpg sedan is NOT eligible to trade it in on a 30mpg economy car (at least, they get no voucher). But someone who drives a gas-guzzling 14mpg SUV can merrily purchase a new 18mpg SUV and get $3,500 in their pocket. Does that make sense?

I would be much more sympathetic to the legislation if it had some real gas-savings built in. How about: You can only earn the voucher if the car you are buying gets higher than the national average for new-car mileage? ie: you are part of the solution, not part of the problem. Or... how about an even better idea: If you buy a car that gets higher than 35mpg (combined), and trade in any other car, you get a voucher. Period. Then the dealer can scrap "old" cars for parts, and resell "efficient" vehicles.

Much easier legislation, and better for everyone.

Labels: 4wd, 4x4, news, sustainability