EnviroCar

Toyota: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

Toyota became a big hit in the United States after the oil embargo of the 1970’s sparked an interest in more frugal vehicles that the company was importing. Since then it has fared extremely well in both quality and reliability surveys and finds more repeat buyers than any other automaker. And now, with surging oil prices and a change in American customer buying habits, the automaker has just surpassed Ford to become the second largest manufacturer in the world. The company has also been given credit for pioneering hybrid technology in the form of the Prius gasoline-electric vehicle (even though it did not) and has licensed this technology to the Ford Motor Company and collaborated with rival Nissan to produce its own vehicles using the patented technology.

The benefits of hybrid technology are not applicable in all driving scenarios, and many hybrid buyers have not seen the mileage figures claimed by the company. That is largely because the US, with its expansive highway system and greater travel distances, does not do the technology justice. So Toyota began countering this by producing vehicles (such as those in its Lexus luxury division) that would use the electric motor to supplement power rather than economy. This has led to some environmental groups portraying the manufacturer as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, stating that the automaker is building cars under the pretense that they are better for the environment when they offer no significant gains over a traditional ICE counterpart (Bluewater, 2005).

But even a Toyota Prius, the now iconic ‘green’ motor vehicle who has attracted celebrities and environmentalists worldwide, does not surpass the environmental accreditation that the Volkswagen Golf TDi garners while running on biodiesel. According to the Green Car Company, the CO2 emissions from the Prius (whose 1.5 liter 4 cylinder 76hp motor mated to a 500 volt permanent magnet AC synchronous motor) creates 267 grams per mile, while a biodiesel fuelled Volkswagen TDi emits only 61 grams per mile.

posted by Eric @ 1:06 AM