NRDC Challenges Toyota on Fuel Economy Stance
24 September 2007
EnergyTechStocks.com. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is challenging Toyota to prove that its environmentally-friendly image is more than just so many “empty words.”
The NRDC is calling upon its members to write or email the president of Toyota North America and tell him to break ranks with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which opposes a bill currently before Congress that would raise vehicles’ fuel economy.
In an email, NRDC told members that “Prius fans might be surprised to learn that Toyota is trying to move America backward on fuel economy.” Pointedly noting that Toyota hasn’t broken ranks with others in the manufacturers’ alliance, the email went on to rhetorically ask: “Why is Toyota, a company that can make a car that gets 55 miles per gallon today, fighting a 35 mpg standard?”
The email then says: “If Toyota’s ‘Moving Forward’ motto is more than just empty words, the company must support a sensible increase in fuel economy to 35 mpg by 2020. It’s time for Prius and other hybrid owners – and all of us who care about oil independence, global warming and air pollution – to tell Toyota to stop trying to shift America’s efforts to break its oil dependency into reverse.
Resources:
NRDC “Take Action” sample message
Why is Toyota, a company that can make a car that gets 55 miles per gallon today
NRDC needs to get up to date. The new fuel economy rating of the Prius is 46, unless of course one is talking about fuel economy for CAFE sake, which still uses the old standard.
These numbers are going to become meaningless unless the Feds start harmonizing them and also stopping the ridiculous MPG boosts for E85.
Posted by: jack | 24 September 2007 at 07:07 AM
Why is Toyota playing the Big 3 game?
Is there somthing we don't know?
Posted by: Harvey D | 24 September 2007 at 11:30 AM
Why is Toyota playing the Big 3 game?
Is there somthing we don't know?
That's a great question. We can make assumptions, such as Toyota trying to avoid any and all regulation, or that Toyota assumes that consumers will adjust to gas prices and keep buying vehicles with painfully bad fuel economy, or even that there are various sorts of collusion among Alliance members that Toyota does not want to break from. Toyota's actions in this case tell us something, as does Toyota's push of its Tundra. Let's hope their actions on future models in their hybrid line, in contrast, continue to tell us something good about the company.
Posted by: Scott | 24 September 2007 at 12:09 PM
I challenge the NRDC to stop supporting corn/soy/ ethanol/biodiesel.
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Posted by: GreyFlcn | 24 September 2007 at 01:53 PM
Go NRDC !
Posted by: Jim G | 24 September 2007 at 03:14 PM
I hope this is a matter of industry resisting regulation. Can't blame any industry for that. But they have to self regulate, they can't just resist and press on with the status quo or else they will be regulated as a last resort.
That's why we have MPAA movie ratings, Hollywood didn't want regulations, so they made up that system. Hopefully the automakers will do something actually effective without being forced.
On second thought, they probably should be regulated. The movies just started getting as raunchy as they could within a certain rating and in the end content got sleazier. Cool for movies, not cool for the earth.
Posted by: Elliot | 24 September 2007 at 05:34 PM