Plug-In Hybrids Under Attack by Environmentalists
Plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs, combine regular hybrid technology with a plug-in system like that found on pure battery electric vehicles. Automakers view PHEVs as the halfway point between ICE vehicles and EVs.
However, PHEVs still have combustion engines and thus produce C02 emissions. Automakers prefer not to acknowledge this but facts are facts, and now Reuters cites a report stating PHEVs produce more emissions than advertised.
A European campaign group calling itself Transport and Environment (T&E) has gathered the data and is now calling on governments to end PHEV subsidies and other tax breaks. T&E's data comes from tests conducted by Emissions Analytics who studied three PHEV SUVs - the BMW X5 Hybrid, Volvo XC60 Hybrid, and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The results indicated all three emitted more C02 than claimed even under optimal driving conditions.
Read the article at Car Buzz.
Here’s One Simple Tip for Faster, Safer Winter Driving
Ready for the one genius tip that will make you a better winter driver? Here it is: Look where you want to go.
Yep—that's it. It's so simple, and so effective, that every pro driver does it. But it's so unintuitive that you have to practice to get it right.
That’s because our very reasonable instinct is to instead focus on where we don’t want to go. When the most urgent threat to your bodily safety and insurance premium is the car ahead of you or a guardrail, you watch that thing. But when you’re at speed, you involuntarily direct yourself towards wherever you’re focused. It’s formally known as target fixation, a term you’ll see in literature for fighter pilots and motorcycle racers.
Read the article at Popular Mechanics.
NRDC: GM Abandons Attack on State Authority Over Clean Car Standards
WASHINGTON (Nov. 23, 2020) – In a letter to the leaders of NRDC and other environmental organizations, General Motors announced today that it would abandon its legal support for the Trump administration’s attempt to gut the authority of California and other states to set clean car standards.
The company also said it would work with the incoming Biden administration on “dramatically reducing vehicle emissions.”
The following is a statement from Luke Tonachel, director for clean cars and clean fuels at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“This is just one step in this process. If GM is going to live up to its promise of being part of the solution to our climate crisis, it must support ambitious, federal and state clean car standards – standards that will put us on the path to make all new passenger vehicles pollution-free by 2035."
The Intersection of Fleet Safety and Driver Data Privacy
I think we’re all sensitive to the fragility of our own data privacy. In Addressing Privacy Concerns in Driver Risk Management, eDriving CEO Ed Dubens gives us a timely tutorial on data protection concerns that should be considered when organizations seek to implement a driver safety program.
Last month, we published the first in the series of Ed Pierce’s A Call to Action fleet marketing columns: The Importance of Storytellers, Substantiators, and Derailleurs in Today’s Changed B2B Market. In that column, Pierce talked to the importance of Storytelling as he answers the question: How are fleet service providers adapting to today's buying cycle?
This month, he explains the role of Substantiators. He says, “While stories provide a clear picture of the provider’s promise to a prospect, substantiators provide detailed, factual, or demonstrable proof of the promise. They give a customer a reason to believe, and they provide evidence that supports your claims.”
We welcome fleet veteran Donald Dunphy to our FMW team as contributing editor. He is a man of many talents and we are delighted to be working with him.
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
GM Flips to California’s Side in Pollution Fight with Trump
CEO Mary Barra said in a letter Monday to environmental groups that GM will no longer support the Trump administration in its defense against a lawsuit over its efforts against California's standards. And GM is urging other automakers to do the same.
The move is a sign that GM and other automakers are anticipating big changes when President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January. Already at least one other large automaker, Toyota, said it may join GM in switching to California's team.
In her letter, Barra wrote that the company agrees with Biden's plan to expand electric vehicle use. Last week, GM said it is testing a new battery chemistry that will bring down electric vehicle costs to those of gas-powered vehicles within five years.
Read the article at MSN News.
