“Practically” Zero Emissions Vehicles – Guest post
Subaru can be "Eco"
Today I would like to introduce a post from friend blogger – http://nohybrids.blogspot.com/. You can check out some interesting facts about real car ecology there. He writes also about “greenwashing” the cars by producers and the media, instead doing a really good job for the environment.
Did You hear any mentioning of Subaru in this hybrid – eco war between other car makers? No? Good. Now check the following post, what Subaru actually DOES for the environment (not only SAY they do, like my favourite Toyota and their Prius toy – Sorry I just don’t “buy” this car).
While Subaru is generally more famous for rally shenanigans than fuel efficiency, by no means are they known for that alone. Subaru is also very friendly to the environment.
In fact, long before SUVs bore the stigma they bear today, Subaru was making what we now know as “crossovers”. I’d go as far as saying they invented the genre with the original Outback.
There is very little that an SUV can do that an Outback can’t. And anyone with even the slightest environmental conscience can see that. 90% of the “work” an average, soccer-mom driven, SUV does can be accomplished by a moderately sized wagon. Even those who makes an excuse to own an SUV by claiming they need the added traction of 4 wheel drive have no excuse since Subaru has that covered as well. Perhaps that’s why Subaru is one of the only brands not posting losses month after moth ever since the gas price spike of last summer. They give you cake, and let you eat it too.
What’s this about “zero emissions” though? Subaru’s run on gas like any other internal combustion engine powered vehicles on the roads today. They aren’t hybrids, and they certainly aren’t EVs. In fact, due to the added weight and resistance of the all-wheel drivetrain, a Subaru vehicle will almost always be slightly less fuel efficient than a similarly sized 2 wheel drive counterpart. It’s a small price to pay for drivers who live in a climate where the roads are snow and/or ice covered for 4+ months of the year.
That being said, Subarus can be “green”. The Legacy model range (including the Outback) is manufactured at Subaru’s production facility in Indiana, which is a zero landfill plant. Yes, a factory that produces 200,000 cars a year has 0% waste. 99.8% is recycled, and the last 0.2% is incinerated according to EPA requirements (otherwise I’m sure they’d find a way to recycle that too).
Even more interesting than that is the fact that Subaru produces three models in the Legacy range that are classified as PZEVs, or “Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles”. (Yes, that’s a bit of an oxymoron… it either is, or it isn’t zero emissions. I prefer my own definition of “practically” zero emissions.)
You can read the rest of the post HERE.
Additional comment from me:
I like that Subaru is keeping a healthy connection with so called “ecology”. They do it the right way – not shouting about how green, hybrid, electro futuristic and clean, they are. They don’t use this for their marketing, they just do it, because they feel they should. And are still faithful to the only rule that should accompany the car – fun of driving! At least that’s the impression…
What more their new…
2.0l 150 HP boxer diesel is amazing!
They didn’t loose their sporty edge, didn’t abandon the 4WD. And created the best diesel I’ve ever driven (and believe me – I hate diesel engines)! I will write a post about this Subaru test drive later. HERE You can find a Polish test about the mpg that they can achieve (unfortunately no English version available).
Long story short
They tested Subaru cars: Forester, Outback, Impreza and Legacy models on regular roads. All of them managed to do more than 50 mpg! The biggest winner was Legacy – not the smallest in the stake, but the most aerodynamic. It consumed only 4.11 l/100 km (about 58 mpg)!!! Yes, they were doing eco driving, mixed city – road. But anyway the results are great. In this size family AWD 150HP car? Not bad indeed, without any downsides of a hybrid (rubbish driving experience, 2WD, funny looks)!
Think about it.
You may also like:
Those diesel numbers are really interesting. We don’t have any Subie diesels available here yet, but I’ve heard rumors of a possible 2011 model. My current Impreza will be due for replacement by then, so a diesel burner is definitely a possibility.
Well, I wouldn’t expect them to use this amounts of diesel in real life… But I talked with guys at Subaru, when they were driving the new Impreza diesel pretty hard, they never went below 25 mpg… And believe me I know how they drive the demo cars:)
On highway You should get over 40 mpg without any problem.
Hello everyone thanks for
good information.