Toyota and the elusive mileage standards
By Karina | October 17, 2007
You all may know by now that I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to alternative fuels. I love alternative fuels! I love all of the options, and I love how no one has decided there is any One Right Way to replace our all-meaning gasoline.
This week I got a question from Uncle Al: he is in the market for a new car and wanted to know my opinion of the Toyota Camry vs. the Civic hybrids. And he got back (literally!) a three page email chock-full of dorky information. I was too excited to hold back! And what’s really silly about this is that I didn’t even manage to give him a One Right Answer to his question.
And actually, this open-minded-evaluation of hybrids is a new thing for me. See, when I was shopping for a new car, I learned about how Honda had redesigned the internal combustion engine and made it a lot more efficient. That NEVER happens – no one has messed with the internal combustion engine for years and years and years. I was so excited! but then Honda turned around and put those efficiency gains into speed and power rather than an increase of mileage, and I got ticked off, and ever since I’ve told people that they should always buy the Prius, because I didn’t support Honda and their hybrid car strategy.
And then I learned recently that Toyota has been quietly lobbying against increases in gas mileage standards. Not just on a national level, but around the country in various states. And that is just LAZY. Toyota has proven that they are able to build cars that get Really Good Gas Mileage. Take the Prius: if you do a lot of driving in stop-and-go traffic, or in suburbs and the city, it is by far the best hybrid to purchase. It’s a fabulous car! Toyota was so far ahead of the curve in sales and technology that they didn’t have anything to worry about – the Prius is virtually synonymous with hybrid car!
So to find out that Toyota is lobbying against innovation and efficiency makes me just as ticked off at them as finding out that Honda was putting efficiency gains into power – actually, more so. Toyota is making lazy business decisions, and I would venture to say that they’re verging on sneaky. yeah, I said it. Stop sneaking around, Toyota! Don’t pretend that you’re some kind of super-green company when it seems to be all greenwashing!
This news doesn’t come from someone with an axe to grind, either: the NRDC, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the League of Conservation Voters are some of the big name interest groups that have funded an action webpage. Go check it out! [[Truth about Toyota.]]
(And what did I tell Uncle Al? That he should test drive the cars to make sure that they fit his needs, because the Prius gets the best mileage but it’s funny looking and that bothers people, the Civic gets good mileage but is smaller than the Camry which is a solid mid-size and therefore not that efficient. And that if he wasn’t concerned about maintenance costs [or has a good diesel mechanic in mind], he should really go with his gut feeling and get a VW diesel because they’re just as great and more fun to drive.)
Any thoughts on this Toyota situation?
Topics: Transportation | 6 Comments »
Kind of far away, but in LA we’re having an event to hold Toyota accountable on 10/22 (more deets on my calendar:
The Freedom from Oil Campaign, Plug in America, and allies are calling on Toyota to become a leader in breaking our addiction to oil. Toyota is seen as a green company, but has joined forces with the Big Three automakers in lobbying against tougher mileage standards.
Come out for a fun rally — with a giant Balloon Banner and other awesome visuals — to move this auto dealer to stop blocking progress and to support more fuel efficient vehicles!
For more information, email Freedom from Oil Campaigner Nick Magel at Nick@globalexchange.org or call 415.575.5525.
that’s great! I’m sure there are some LA-local readers – maybe even some emotionally invested toyota drivers!
I recently bought a car after not having one for about five years. I went from city living with good public transportation to rural living where a car really is needed. I was out of the loop on cars and so did a fair amount of research before I bought. At the top of my list were gas mileage and purchase price. I’m a huge proponent of not using more resources than you need but I’m also on a budget. Which means that even though I drove and Prius and loved it, I couldn’t afford to buy one. So I went for the regular Honda Civic because it was getting better reviews than most others in terms of mpg and was in the budget. It is too bad that the hybrids are still so expensive.
I also just recently found out about Toyota’s lobbying against the current Energy Bill, which is hugely disappointing. Just when it seems like corporate America gets a conscious something like this comes to light.
Bravo for the rally event in LA. I’ll let my friends there know. I am currently working with a coalition that supports the Energy Bill, which will mandate manufacturers to make cars that get 35 mpg by 2020. This bill has many many benefits in terms of using less oil and would make car choices so easier for people in all economic situations. You can sign a petition to support the bill at http://www.energybill2007.org.
Aurora and I just got a Prius because I got a new job that has me driving all over the place, mostly highway, and we’re still averaging 50 mpg, which is fantastic and I really love the car. This is the first I’ve heard of Toyota’s lobbying against better milage and I don’t like that. I don’t feel like my purchase of a Prius supports their stance, though—if anything, I hoe that all the Priuses that are on the road serve as check marks that Toyota can look at for the large base of support for higher milage standards.
It is good to hear from a Prius driver that you are actually getting 50 mpg. Sometimes the EPA ratings for the mileage are much higher that in reality. I’ve heard such a range of responses on the gas mileage from Prius owners.
Like I mentioned before, I’d love to be driving something with gas mileage that high but cannot afford a Prius or even a hybrid at the moment. If Congress passes the CAFE requirement for 35 mpg for all cars this would raise the bar for all car makers and more people could choose to drive a more efficient car.
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