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When it comes to CAFE
and NHTSA fuel economy regulations, one automaker is
always absent from the discussion, Honda.
Interestingly, in this time of high gas prices and
super sluggish auto sales, Honda sales keep on
rolling. Sure, Honda doesn't have the hybrid
cars, yet, to match Toyota, but Honda's overall
fleet is far more fuel efficient than Toyota, and CAFE
seems of little concern.
Thus, it's very interesting that Honda is not
aggressively pursuing either plug-in hybrid vehicles
or electric vehicles. Instead, Honda believes cheap
hybrid cars are the best short-to-midterm solution,
followed by fuel cell vehicles, such as the Honda
Clarity.
Even more ironic, however, one might think Toyota and
GM would be less concerned over CAFE if they are so
bullish on plug-ins - vehicles which should
significantly help balance their fleet fuel economy.
Hence, one can only assume that neither Toyota nor GM
believe that plug-ins will be a major component of
their fleet fuel economy for many, many years.
Certainly, there is no doubt that America will see a
number of plug-in vehicles by 2010, but when will we
see them in numbers that matter? Are plug-in vehicles
before 2015, even 2020, more of a niche, PR-gimmick to
distract Americans from the reality that automakers
are failing us as consumers on fuel efficiency,
foreign oil dependency and global warming?
Labels: electric cars, fuel economy, Hybrid Vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles
