XPost: sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: alt.global-warming   
   From: forging-asshole@excite.com   
      
   Top auto brands are getting smoked by environmental analysts who have   
   found that their carbon emissions are much higher than what carmakers had   
   reported.   
      
   The European group Transport and Environment (T&E), which campaigns for   
   renewable energy in transportation, found three top-selling plug-in hybrid   
   SUVs — BMW’s X5, Volvo’s XC60 and Mitsubishi’s Outlander — are emitting   
   28% to 89% more carbon dioxide than advertised, even under ideal road   
   conditions.   
      
   “Plug-in hybrids are fake electric cars, built for lab tests and tax   
   breaks, not real driving,” Julia Poliscanova, T&E’s senior director of   
   clean vehicles, said in a press statement. “Governments should stop   
   subsidizing these cars with billions in taxpayers’ money.”   
      
   Hybrid vehicles are those that combine a combustible fuel engine — one   
   that is smaller than conventional cars — with an electric motor and   
   rechargeable battery. The car is thus able to toggle between using   
   electric power and gasoline. While plug-in hybrid car emissions are lower   
   than those for gas or diesel vehicles, T&E found CO2 levels in real-world   
   tests were typically two to four times what the auto brands reported.   
      
   These companies haven’t copped to the findings, according to Reuters:   
   Volvo and Mitsubishi denied the results, while BMW declined to respond to   
   its inquiry.   
      
   Last week, the European Union announced an emissions proposal that would   
   narrow which cars can be deemed “green” vehicles. Under the new rules,   
   hybrid vehicles, such as the three makes tested, would no longer be   
   considered sustainable automobiles, beginning in 2026.   
      
   Despite a potential $7,500 vehicle tax credit up for grabs, Americans   
   overall have been slow to adopt electric cars. Overall last year, only   
   about 727,000 new partial- and all-electric cars were sold in the US,   
   which is just over 4% of the 17 million total sales in new “light-duty”   
   vehicles, including SUVs and small passenger trucks, according to   
   USAFacts.org, a nonprofit data resource, with statistics from the Bureau   
   of Transportation Statistics. Sales of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs)   
   about doubled between 2011 and 2013, from approximately 266,500 to 495,500   
   units sold, prompted in part by Tesla’s move to go public in summer 2010.   
      
   All-electric varieties lag far behind HEVs, which experts have claimed is   
   a result of consumer concern over their viability for long-distance   
   driving. In 2019, only about 241,000 all-electric cars sold, adding to the   
   1.4 million total since they were first introduced in 2010. Plug-in hybrid   
   vehicles, like those studied by T&E, are a steppingstone between HEVs and   
   all-electric, with a slightly larger battery that requires more juicing,   
   but which make up the smallest share of the US market.   
      
   Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and   
   the Environmental Protection Agency released their new rules for US-based   
   car manufacturers’ fuel economy standards. The Safer Affordable Fuel-   
   Efficient vehicles rule requires carmakers to improve fuel efficiency in   
   all cars, including hybrid electric and gas-powered, by 1.5% per year, to   
   reach an average of 40.4 miles per gallon by 2026. These standards were   
   recalibrated after an initial proposal, announced in 2012, would have   
   required a 5% annual increase in fuel efficiency, for an average of 54.5   
   miles per gallon by 2025.   
      
   https://nypost.com/2020/11/23/hybrid-cars-emitting-much-more-co2-than-   
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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