Environment-friendly cars! Do they exist? Who makes them? Where are they? The simple answer is they ain’t! No-one makes them nowhere, no how.
Any engine producing CO², or for that matter a litany of other noxious exhaust gases, is harmful to the environment. Any power derived from the fossil fuel cycle is harmful to the environment.
In fact, Norway has gone so far as to place a ban on any advertising associating ‘environmentally friendly’ with ‘car’. No car can be ‘green,’ ‘clean’ or ‘environmentally friendly,’ according to some of the world’s strictest advertising guidelines set to enter into force in Norway next month.
‘Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than others,’ Bente Oeverli, a senior official at the office of the state-run Consumer Ombudsman, told Reuters news agency.
So it’s a question of degree. Which cars are less damaging than others? Historically the Japanese have generally focused on Hybrid technology, where as the Europeans have moved towards diesel and hydrogen.
So, more to the point what is available in the market place that has less of an environment impact? Currently there are four ‘types’ of engines available in Australia, LPG, petrol, diesel and petrol/electric hybrid.
Have a read below and make your own decision.
Most cars can be converted to LPG, the main issue is where to place the tank, with Toyota and Holden offering a factory fitted option on the Aurion and Commodore, leaving the petrol tank and Ford offering a LPG-only option on the Falcon.
LPG vehicles emit between 10 and 15 per cent lower greenhouse gas emissions than petrol vehicles and create only 20 per cent of petrol’s air toxic emissions. LPG is also cleaner than diesel, emitting far fewer particulates, though with the new diesels on the market, most of these particulates are caught by filters. LPG is cheaper than both diesel and petrol and as a gas, LPG does not produce land and water pollution.
On the downside LPG is a less efficient fuel than petrol. An LPG Falcon uses 15.1 litres/100km, compared with 10.7L/100km for the petrol version. LPG versions of the Toyota Aurion and Holden Commodore are $4400 and $3900 respectively more expensive than their petrol equivalents and the LPG-only Falcon a $1400 premium. LPG engines are generally not as responsive as petrol engines, while the tanks take up boot space.
A well founded perception is that petrol engines, in general, are the least economical. This is not always the case with BMW’s latest technology, direct-injection, 3.0-litre V6 petrol produces fewer emissions and uses less fuel than the small, four-cylinder Mazda3 or a hybrid Lexus GS450h. The engine has a combined cycle of 7.7-litres per 100kms. Petrol produces fewer nitrogen oxides and particulate matter than diesel.
Some services stations now offer an ethanol/petrol blend. The ethanol that is blended with petrol in Australia, which now has a mandatory cap of 10 per cent, comes from agricultural sources, particularly grain. A number of the car makers recommend that you do not use this blend on cars older than 1998, as it may damage your engine.
What petrol has against it is that oil is a dwindling resource and petrol produces more greenhouse gases than diesel or LPG. The price of petrol is likely to keep rising as reserves dry up. It is not as efficient as diesel and it contains carcinogens such as benzene. Crude oil spills can have disastrous environmental consequences, while petrol spills have been known to contaminate ground water supplies.
Diesel engines are around 30 per cent more efficient than petrol, which means you will spend less on fuel. Per litre diesel creates more CO2 emissions than petrol, but because you use less diesel than petrol they contribute less to global warming. The new Hyundai i30 is now Australia’s cheapest diesel and most fuel efficient diesel, with an amazing combined cycle of 4.3-litres per 100kms. Low sulfur diesel and modern particulate filters have made diesel cleaner in recent years.
Without a particulate filter, diesel engines emit 20 times the particle matter of petrol engines, which has been linked to respiratory disease and cancer. Diesel is a petroleum product and has many of the same drawbacks as petrol. It is a fuel which is often more expensive than petrol and historically diesel cars are more expensive than their petrol equivalents, although some cars makers and now giving parity.
Hybrid petrol-electric engines are cleaner and more efficient than diesel and petrol vehicles. In traffic, hybrids can run solely on electric power, reducing emissions dramatically, recharging every time you brake. Electric vehicles can be recharged overnight and emit no emissions,
On the downside hybrids are generally much more expensive than petrol vehicles with the Civic Hybrid being the least expensive in Australia at $32,990 with a combined cycle of 4.6-litre per 100kms. It takes a long time for the cheaper fuel to pay you back for your initial outlay. Batteries are also expensive to replace. Electric vehicles are further limited in their range and indirectly use fossil fuels through the electricity grid. On the open road, where no braking occurs, to recharge the battery, the car completely reverts to petrol. And of course, if the electricity is generated by carbon cycle power stations, you’re still in the loop!
What does the future hold? Hydrogen power, fuel cells, petrol/diesel hybrids, bio diesel and electric are all being pursued by one car manufacture or another. All of these technologies, in varying degrees will still have some impact on the environment. The only truly friendly path would be a giant leap to solar…but not on my Monaro!
