Cars That Make You Turn Green

The rise of the tides, polar bears swimming for their lives and a country with 2 billion people that burns enough dirty coal to blanket the skyline should be enough to make a person at least try to do something good for the environment. But as much as we’d like to ride a bicycle to work, at least here in Southern California, with the most highly traveled freeways in the world, putting the pedal to the asphalt could be as much of a form of suicide as if would be a marathon.

People in Los Angeles have a real love affair with their cars and it’s not just some weekend fling. We LOVE our cars. We love them so much that it’s rare that we’d actually share them with anyone outside the immediate family.

It’s not an unusual sight to see Angelinos riding on the freeway, one person to a car. Oh sure sometimes you can find families in the diamond lane and on weekends you might be lucky to see two or more people in one vehicle going somewhere, but by and large, and mostly during the peak of travel time – rush hour, its one car, one driver.

The solo motorist is a very common animal in this neck of the interstate because to share commute would mean to give up our privacy, our alone time. Since the rush hour driving period can span a good three to fours hours and the average driver has to travel at least 30 to 60 minutes each way to get to work, Californian’s get to use this period of their lives for quiet reflection, catching up with friends, putting on make up, shaving or taking a coffee moment with their favorite half – calf, triple grande latte, no foam, soy Americano.

And if we’re going to spend that much time behind the wheel shouldn’t we at least be comfortable? Of course the real question is – Can we be GREEN as well?

At one time, not too long ago, Hybrid cars were pretty much looked upon as something for the future along with jet packs and talking wristwatches. But since the dawn of the 21st century a plethora of Hybrid and Green vehicles have begun to be produced and on a mass production scale.

No longer mere electric autos that only went as fast as your grandmother’s Rascal with a battery the size of a work bench and a life span of a gnat, today we usher in a whole new breed of environmentally friendly cars that actually look, act, feel and drive like – cars.

And they come in all sizes.

If you’re a big person or just like your SUV but don’t like the way Prius owners sneer at you when you pass, you’re in luck. Manufacturers like Toyota, GM, Chevy, Saturn and more have taken your beloved behemoth and turned it green. The Saturn Aura Green Line SUV is one of their newest gas-electric hybrids to step up to the plate without having to eat the whole dinner. The new Vue Green Line two Mode puts together the output of the Saturn’s 3.6 liter, direct injection variable valve timing V-6 with two active-cooled 55 kW electric motors. This combination gives you excellent performance without having to sacrifice leg room or cargo space just because you want to get better gas mileage and save the planet.

General Motors is definitely jumping the shark and will be offering 16 new Hybrid models over the next four years. The same hybrid evolutionary platforms will be seen in other car models such as the Chevy Silverado and the GMC Sierra. Finally full sized trucks that can have descent gas mileage, much lower emissions and be part of the green revolution. It’s enough to make a red neck scratch his head and wonder what’s going on in the world.

Now if you like the idea of smaller cars and want to get away from gas altogether you may want to check out something like the “neighborhood” type of all electric vehicles, like the GEM Peapod Electric Car.

Yes, the Peapod. This little car from Chrysler’s GEM, ENVI division seems more like an iPod accessory than a form of transport, yet the Peapod is a sleek ultramodern urban auto whose name comes from its teardrop shape stuck on wheels.

Using the oval form provides maximum interior space with grand viewing capabilities through over sized tinted glass, including an over head roof panel. With seating for four, the 102 inch wheelbase has an overall length of 143.6 inches. It’s just 56.5 inches wide but 70.5 inches tall. This makes the Peapod two inches shorter than the Mini Cooper but with a longer wheelbase.

Truly a car for the city, Peapod drivers have a 32 feet curb to curb turning circle with the entire vehicle weighing not much more than 1,290 pounds. The rated payload capacity is just 910 pounds which is plenty for four adults in a comfortable setting.

The downside is the Peapod isn’t going to take you outside the city or anywhere that has a speed limit above 35 mph, but it can get you as far as 30 miles on a full charge. After that you’ll need to plug her into a standard 110 – volt outlet and juice her up for about six to eight hours. Not too bad if you consider this as a great way to commute to work, plug it in for the day and then drive it home.

Perhaps the Peapod is a little too small and vegan for your tastes.

How about the Chevy Volt? Coming out in 2011, this green machine was first introduced as a concept car back in 2007 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and it was an instant hit.

The Volt is a plug-in electric car with a 40 mile zero – emission range on all electric operation. After the 16 kWh lithium battery pack is maxed out the Volt kicks in a small internal combustion engine-generator with a range of an additional 300 miles. That’s a sweet deal plus it runs on E85 ethanol or a combination of fuels. The car’s propulsion drive is through the electric motors.

And if you’re afraid you’ll have to give it a running start, not to worry. The Volt’s 0 to 60 mph time is a quick 8 to 9 second jump with a top speed of 100 mph. Not bad for an environmentally friendly auto that delivers 111 kW of power converted to 150 horsepower.

But perhaps like most people who tend more toward a Goldie Locks mentality, you’d like something more in the middle. Not too big and not too small. Just right.

One of the most popular cars on the road today is the Honda Civic and now you can get it as a Hybrid. Priced for 2008 at a range of $15,610 to $24,590, the Civic Hybrid has a 40 MPG in the city and 45 MPG on the highway.

Honda is known for making solid dependable cars and the Civic Hybrid won’t disappoint. The 1.3 liter in-line 4 front engine combines with an 82 kW electric power source and uses a multi-point injection fuel system.

Or if you’re a Nissan fan, the 2009 Altima Hybrid has a 2.5 liter in-line 4 front engine with 89.0 mm bore, 100.00 mm stroke, 9.6 compression ratio, double overhead cam, variable valve time/camshaft and four valves per cylinder.

The Altima sports a 20 gallon tank over the Honda’s 15 and also includes multi-point injection fuel system with a maximum torque of 158. The price ranges from $19.500 to $29,000, depending of course on your choice of options.

Since our big blue planet is in desperate need of us to really act green, your selection of electric cars that will help make our world a healthier place to live have finally arrived without having to give up our private space or precious coffee time.