Why do environmentalists attack Toyota?
Where would the CAFE increase argument be without the Prius?A few weeks I made a post about NRDC's plans to send a message to Toyota regarding their partnership with the Big 3 against a significant rise in CAFE. That campaign has begun.
"During the past two weeks, about 8,300 NRDC activists sent e-mails and faxes to Toyota urging the company to support a Senate energy bill that would set a 35-mile-per-gallon requirement by 2020," according to the AP.
I find this campaign disappointing.
Now I don't disagree with NRDC's claims that Toyota is acting hypocritically. I disagree with the battle. Nonetheless, in the last 15 years Toyota has been the ONLY automaker to decrease automobile emissions. Ultimately, Toyota is barely trailing Honda in overall fleet fuel economy, and the automaker is on pace to pass Honda. So, why attack the company actually doing MORE than any other automaker on the issue NRDC cares about most?
More important, however, would Congress change their mind if Toyota advocated for a higher increase in CAFE? Please?! In terms of CAFE, it's all about Detroit. Every member of Congress that is taking a tempered approach to CAFE is trying to protect Detroit's automakers.
"They market every night the Prius and the Toyota Camry — we're the green car, huh? Then watch the football games, and they're marketing the Toyota Tundra — like the biggest vehicle ever made," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a Camry hybrid owner, said Wednesday in a speech at an environmental conference.
Actually, I think the Hummer is bigger, Ed. And, aren't those big vehicles Detroit's bread and butter? Aren't these big vehicles why some in Congress are fighting CAFE? So, why not focus on the real problem? Then again, that is the politician's trick, right, Ed? Focus on inconsequential issues instead of focusing on the real problem.
--> For more on this topic check out Autoblogs Toyota and GM fire back at NY Times Tom Friedman
Labels: CAFE, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
7:49 AM
1 Comments:
I sent the following letter to the people campaigning against Toyota:
I called Toyota's Customer Experience toll free # at 800-331-4331 and this is what I found out:
After calling Toyota's toll free customer experience number and talking to a rep, I sent the following letter to Toyota using your e-mail campaign system. Apparently, Toyota wants to have CAFE standards raised to 35 mpg by 2022, only 2 years later than what you want. Big deal! Of course the technology exists TODAY to have CAFE of 35 mpg. If everyone drove a Prius hybrid (or a Prius-like Geo Metro hybrid) or a Ford Escape hybrid we would be there right now. Also, there are all of those 250+ hp compacts that they are selling that still get 30 mpg. I'm sure the engineers could go back to using 65-100 hp engines in compacts and squeeze out 80+ mpg hwy out of a conventional powertrain, using today's technology. You claim that Toyota said the technology does not exist to raise CAFE to 35 mpg, implying that they meant that it would never happen. Where is the beef?
John Thielking
Letter to Toyota:
After talking to your representative at Toyota's toll free customer experience # 800-331-4331, I have reached the conclusion that this campaign being waged against you by truthabouttoyota.com is complete nonsense. So what if you want to take 2 years longer than truthabouttoyota.com wants to, to get CAFE raised to 35 mpg.
Sincerely,
John Thielking
San Jose, CA 95116
Added to this post:
Of course waiting until 2020 or 2022 to get CAFE to only 35 mpg is itself ridiculous. But if you think that, then campaign for a higher number sooner, rather than apologizing for the Democrats who are only doing a little bit way too late.
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