Hertz has jumped on the enviro-bandwagon. Their new Green Collection consists of cars with "EPA Highway Fuel Efficiency rating of 28 Miles or more per gallon." There are currently six cars in the Green Collection, each reservable by name: Toyota Prius and Camry, Ford Fusion, Buick LaCrosse, Subaru Outback and Hyundai Sonata. Interestingly, other cars in Hertz' fleet that meet their arbitrary mileage criteria (e.g. the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Accent) aren't invited to the party. The TV ad bragging about their environmental friendliness only mentions the Prius– to the point where you've got to wonder if Toyota co-sponsored the come-on. Of course, the green-washing fails to mention that the rental car company's fleet also includes gas guzzlers that go by the name of Hummer H2 and H3, Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator and Town Car, Ford Shelby GTH, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Corvette. Now that would be an inconvenient ad.

According to a New Year's PR greeting from ToMoCo Prez Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota is going so damn green you'd be hard-pressed to find it in a field of clover. Just before I nodded off (sorry), Watanabe pledged to "contribute to the sustainable development of society and the earth in the future" in three main areas: research and development, manufacturing and social contribution. Yada, yada, "sustainable mobility," "cellulosic ethanol," "planting trees" and "hands-on environmental education at the Forest of Toyota." And now for the real news: Toyota wants to achieve "hybrid vehicle sales of 1 million units annually as soon as possible in the early 2010s," and put a Synergy Drive (possibly lithium-ion equipped) into every one of their models (hybrid Tundra?). As for those pesky quality issues dinging their brand rep, Watanabe is so committed to rectifying the situation he's quoting himself: "I am always saying that 'without improving quality, Toyota cannot expect to grow', and I believe that quantitative growth is the result of improved quality. For this, we understand well that corporate management must achieve growth that maintains a balance between corporate activities and environmental preservation, as well as between volume and quality." What, a pragmatic approach to multiple demands rather than seamless spin and endless hype? Where's the fun in that?

Yes, well, it's a bit a late to be singing that refrain, what with the new Energy Bill slapping a 35 by 2020 bumper sticker on every legislator and carmaker's ass. Still, as Shakespeare once said, there's many a slip between the cup and the lip; substitute  "loopholes" and "federal court cases" for "slip" and you've got a pretty clear picture of what lies ahead. Meanwhile, conservative thinkers have suddenly woken from their torpor to explain why the new federal fuel economy regulations (such as they aren't) aren't such a good idea. Cato Institute senior [good] fellows Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren attack the underlying principle that automobile manufacturers are fuel economy foot draggers. "Automakers… would hardly be more ignorant than the casual observers at the Sierra Club and Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office about how much money they're leaving on the table. Suffice it to say this argument suggests that consumers are indeed getting exactly the kind of cars that they want." They also point out that consumers have valid priorities– which don't jibe with global warming crusaders. "They don't like the fact that many consumers seem to like other attributes — such as vehicle size and acceleration — that mitigate against fuel economy." After suggesting that a fuel tax would be the best way to correct so-called "market failures," Taylor and Van Doren put the [stillborn] fuel economy debate to bed. "For many, however, there is no such thing as too much energy conservation, and society always gains the less we consume. But if that were true, why not just ban cars from the road altogether?" Where were you guys six months ago?

GM Car Czar Bob Lutz sat down with journo Jerry Flint for a major chin wag. Forbes' finest asks Maximum Bob about his employer's two-mode hybrid system; Flint wonders if the system costs costs more than $10k per vehicle. "Well, at least," Lutz admits. "And we're not selling it for that." Oops! So will the inherently unprofitable technology help GM achieve its federally-mandated 35mpg by 2020 fuel economy targets? Nope. "Even with that, we get a full-sized Tahoe sport utility to 22 miles per gallon, which is 50% to 60% better than anyone else [?], but is still only 22. So where are we going to get the other 13 [mpg]? We don't have a clue, and throwing another 10,000 bucks at it isn't going to do it either." As for GM's next Next Big Thing, the electric – gas Chevrolet Volt, Lutz backpedals so hard he falls over. Flint bears the bad news: "On a scale of 1 to 10, he says his confidence level is a 9.5 that GM can build the Chevy Volt. The production date is another matter; Lutz's confidence drops to a 5.5. 'We're holding people's feet to the fire for the very end of 2010 into 2011. But that can slip, depending on how the development goes.'" In short, "It probably won't be a flawless launch." So, it's business as usual at GM.

The International Herald Tribune reports when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the energy bill to the Prez for his John Hancock, it was delivered in a Toyota Prius owned by an employee with the Office of the Clerk of the House. Naturally, using a Japanese hybrid to deliver the bill pissed off two Republican representatives from Michigan. Rep. Candice Miller said it was done "just to demonstrate their complete disregard for the domestic auto industry." Rep. Mike Rogers echoed that sentiment, calling it a "slap in the face of every American auto worker." A staffer in Pelosi's office said the two were "merely attempting to distract from the success of the Democratic energy security legislation" and added that 95 House Republicans (fewer than half) supported the bill. He stopped short of saying "nanny-nanny-boo-boo." What I'd like to know is why a paper copy had to be delivered at all. After all, if the Democrats were that keen on conservation, they could have transmitted it electronically.

If there's a silver lining to Britain's anti-democratic Oxbridge oligarchy, it's that the class-bound status quo allows the more enigmatic members of the elite to spout fabulously politically incorrect sentiments. To wit: the Torygraph reports that Professor Sir David King, the United Kingdom's outgoing Chief Scientific Adviser (how Mikado is that?), thinks "women must stop admiring men who drive sports cars." Translation: global warming (a theory to which Sir David wholeheartedly subscribes) requires that motorists stop burning petrochemicals for the sheer bloody Hell of it. To that end, babes must stop offering their eggs to carbon profligate males. No really. "I was asked at a lecture by a young woman about what she could do [to save the planet] and I told her to stop admiring young men in Ferraris," he said. Of course, Sir David's sexist castigation represents a fairly quaint not to say Victorian view of the world. Only the United Kingdom's sports car drivers don't quite see it that way. The secretary the Ferrari Owners Club is more than slightly miffed at the suggestion that his members may be melting the polar ice caps. "There are fewer than 5,600 cars made a year by Ferrari," Peter Everingham said. "To suggest Ferraris are a factor in climate change is unhelpful." For whom?

One of the less publicized reasons the White House said it will veto the new Energy Bill: the legislation fails to sort out who controls fuel economy standards. It's become an urgent issue since California lawmakers decided CO2– produced in direct proportion to a vehicle's fuel efficiency– is a "greenhouse gas," and thus a pollutant. Hisotrically, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has waived their federal mandate to set air pollution standards, allowing the state to set their own. So when California decided that CO2 was tailpipe poison, they asked the EPA to set a national CO2 standard or get the Hell out of the way. The EPA said hang on, give us a minute, we'll get back to you. California said time's up and filed suit against the feds. As USA Today reports, a California federal judge has now ruled in California's favor, green lighting the state's efforts to set a combined car and light truck fuel economy standard of 43.7 miles per gallon by 2016, with all other trucks to average 26.9 mpg. The move completely usurps the role of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is in charge of monitoring and enforcing federal fuel economy standards. Needless to say, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is sure to appeal the court's decision, taking it all the way to the Supreme Court if needs be. Now do you see why the White House wants Congress to clear up this jurisdictional bun fight? I mean, jeez. 

While greens (and tax collectors) the world over have hailed London's Congestion Charge (CG), the scheme is far from the showpiece legislation its proponents suggest, and it's about to get worse. The Times reports that London's traffic has returned to pre-CG levels. Even less surprisingly, well-paid bureaucrats swallow a full 47 percent of the £800m raised by the CG– to the point where London has cut bus subsidies. At the same time, "The introduction of more bus lanes and pedestrian-friendly measures, TfL [Transport for London] admits, have also contributed to congestion." And now The Evening Standard reports that the recent tweak to the system– adding low CO2 cars like the Fiat Panda and Ford Fiesta to the hybrids who get a free pass– threatens to hole its income. As you (but not London Mayor Ken Livingstone) might imagine, the city cars' exemption from the £8 daily fee has sparked a boom in small car sales. I'm sorry, did I say £8? As part of the tweak, "gas guzzlers" will have to pay £25 a day to drive in inner London. Anyway, a study commissioned by Land Rover (for obvious reasons) reckons that the Mayor's plan to give A and B-class cars a free ride could add an extra 10k cars to London's traffic and "contribute to global warming" (way to stick the boot in). 

GM's one two three green light campaign to leapfrog the competition with its E-Flex plug-in electric – gas (in that order) hybrid continues apace, The General has just opened a new design studio dedicated to the Chevrolet Volt and its antecedents. According to the press release, GM's new Warren, MI-based E-Flex Systems Design Studio will house 45 designers, sculptors, design engineers, scientists and administrative staff in a greener-than-thou environment. That would be a reused space kitted-out with sustainable carpet, energy efficient florescent lighting and window shades, rugs made of 100 percent wool and Cradle to Cradle-certified furniture. While we still haven't seen the new-look Volt, The Motley Fool (of all people) tell us that GM designers have already cut 30 percent from the concept's wind drag. "The easier it is to push this vehicle through the air, the less energy you use," said Nina Tortosa, the Volt's aerodynamic development engineer and [possible] future author of Aerodynamics for Dummies. Anyway, the Volt's design director is pleased with his new digs. “There’s a lot of history in this building,” said Bob Boniface, “and I feel we’re making our own history by designing a whole new generation of vehicles that don’t require gasoline." I guess someone forget to tell Bob about the gasoline part of the Volt's propulsion system…

The Detroit Free Press takes its turn as hometown cheerleader, touting Michigan as the U.S. auto industry's current and future "think tank." "The state has reached a historic crossroads," Katherine Yung opines. "Even as it sheds much of the business of building cars and trucks, Michigan is quietly growing its ability to design and create the next generation of vehicles." Quietly eh? Sound kinda tenuous to me. To wit: note the word "can" in the following quote: "Experts say that even as Michigan diversifies its economy, it can grow by expanding its role as the auto industry's knowledge capital." In terms of hard facts, Sean McAlinden, vice president of research at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, reckons The Wolverine State captures nearly 80% of the $16.7b spent on American automotive research and development. Buried amongst details of new investments and quotes from the happy campers who might expand their Michigan-based R&D facilities, CSM Veep Michael Robinet predicts that "basic development work for different vehicle platforms may decline." The future, then, is in "hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles." Although Yung sees Tesla's new Rochester Hills' research center as a sign of things to come, that could cut either way. 

First we had to give up (freebasing?) freon because it was eating a hole in the ozone layer. Now The New York Times tells us the European Union is banning  R132a, the refrigerant currently used in auto air conditioners. You guessed it: it's a greenhouse gas. The most likely replacement? Carbon dioxide. Yep, the bane of environmentalists everywhere could be cooling off your BMW in a few years. Even though tests with other coolants are still underway, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and VW have all named CO2 as their refrigerant of choice. While the U.S. isn't considering banning R132a (yet), they're looking at other possibilities like R152a which is less of a global-warming threat. Each has its unique problems, though. R152a is slightly flammable, and carbon dioxide has to operate at five times the pressure of current systems. Anyone want to place any bets on how long either of them lasts before they get banned too?

Duemotori.com reports Jeep is racking up the awards in Europe. Earlier this year, the entire Jeep lineup won the 2007 Green 4×4 Award from 4×4 & MPV Driver Magazine. Now the same magazine has named the Patriot 2.0 CRD Sport as their 4×4 of the Year. In announcing the win, the magazine's editor, Bob Murry, states "The Patriot is a cracking car to drive… It adds a welcome dash of adventure and US style to a sometimes bland SUV market. At last you can have your American pie, and eat it, too!" That's not too bad for a vehicle that started life as a Dodge Caliber and has only sold 800 units this year. Interestingly, even though it's available with a 2.4L petrol engine it's only the highly-equipped CRD (diesel) Sport version that received the 4×4 of the year award.

BusinessGreen reports that Ricardo, Land Rover, mapmaker Ordnance Survey, mobile giant Orange and the UK's Transport Research Laboratory have banded together to develop the "rCube control system." In theory, the bolt-in computer will combine the [now] familiar real time traffic data with automatic control over a hybrid's engine, batteries, throttle and brakes. Say what? "If you are approaching a junction or a traffic jam and have to stop, the control system will optimise the deceleration to limit how hard you have to brake and maximise the amount of energy that is captured and used to recharge the battery," explains Tom Robinson, senior product group manager for control and electronics at Ricardo. "It means that you get a smoother ride and lower emissions." The scarily-named "Sentience project" promises a prototype rCube-equipped Ford Escape Hybrid by the summer. So… what's hybridless lame duck Land Rover got to do with any of this? And why can't they just teach people to go easy on the gas and the brakes?

You might thing the words "holistic" and "motorsports" go together like "Segway" and "Nürburgring," but Motorsport Development UK (MDUK) claims their industry is "approaching energy efficiency and emission reduction in an holistic way." According to their self-financed study, "the UK motorsport industry is a major innovator of environmentally friendly technology, exploring all facets of fuel and performance efficiency (aerodynamics, transmission systems, lower emission fuels, super-lightweight materials, etc), rather than simply concentrating on biofuel take-up. The developing technologies will be of use not only on the race track but will help increase energy efficiency in other sectors, particularly the automotive, aerospace and transport industries." The Earth Times is happy to reprint the press release, but I'm a little confused. Does this mean that going Hell for leather in cars without emission controls that get single digit mpgs, watched by hundreds of thousands of people who accessed the race venue by car, is good for the environment? Let the wild rumpus start! Or will the EU send the wild things off to bed without their supper? Watch this space.

This is not the first time we've heard this story BUT… WSAV.com warns Prius-driving metro-area Atlantans that their gas – electric vehicle may fail the local emissions test. It seems that the Prius' gas engine shuts down during the idling portion of the testing cycle, causing the test to abort. Since new cars are exempt from emission testing for the first three years of operation, the issue is just now coming to light. The state's manager for the testing program says it's a software glitch; they hope to have the problem fixed by next year. In the meantime, there's a ten-step procedure to work around the problem (first you have to acknowledge you have a problem…). Of course, the success of the alternative procedure depends on Clarence and Jim-Bob at Bubba's Bait Shop and Fillin' Station decipherin' the procedure needed fer testin' them funny-lookin' furrin' cars. [Frank's a son of the South– Ed.]