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Why Go Green?

With the added pressures now-a-days on the average driver to sell their cars and go green I discuss why you should go green rather than use an SUV or gas-guzzling monster and a few tips to help make your driving greener.

Firstly, I aren’t talking about going zero emissions with an electric car although many more people are now doing this, especially in busy cities like London where electric cars do not pay the emissions tax in the centre.

Choosing Hybrid Cars?

If you were to think of a hybrid car what would you be thinking? I immediately think of the Toyota Prius I don’t know why but I do. The Toyota Prius is not the best looking car in the world and is definitely not a head turner but it can do some impressive things.

They will guarantee you over 60 miles to the gallon which on an 8.80 gallon (40 litre) tank which would give you over 500 miles to a tank is impressive, especially with the way petrol prices are rising. Some people are even using biodiesel to power their cars. This is still good for the environment.

Service Your Car

Keeping any car serviced and properly maintained is a good way to keep your emissions down if you are looking at keeping your run around rather than buying a new car. If you keep the engine tuned correctly you will also keep the optimum power for your vehicle. Basic services involve air filters, oil filters, spark plugs and changing the oil. Some people do this themselves and some opt to use a garage.

Making sure you have the right tyre pressure is a good idea too as this will help you maintain the life of your tyres. Over or under inflated tyres will have a wearing effect on different parts of your tyres so if you notice this then you should do something about it. The right tyre pressure also uses less fuel so you will be saving in the long run.

Alter Your Driving Style

Altering your driving style may also be a factor when it comes to greener driving. Accelerating and braking harshly accounts for a high amount of fuel consumption. This can be combatted with nice clean smooth acceleration and braking. This will allow you to maintain control of the vehicle better too and, with both harsh acceleration and braking, tyre wear will decrease too.

Green Cars - the Differences

So we have biodiesel, Hybrid and electric cars now-a-days. There are many differences between them all.

• Biodiesel is the name used for fatty acid alkyl esters. They use such things as: virgin vegetable oil; animal fats; algae; recycled oils. These vehicles do release more nitrous oxides than normal diesel cars.
• Plug in hybrids (PHEV) are vehicles that have additional battery power that can be used to get better fuel economy and will work on electric power alone. They do still use petrol too.
• Electric cars are generally used for local travelling as the ranges on the latest are around 100 miles. These are plugged in to charge the internal batteries. Although there are not many filling stations for electric cars there are more becoming available.

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6 Reasons Why Green Cars A Long Way Off In Australia

There are many reasons why any of us can benefit from green cars, particularly in Australia, but when it gets down to it, the reality is that green cars are just not appearing in use like they are in other countries around the world. From lower running costs, getting lower car insurance quotes and knowing that your car is not a part of eating up our planet, there are many reasons to turn to green cars, but lets look at some of the reasons why they are not being used in much in Australia.

Lacking real government support. It was only in in late 2008 when the Australian Government increased the GCIF (Green Car Investment Fund) from 500 million dollars to 1.3 billion dollars, running over 9 years. However, now that we are in 2011, it is a completely different story. It was cut by 200 million in the 2011 budget, leaving 790 million unallocated. With another recent cut, the funding pool has fallen to 590 million – of which a large proportion has apparently been allocated although this information is not being disclosed.

Poor design by government – on purpose? The reality is that the Australian Government’s funding scheme GCIF has been badly and poorly designed. Perhaps it was made to look and sound good, but the reality is that it has attracted only a small number of allocations – because the application criteria has excluded many companies, particularly those who could not afford the start-up investment cost. What we have seen is so-called commitment on paper, that is being slashed, and then it is still not a real option for many companies. There is no point to make a big deal about funding, and then make it practically an impossibility for most of the companies to get it.

No consumer incentive. What are the incentives that the Australian government is offering to consumers? Australia is rapidly falling behind many countries in the world. The government could be offering a range of subsidies to industry, and offering a variety of cash-back programs or tax incentives for car related products such as car insurance and registration. Is it happening? Simple answer, no.

High cost. The cost of eco-friendly cars is still drastically high in Australia and it is not even a matter of choice for the average Australian family – whom just does not have 40,000 dollars to spend on a car. Australia is becoming an eco-car backwater.

Hybrid only. The only cars that we are really seeing on the market are hybrids. Compared to other countries, Australia is falling far behind. All of these cars are small and they are only useful if you live in a city and then you should probably use public transport or a bicycle.

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