Auto Transportation

Posts Tagged ‘planet’

It is no surprise that amidst the increasingly larger hikes in fuel prices driven by the fact that the planet’s supply of petroleum is dissipating, the automotive industry is feeling the pinch more than any other. With many companies falling or are already fallen, the surviving ones are now wisely channeling their resources in developing vehicles which run on alternative fuel and the most popular choice is clearly the hybrid.

Hybrids are the first forms of cars to battle the ongoing fuel crisis. Evidently, the name which pops up anywhere across the world when the term hybrid is brought up is the Toyota Prius. This is mainly because the Prius was the first hybrid vehicle to be built in masses as they have proven among all the other alternative fuel concepts during the late 90s and early years of the new millennium to be the most practical and applicable in real world situations. Basically, hybrids are cars which run on the usual gasoline with the difference being the addition of an extra fuel supply, most commonly in the form of electricity which gets supplied from battery cells. While the Prius has been dominating over all these years, many other hybrids are available on the road today but one of the most notable cars in this segment is the upcoming second generation of Honda’s Insight, a hybrid car designed and engineered specifically to go up against the Prius in a blatant one on one.

While the idea of electric cars have always been a point of discussion but not so in application due to cost and practicality issues, they are hitting the roads lately and one of the one model swarming roads the most across the globe is possibly the Reva G-Whiz. Being under lots of controversy in the automotive industry due to its minimalist nature which is considered unsafe and not up to the standards of being a car, this tiny two-seater from India is in fact labeled as a quadtricycle in markets like the UK’s. On a more fast and furious note, the Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car borrowing the body of Lotus’ well-proven Elise’. While this car is earning rave reviews for its performance despite its electric underpinnings, many are expressing their doubts over the durability and sustainability of the electric cells that power not only the Tesla, but other electric vehicles alike.

Over the years, there have been debates about hybrids not being as good as people are made to think and the technology of electric cars as yet being simply impractical for normal usage. Diesel cars have gained in popularity due to this combined with rising prices at the pumps as cars such as Volkswagen’s entry level green car, the Polo Bluemotion, has on many tests and occasions proved that it can easily dwarf the mpg ratings of a Toyota Prius. Electric vehicles cannot be considered as economical or environmental either as most of our electricity supply comes from plants which burn petroleum to generate the electricity as well.

With ever changing takes on alternative fuel, Honda has made a breakthrough of late, introducing the Honda FCX Clarity, a car which runs of hydrogen and with the debates still going strong on alternative fuel vehicles, the technology Honda is implementing here might be the most significant yet in this battle as hydrogen is unlike the rest, an element which is never likely to run out. Only the world of tomorrow shall tell.

By John Roehll

The move toward “greener” more environmentally friendly practices can be seen all across our nation. Hybrid cars are a huge hit leaving dealers with waiting lists of customers who want to help reduce the effects of global warming. Green homebuilding is all the rage and helps reduce waste in landfills as well as save on energy consumption. But there is one type of company that has been fighting this battle for years without a lot of fanfare: auto transport companies.

It has been reported that just one auto transport company can save almost 3 million gallons of fuel resulting in more than a 38 million pound reduction in greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. That’s a significant savings!

For example, if there were only one auto transport company in each state, the national savings would equate to almost 150 millions gallons of fuel saved and almost 2 billion pounds of greenhouse gases that were prevented from escaping into the atmosphere. Multiply that by the hundreds, or possibly thousands, of auto transport businesses across the nation and the figures are staggering.

Of course, not every vehicle can be shipped. Many must be driven to their destinations. However, auto transport companies take pride in knowing that their industry is having a positive affect on global warming.

It might be hard to imagine that by choosing an auto transport company to ship a vehicle rather than driving from origin to destination, you would be contributing to the fight against global warming. It certainly does. Transportation is the biggest source of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions: more than factories or homes. So you can see that when it comes to global warming, how and what we drive are two of our most powerful choices.

The burning of fossil fuels (gasoline, diesel, etc.) to facilitate transportation and the subsequent release of carbon dioxide and other suspected greenhouse gases is under strong critique. The reduction of these environmental menusis must be a top priority if we hope to save our planet and prevent further permanent damage due to global warming.

The following emission data is from the Department of Energy website at www.DOE.gov.

One gallon of gasoline produces 19.564 lbs of carbon dioxide.

Average mpg for a car or SUV is 19 mpg.

One gallon of diesel produces 22.384 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Average mpg for an auto transport truck is 4.7.

Just one auto transport company shipped over 90,000 vehicles within a 12-month period of time and had the following impact:

> > 2,926,000 gallons of fuel saved

> > 38,216,000-pound reduction of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere

As significant as this sounds, this example shows two very important things. First, the need is great! Even with auto transport companies and other eco-minded businesses involved, we have a long way to go. Second, just imagine the tremendous impact we could all have if we took the needed steps to protect our environment. Individual participation is the key.

The next time you get into your car, take time to consider your driving habits. Consolidating trips, carpooling, driving at slower speeds and shipping your car when applicable are simple and painless changes that can have a long-lasting impact.