The annual Los Angeles Auto Show, one of the largest automobile shows in the world, attracted hundreds of thousands of people, in the car capital of the world. When automobile manufacturers want to start a trend and brand, Los Angeles and the Southern California area is first. LA was one of the first to see the introduction of the General Motors EV1, one of the first to see the Honda Civic Hybrid car, and one of the first to see the General Motors H2 Hummer. This year Toyota introduced the environmentally friendly Scion xA and Scion xB cars.

The purpose to visit a personal transportation tradeshow for Green Building Concepts, is not to find the latest gas guzzling SUV or pickup, but to get an industry overview of the North American scene. The Eurasian automobile marketplace has completely different vehicles, but in the USA, we have many more cars than human beings, so it make a global impact. Here are Green Building Concepts guide to vehicle selection, and then the car seen at the auto show that fit the guidelines.

• fuel efficiency
• vehicle class
• vehicle size
• safety
• reliability
• performance

Analysis:
A car can have a rating of 80 MPG (34 KmPL), but if requires hydrogen fuel, it's probably not the best car, since it would be nearly impossible to refuel. Whichever car is selected, look for the highest fuel efficiency in it's class. Most people need a two or four door sedan. For large families, a six passenger vehicle is needed, but then the safety of the car is compromised. It would be foolish to look for a six passenger economy car, or you had a five member household, a two passenger car. A driver may need a car to commute, haul lumber, or other specialized task. An urban assault vehicle like the Hummer may be beautiful, but at 12 MPG (5 KmPL), it environmental impact is too great for daily use. If you need a SUV, look for a tall sedan or the upcoming hybrid SUV, but realized that the ride is markedly different than a sedan, the rollover index is much higher than a sedan, and ultimately is more dangerous to drive.

Fuel efficiency relates directly to greenhouse gas emissions. For a typical driver, annually a small car puts out 7 tons of carbon dioxide. For every gallon or liter of fuel burned, the fuel weight will increase triplefold, as the carbon chains bond with oxygen (CO2) in emissions.

Green Building Concepts has looked over the available cars, and has these suggestions:

The most fuel efficient vehicle on the road in the USA is the Honda Insight, but at just two seats is rather impractical. The 100% electric car is off the market as of February 2003, and only a specialty subset called Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) are available, but whose top speed is set at 25 MPH (40 KmPL). If one bought a high fuel efficient vehicle, financially they would save $500 (assumptions: 15000 MPY, $1.80 per gallon fuel), so not terribly much. The global warming contribution would drop from 7 tons to 3.5 tons. Over the lifetime of the vehicle, about eight years, the highest efficient vehicle would emit 25 tons less CO2. Every little bit counts.

Green Building Concepts gives it's seal of approval to these cars (probably more meet the above criteria, so take these as representative examples):

• Toyota Prius
• Toyota Echo
• Honda Civic Hybrid
• Honda Insight
• Volkswagen Jetta (low sulfer diesel powered)
• Volkswagen Golf diesel (low sulfer diesel powered)

As good consumers, we need to demand more fuel efficient vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles, and mixed use vehicles like the NEV or Segway scooter. Any action is unlikely in the current political and economic climate. Good luck finding you next car.

Links:
EPA Fuel Economy Charts
ACEEE Green Book
General Motors EV1
Honda Civic Hybrid
General Motors H2 Hummer
Scion xA
Scion xB
Toyota Prius
Toyota Echo
Volkswagen Jetta Diesel
Volkswagen Golf Diesel