Environmental Defense has launched a report about how automakers are improving to reduce emission levels. The highlights of the report state that, although individually almost all models reduced emissions in the last three years, the overall contribution to global warming has continued to grow since 1990. That is, although cars pollute 3 percent less than in 2004, the net increase in emissions is 1.5 percent since 1990.

When reporting about brands, the report says that the American Big Three were the worst performers in emissions. On the other hand, Toyota is praised not only for its hybrid models but also for improvements in the Corolla; BMW is lauded for a 12 percent across the board reduction because of Mini.

Speaking about the six best sellers in the US:

• GM is the automaker which pollutes the most, although its global impact is 6.5 percent smaller due to sales decrease.
  
• Ford also increased emissions but for the same reasons as GM, its impact is 6 percent lower.
• DaimlerChrysler's pollution increased as well with the worst truck average.
• Toyota's emissions dropped 3 percent overall; however its impact was up 125 percent thanks to increased sales.
• Honda sold more as emissions shot up 4.4 percent, the company has the most efficient lineup.
• Nissan had the biggest jump, selling more trucks than cars.

[Source: Environmental Defense]

Maybe I should have worded that title a bit differently. Case studies in and of themselves might not make for the most interesting piece of reading, but this one might be an exception. That is, if you are interested in hybrid vehicles and the collaborations of very large American corporations. I am sure you are interested in hybrids, at least.

I feel compelled to add that I have always had very good service from FedEx. If you order computer parts from Newegg, which I have (more times than I should admit to), then you have probably experienced how quickly the shipment has come. That proves to me that when I order something from somebody else, and it ships through FedEx but takes weeks to get to me, it is not FedEx that is taking their dear sweat time! Another thing - ever see Cast Away? That guy really took his job at FedEx seriously.

Yeah, anyway, check out the case study (warning: .pdf file). The goal, as you will see if you read through it, was to create a replacement for the "W700" delivery vehicle. They were looking for something that got better fuel mileage (by 50 percent) and "dramatically reduced emissions". This was all done after FedEx had tested some alternative vehicles in the 1990s and came away seemingly unimpressed. But after some meetings with Environmental Defense and their auto suppliers, they realized that they should give it another shot. I'll stop there so I don't ruin the ending for you, 'cause I'm cool like that.

Related:

• Road&Track tests the FedEx W700 Hybrid
• FedEx to Add Hybrid Vans to its Fleet

[Source: Stanford via Hybrid Car & Vehicle News via Hugg]

If only we could put everything on a linear scale, it would be so much easier to see if one thing is better or worse than another. Yahoo! teamed up with Environmental Defense to do just that for the "greenness" of automobiles. It's a similar concept to J.D. Power and Associates' Automotive Environmental Index, however, Yahoo! and Environmental Defense chose to use a 0 to 100 point system in which the higher the rating, the greener the car and they're posting it on Yahoo's automotive website built for consumers.

Environmental Defense doesn't reveal the algorithm used to generate the ratings, but Yahoo! explains that the goal is to reflect a vehicle's "total environmental impact" by juding them according to fuel economy, emissions standards and curb weight.

The pollutants covered in the rating include greenhouse gases, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. So which is worse? Spewing carbon dioxide or particulate matter? Unfortunately, Yahoo! doesn't get detailed in their explanation of the Green Ratings. What's interesting is that they claim the ratings retain the same scale throughout the spectrum. That is, they say that the savings of the 3 points between 40 and 43 cuts down on the same amount of pollution as the 3-point gain between 60 and 63.

They've also taken up all the slack given to flex-fuel vehicles as each car's Green Rating is based solely on its use of "the commonly available motor fuel (gasoline or diesel)" unless it was specifically designed to use a different fuel such as natural gas. The site doesn't totally shun ethanol as there's a link for it under the "Technology" tab, however, none of the cars were rated with it. The same holds true for vehicles capable of running biodiesel. Their ratings are based on petroleum diesel fuel.

Check out the top 100 cars by their Green Rating by clicking here. Number 1 isn't the Prius. It's the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. If you're curious why the 2006 Civic Hybrid beat out the 2007 Civic Hybrid, the answer may be as simple as the vehicles' respective weights. The 2007 version tipped the scales by six more pounds than its predecessor. The highest ranking SUV is the 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid (front-wheel drive) which came in at 9 on the list. The Toyota Camry Hybrid was just above the Escape at number 8 while the Honda Accord Hybrid managed just 31st. Oh, and sports car fans will be happy to see the Lotus Elise listed at number 55 and the highest ranked Miata at 57.

When you get a chance, check out Yahoo's green autos page at http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/ and tell us what you think.

[Source: Environmental Defense]