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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2011
28
Automotive
The most environmentally responsible
auto maker in the US is Honda, with
Toyota and Hyundai the runner-ups
According to a study released on 6
th
October by the Union of
Concerned Scientists, Honda Motor Co, of Japan, produces
the greenest vehicles in the United States. Toyota Motor
Corp and Hyundai Motor Co – Japanese and South Korean,
respectively – are tied for second place. The study considered
eight auto makers that together sold 92% of the vehicles on
offer to Americans during the 2008 model year. This was the
most recent year for which the non-profit advocacy group
was able to gather comprehensive information from the
Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection
Agency.
The results were derived from the predicted impact of auto
makers’ fleets on global warming (based largely on miles-
per-gallon of fuel) and the smog-forming emissions of the
engines. The scores were calculated by giving the global
warming and smog-forming emissions data equal weight.
As explained by Christopher Jensen of the
International
Herald Tribune
(7
th
October), a score of 100 represents the
average of the eight companies examined. Scores with lower
numbers indicate better, greener performance. A score of
80 means that the auto maker beat the industry average by
20 per cent.
Honda, which has taken the top spot every time over the
five-year course of the study, received 86 points; Toyota
and Hyundai, 87 points each; Volkswagen, 90; Nissan, 93;
Ford, 108; General Motors, 109; and Chrysler, in last place,
113 points.
Mr Jensen, who writes the “Wheels” blog in the
Tribune
,
noted that, while all auto makers must meet certain minimum
emissions standards, some manufacturers produce more
sophisticated and cleaner engines. Jim Kliesch, the author
of the study and a senior engineer in the group’s Clean
Vehicles Program, acknowledged that selling a great many
small, fuel-efficient vehicles could help an auto maker in the
rankings. But, he pointed out in an interview with “Wheels”,
to excel a producer must do well – on fuel economy as well
as on emissions – with vehicles of all sizes.
Steel
Northeast Florida, on the Atlantic
coast, gains in importance as a
scrap steel exporter
As reported by staff writer Mark Szakonyi of the
Jacksonville
Business Journal
, the growing demand from developing
countries for steel scrap is a boon for northeast Florida,
benefiting ports, transportation companies, and – increasingly
– junk car exporters. Exports of scrap metal from the US,
mainly from junked cars, totalled $21.4 billion in 2009.