Eco-Vrrooooooming….. the Roads

We should add that the environmental impact of a given plug-in model will vary depending on where an owner lives. While an all-electric car generates zero tailpipe emissions, its overall impact depends greatly on the effect to which the local power source used to generate the electricity adversely affects the air, ground and/or water. Fuel efficiency is often cited as the key ingredient to determine a car’s green factor, and yes, it’s certainly important. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. When you cut up the global-warming pie, CO2 emissions are a huge slice — and one that eco-driven consumers sometimes don’t fully grasp when it comes to electric vehicles. True, an electric car won’t emit CO2 on the way from point A to point B, but you can’t call it a zero-emissions vehicle when plenty of CO2 is produced to recharge its batteries.

It remains to be seen if consumers’ intentions will match reality, but for those who want a fully-electric, hybrid, or fuel-efficient, gas-powered vehicle now, there are a number of high-quality options.

In order to properly compare cars of various types of propulsion (i.e., electric and gasoline/diesel), you need to figure out their energy consumption in a comparable unit of measurement. The EPA does this, but only for fuel efficiency, with MPG and MPGe, which is the “equivalent” MPG for an electric vehicle. According to the EPA, every gallon of gas is the equivalent of 33.6 kiloWatt hours (kWh), and every kWh results in just under 690g of CO2 production, on average.

A subcompact car is the American term for an automobile with a class size smaller than a compact car usually not exceeding 165 inches (4,191 mm) in length, but larger than a microcar.

The small size of subcompact cars makes them great city cars because they can maneuver easily and park in tight spaces. Subcompact cars tend to get great fuel economy, and they can provide excellent cargo space if you opt for a hatchback. Small, light cars also tend to handle better around corners. But these are the greatest risk of fatal accidents. By contrast, 11 vehicles — mostly large and midsize cars and SUVs — have zero fatalities by the same measure.

Today’s small cars actually span three main segments in the global vehicle market. The tiny A-segment cars include the Chevrolet Spark and Smart Fortwo. They are short and light. Slightly larger are B-segment cars like the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Sonic. The A- and B-cars are known as subcompacts.”

By- Dr. Bhawana Asnani.

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