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Caring for the environment is no longer just a hip thing to do its become a necessary duty. While one of the best ways to fulfil our responsibility is to make sure we drive more fuel-efficiently, the easier way out might just be to buy a green car.
Now, a green car might evoke images of an ugly battery-operated toy car. But actually, a vehicle is green as long as it uses less fossil fuel and produces fewer carbon dioxide emissions than the average car. With innovative technology, conventional petrol or diesel autos, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, or cars that use biofuels can all carry the green label. So which vehicle is best for you if you want to do your part for the planet? Read on Petrol liFts its Game Automakers have gone the extra mile to make conventional petrol vehicles more fuel-efficient than before. They have made the car body lighter and used technologies such as turbocharging to deliver the same amount of power with fewer cylinders.
the good: Such vehicles are readily available and dont cost more. the bad: Petrol engines generally emit around 10 per cent more carbon dioxide than diesel. modern diesel Think diesel, and the first thing that springs to mind might be the sputtering old bus spewing black fumes across town. But many modern diesel engines come with a particulate trap to help prevent emissions of sooty particulates. Diesel engines are also often more economical than petrol engines; thats why they emit less CO2. And new common rail diesel motors consistently top fuel economy rankings. the good: In some countries, diesel is cheaper than petrol so you save at the pump. the bad: A diesel vehicle is usually more expensive than the petrol version of the same model. They can sometimes be more costly to maintain too. Flexible Fuel Flex-fuel vehicles (FFV) are designed to run on either conventional petrol or petrol mixed with a biofuel, such as bio-ethanol. Hence, an E20 vehicle is able to run on 80 percent petrol and 20 percent ethanol. Ethanol is made from sugarcane, and this alternative
20 %
fuel is considered to be renewable and environmentally friendly. Since these vehicles look and drive just like cars with petrol engines, you might even be driving one and not know it! While FFVs have been in mass production since the 1980s, the first commercial one was actually the Ford Model T, produced from 1908 through 1927. the good: Due to tax incentives, the price of the alternative fuel is cheaper than petrol.
the bad: Since ethanol contains less energy per volume than petrol, be prepared for lower fuel-efficiency numbers when topping up with the biofuel. Petrol-electric hybrids A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) runs on a combination of a conventional petrol engine and an electric motor powered by batteries. It works on the principle that the electric motor provides the power at low speeds such as urban driving but switches
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to petrol for driving at higher speeds. The batteries are recharged while driving. Hybrids also use regenerative braking, where the vehicles kinetic energy is converted and put back into the battery, instead of being wasted as heat energy as in conventional brakes. Many HEVs also reduce idle emissions by shutting down the petrol engine at idle and restarting it when needed. This is known as a Start/Stop system. With all these technologies, hybrids boast impressive fuel-efficiency figures as well as big reductions in CO2 emissions. However, they only really achieve maximum economy benefits in built-up areas where they run primarily on electric rather than petrol.
the good: Running costs can be twothirds that of equivalent petrol vehicles. the bad: The price tag can be very high. battery-electric vehicles BEVs, as they are called, use a battery and electric motor to power the vehicle, so they have no emissions at the point of use. Due to the capacity of the battery, their range is
normally limited to less than 100 km between charges, which means they are really suitable only for city-dwellers. Electric vehicles can be recharged by plugging them into an existing electrical socket. However, they are only truly green if they are recharged with electricity from renewable sources such as wind farms or the sun. Moreover, if the batteries are lead
or cadmium-based, there will be a serious pollution problem if they are not properly disposed of at the end of their life. the good: No tailpipe emissions the bad: Limited range and a lack of a public infrastructure for charging can mean you get stranded out on the roads.
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Once you have a good idea of which green vehicle is most suitable for you, the other thing to look out for is the automakers commitment to the environment. In the same way that you probably wont buy a pair of shoes because its made in some sweat shop using child labour, you wouldnt want to invest in a vehicle that is built by automakers that dont care two hoots about the planet.
uestions Here are some q you pick s to think about a the automaker:
has it made to What promises ficiency, lower increase fuel ef l prove operationa emissions and im sustainability? has it been in How successful e promises? keeping to thos ies green? Are its factor
sustainas been publishing a For example, Ford ha ch annual report past 11 years. Ea bility report for the has made in five gress the company details the pro mobility, ange, fuel economy, key areas: climate ch o reflects a human rights. It als vehicle safety and rlier promises made in ea commitment to fulfil reports. a better siness and building Creating a strong bu they are essential icting goals world are not confl ss, says Sue for long-term succe ingredients bility, President, Sustaina Vice Cischke, Ford Group Our vision fety Engineering. Environment and Sa tion that is stainable transporta , is to provide su the word socially sense of affordable in every d economically. environmentally an
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