Not So Green

Not So Green

Timothy Sawyer

Argosy University

There is a mounting concern over most of the planet about the condition of the planet. There is too much pollution and ecological destruction going on. Being more ecologically friendly, which has become known as being Green, has affected every industry in the last few years. One major contributor to the Green Planet idea, in the eyes of the people, is the auto industry. The auto industry claims it is doing its part with the new electric propelled vehicles in their different forms. These new electric vehicles are not as Green as many people believe.

Electric vehicles come in several forms in today’s auto industry. There are Hybrid vehicles which use a combustion engine; either gas or diesel, to keep batteries charged which in turn run the electric motor(s) that provide propulsion. Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles can be charged up with an electrical outlet, and then also have a combustion engine for recharging if there is no outlet available. And some of the vehicles offered are purely electric, while others which are still in development are powered by Fuel Cells.

With the conventional Hybrids, fossil fuels are still burned to power the vehicle most of the time. The batteries provide insufficient power on their own for much acceleration and must be supplemented with the onboard engine. Since these cars have no means of plugging in to an electrical outlet the fuel economy is calculated in the same manner as a conventional car. The auto industry makes claims that they are the most fuel efficient vehicle available. However, when we take a look at cars in the past we see a slightly unusual tale. The fuel efficiency of these new Hybrid cars isn’t even as good as a vehicle that was in production more than 30 years ago.

In 1978 the Honda Civic was listed at a maximum of 46 MPG. By 1983 Honda had the efficiency improved to where it was listed at 59 MPG. In 2010, the Civic Hybrid is only listed at getting 45 MPG (Gray, 2011). After all the new improvements and technology, the Hybrid still has a lower fuel economy and still pollutes with its engine.

Plug-In Hybrid vehicles such as the new Chevy Volt are a little different from standard Hybrid vehicles. With the plug in Hybrids, the onboard battery bank is charged from a standard 110v or dedicated 220v electrical outlet. There is a combustion engine in the vehicle to charge the batteries back up if you travel beyond the range of the battery life, but initially the vehicle is moving solely on power taken from an outlet at the home. The initial charge on a Volt is only good for about 35 miles, and then it is back to relying on the gas engine to keep the car moving.

There is also the energy conversion with Hybrid cars. Electric drives convert energy at around