Based on the high price of hybrid and electric vehicles, not to mention how long it takes to recoup the added cost through fuel savings (if ever), the number one reason to purchase one should be environmental concerns. The opposite appears to be true for the majority of green car buyers, 75 percent of whom say fuel savings is the number one reason they would consider an “alternative powertrain” model.

This statistic comes from the first annual J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Green Automotive Study, which looks at consumer interest and reaction to hybrid electric vehicles, clean diesel models, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles. In the survey  total of 75 percent of those polled listed lower fuel costs as a main factor in buying a hybrid, compared to 50 percent who listed “better for the environment.”

Of note, consumers who said they are not looking to switch to an alternative powertrain vehicle cited price, increased maintenance cost and range anxiety.

“Alternative powertrains face an array of challenges as they attempt to gain widespread acceptance in the market,” said Mike VanNieuwkuyk, executive director of global vehicle research at J.D. Power and Associates. “It is the financial issues that most often resonate with consumers, whether it is the higher price of the vehicle itself, the cost to fuel or charge the vehicle, or the fear of higher maintenance costs. The bottom line is that most consumers want to be green, but not if there is a significant personal cost to them.” In addition VanNieuwkuyk says that for alternative powertrains to succeed they need to be economically sustainable.

Yet despite increased interest in alternative powertrain vehicles, overall sales continue to be slow and according to J.D. Power, hybrid and electric vehicles are expected to make up less than 10 percent of the U.S. market though 2016.

Are company cars destined to be a relic of the past? Probably not, but companies are begging to adopt a new kind of corporate vehicle, one that can be paid for by the hour and operated by Hertz or Zipcar, two of the biggest names in auto-sharing programs.

An article in the New York Times focuses on Hertz’s Connect by Hertz program, as well as Zipcar, which are seeing an increasing number of corporate clients. Employees can use the cars for anything from sales calls to grocery shopping, and the cost savings are substantial. One Boston area firm cut costs from $43,000 per employee to $6,500, just by switching from a livery car service to Zipcar.

At a cost of only $5 per hour to the employees, which includes parking, gas and insurance, car-sharing looks like a no brainer, even if the fleet is heavily skewed to the Toyota Prius and other less than exciting vehicles.

[Source: New York Times]

Honda makes being green look easy. That’s why they are holding on to the “Greenest Automaker” title from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), making this their fifth year running.

Honda squeaked ahead of Toyota and Hyundai (both tied for second), beating the two by just one point. “It was a photo finish, but Honda is still the champ,” said Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer in UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program and the author of the rankings report. “Toyota was poised to take the lead, but stalled in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Meanwhile, Hyundai’s fleet saw dramatic efficiency improvements, pushing the company into a title contender spot.”

The UCS’s “Automaker Rankings” analyzes the real-world environmental performance and ranks them on average per-mile smog pollution and global warming emissions of the entire fleet of vehicles sold. They score the top eight automakers against the “industry average” of all eight combined. By weighing  smog and global warming scores equally, the scientists are able to determine each automaker’s overall score. The industry average is assigned a score of 100, and each automakers’ scores reflect how far above or below average an automaker pollutes. The lower the score, the greener the automaker is.

Honda came in first with a score of 86, while Toyota and Hyundai each finished with 87. Volkswagen came in fourth place (90), followed by Nissan (93), Ford (108), General Motors (109) and Chrysler (113). Rounding out the bottom was Chrysler, who was deemed the dirtiest automaker (they have finished last in four of the five UCS rankings conducted over the past ten years).

[Source: Union of Concerned Scientists]

Canadians are more likely to go electric when buying a new car compared to Americans, says research from a new study.

Conducted by Synovate, a global market research firm, the company polled 1,800 new car buyers in the U.S. and 800 new car buyers in Canada. The study dealt with current petroleum based power-trains (internal combustion, diesel, flex-fuel, natural gas) and electric power trains (hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery and fuel cell).

In the study, Synovate asked respondents about what type of engine they would like in their future vehicle. They found that Americans had a stronger preference for internal combustion engines (61 percent) than Canadians (53 percent). When it came to a hybrid engine, the neighbors tied with 64 percent stating their preference.

But when it came to other electric technologies such as plug-in hybrids, Canadian respondents came out with a stronger preference (34 percent) than Americans (27 percent). The results were similar when it came to pure battery electric vehicles as well (29 percent Canadians versus 24 percent Americans).

According to Stephen Popiel, senior vice president of Synovate Motoresearch, “Canadians clearly want “greener”, more environmentally friendly vehicles. We seem to be more driven than Americans on reducing emissions while they are more concerned about fuel costs.” Reaffirming their green ways, Canadian respondents were more likely to be looking for ways to reduce their CO₂ levels (28 percent) than American respondents (23 percent). The American respondents were more likely to be looking for ways to minimize fuel costs (64 percent Americans versus 58 percent Canadians).

On the subject of Flex Fuel, Canadian respondents did not see E85, the blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, as an option. The Canadians surveyed were much less familiar with E85 (16 percent familiarity in Canada versus 26 percent in the USA) and have a weaker preference for E85 (21 percent in Canada versus 31 percent in the US).

Prince Charles is shutting down The Mall in London to display environmentally friendly vehicles for 10 days in September. The Prince is not only a keen environmentalist but a collector of Aston Martins and other sports cars, and the nexus of both conservation and automobiles is an appropriate area of interest for him.

The Prince of Wales’ Start Festival, as the event is called, will kick off on September 5th with a race between Charles’ train (which runs on biodiesel) and a fleet of green vehicles, which will take them from Glasgow to London. The Fesitval will celebrate more than just cars, as all kinds of green products will be featured alongside the auto exhibit.

Entry to the Start Festival will cost £15, but the car display will be free on September 12th. The Festival runs until September 15th.

[Source: Autocar]