G- Wagen. The most environmentally friendly car on earth?
Did anyone else see the survey referred to in Car Magazine (and most of the others mags) this month, which looked at the lifetime impact of vehicles, rather than just the CO2 emissions?
It made the point that two areas are largely ignored when considering environmental impact:
- energy used in making the vehicle; and
- the lifespan of the vehicle.
It made the point that cars like the Prius use a lot of high-tensile steels and more exotic componentry which use a lot of energy to make and are difficult to recycle (Lithium batteries anyone?). That plus the life expectancy is only around 100,000 km, whereas the life expectancy of a Jeep Wrangler is many times that.
It came to the somewhat amusing conclusion that the Jeep Wrangler is the most environmentally friendly vehicle on earth (I am trying to get the whole study to find out where the G-Wagen fits) and the Prius is not in the top 50. After I had finished laughing and sending a copy of the article to everyone I know with a Pruis, I thought about it, and it does seem to make sense intuitively. A diesel G-Wagen, run on bio diesel must be right up there, though.
Anyone got the whole study?
MC
I would love to see that article if you get your hands on it - it is a fact that I often argue.
I know its hard to quantify but those two point you indicate play hugely in favour of the G.
1) The G is handbuilt
2) The body design has barely changed in 25 years - a fact that would have a huge environmental impact due to the fact that a lot of energy is wasted in designing prototypes. Then retooling an entire factory to deal with body updates... then figure parts compatability and dealers having to restock items each time the design changes... then figure etc etc....
3) It is primarily metal which is easier to recycle then plastic
4) According to Magna-Steyr - 95% or so of all Gs are still on the road (or off as someone once mentioned). This goes alongway to reducing its impact by ensuring long term use.
Which in my eyes means that the G fits in comfortably with the Three Rs.
1) Reduce
2) Reuse
3) Recycle
I could ramble on and on about why I think it is better for the environment than say a Prius - a lot of plastic parts (recycling is the least effective of the three Rs) and it has a lot of batteries - very bad for the environment.... add to that fact that we live in Europe and the Prius is shipped a long way from home....
Better stop there before I get carried away....
The same is true of alot of so called "environmentaly friendly" energy sources. The people who are lobbying the Gov't. dep't. are the same ones who sell them, what a surprise. How much energy will a solar panel produce in UK.
I don't even think you have to be clever to see that Gs are a cheaper vehicle to run than modern Mondeos etc. In 5 y a 15K mondeo will be worth not much and be disposed off, whereas a G will have just clocked up another 50k miles
But no vehicle manufacturers want to reveal the energy consumed to produce new vehicles, which might demonstrate how unfriendly they really are, they want to sell them.
Now I am getting carried away :evil:
I totally agree with that study... funnily, the first person who talked me about this was my next-door neighbour in the UK who argued the point in favour of his very old and numerous Land Rovers. His point was precisely that one: that most of the energy consumed in a vehicle's lifespan was used in making it, and the longer you used it, the less impact that usage had on a "per mile" basis. That was all very well until I argued that all that saving was wasted with all those trips he had to do to the local garage for repairs :lol: ... he suddenly stopped talking to me!
Did anyone else see the survey referred to in Car Magazine (and most of the others mags) this month, which looked at the lifetime impact of vehicles, rather than just the CO2 emissions?
Ok I have looked in a few mags and not seen any mention of this - do you have a link or a copy you could scan and send?
I took a quick browse
Refer to
www.reason.org/commentaries/dalmia_20060719.shtml
Marcus
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It is in Car this month. I'm afraid that scanning is beyond my meagre technical competence.
MC