OTTAWA and TORONTO -- Canadians appear to be willing to go to great lengths to help the environment, but when it comes to shelling out $30,000 for an environmentally friendly vehicle, they put on the brakes.
The three cars that Environmental Defence Canada yesterday rated the "greenest" vehicles available in Canada are among the poorest-selling: the Honda Insight, Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid.
These three vehicles damage the environment the least, the organization said as it released a list of the Top 10 "greenest" and "meanest" vehicles in Canada.
The green list consists of subcompacts, compacts, one small sports car and -- surprise -- a compact sport-utility vehicle. High-priced sports cars from Ferrari and Lamborghini top the mean list, but it is dominated by hulking, full-size sport-utility vehicles and one pickup truck.
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The group released its lists at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto amid record high gas prices and a growing debate about the political correctness of SUVs, including anti-SUV advertisement by a U.S. Christian group asking, "What would Jesus drive?"
Automakers insist that government help is required to get more Canadians to drive environmentally friendly cars because so-called hybrid vehicles, with better gas mileage, cost so much to develop.
"Contrary to what [Environment Minister David] Anderson says, people won't pay a premium for the environment," Honda Canada Inc. spokesman Jim Miller said yesterday.
Mr. Anderson, no fan of SUVs, said he will consider implementing federal rebates on purchases of the Honda and Toyota hybrid cars, and he wants reports on how effective they might be in spurring purchases of eco-friendly vehicles.
"I am all in favour of considering proposals from Honda and Toyota," he said.
Mr. Anderson drives a Toyota Prius when he is in Ottawa but has failed to persuade almost any of his fellow cabinet ministers to follow his example.
He said he wants hybrid cars to gain acceptance and be more than a "toy for cabinet ministers and Mr. [Leonardo] DiCaprio," a reference to Hollywood stars who back the vehicles.
Automakers blame higher prices for poor sales of the eco-friendly cars. Such a vehicle can cost $3,000 to $8,000 more than other cars because it combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor.
Honda has sold just 344 Insight models in Canada since that car was introduced in 2000, and 225 Civic Hybrids since introducing the model in May. Toyota Canada Inc. has sold 863 of its Prius cars, which went on sale in 2000.
Last year, Canadians bought more than 69,000 gasoline-only Civics, the best-selling passenger car in the country. The Civic Hybrid costs $28,500; a regular Civic sedan fetches $22,400. Mr. Miller said the Hybrid has standard equipment worth another $3,000. Toyota's Prius costs $29,900.
Price is only part of the issue, said Burkhard Mausberg, executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, which ranked the cars on fuel economy, emissions and manufacturing processes.
Automakers need to spend more money on advertising and marketing, Mr. Mausberg said, including educating the public that motorists do not plug in the vehicles to recharge their batteries. The batteries recharge as the vehicles are driven.
He was more critical of General Motors of Canada Ltd.. Environmental Defence Canada placed six General Motors SUVs and trucks on the list of least environmentally friendly vehicles, and just one, the compact Pontiac Vibe SUV, on the friendly list. "GM should lead the way with cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles, not drag behind Toyota and Honda."
GM spokesman Stew Low maintained that the world's largest automaker leads the way. "General Motors is a leader in hybrid powertrains. And our approach, starting with the 2004 model year, is to provide hybrid powertrains on high-volume, core vehicles such as the Silverado pickup, and not in niche vehicles that have very little environmental impact."
Mr. Low agreed with Honda's Mr. Miller that Ottawa should pony up incentives to encourage Canadians to buy more eco-friendly vehicles if the federal government is keen on boosting sales.
Mr. Mausberg criticized Ottawa for not including such incentives in the federal budget on Tuesday.
While Ottawa offers no such rebates to buyers of the Prius, Hybrid or Insight, tax deductions of up to $2,000 (U.S.) recently have been made available to U.S. buyers of those three vehicles. Buyers in Ontario receive credits of $1,000 (Canadian) from the province.
Beyond price, however, is the issue of utility. The hybrids are small -- the Insight is a two-seater -- so anyone who needs more space has to buy something less environmentally friendly.
Environmentally friendly v. unfriendly vehicles
The group Environmentally Defence Canada has released a list of vehicles it says are the greenest and the meanest for sale in Canada.
Top 10 Greenest 2003 vehicles in Canada
City High-
(Number 1 being the fuel way
most environmentally friendly) consumption
litres.litres
Emission per per
Rank.Make and model Specifications standard.100km.100km
1. Honda, Insight 1.0 litre 3 cyl. manual ULEV 3.84 3.44
2. Toyota, Prius 1.5 litre 4 cyl. automatic.ULEV 4.50 5.20
3. Honda, Civic Hybrid 1.3 litre 4 cyl. automatic.ULEV 4.88 4.98
4. Toyota, Echo 1.5 litre 4 cyl. manual ULEV 6.69 5.45
5. Toyota, Corolla 1.8 litre 4 cyl. manual ULEV 7.32 5.86
6. Honda, Civic 1.7 litre 4 cyl. manual ULEV 7.32 6.16
7. Nissan, Sentra 1.8 litre 4 cyl. manual ULEV 8.36 6.51
8. Pontiac, Vibe/Toyota,Matrix 1.8 litre 4 cyl. manual ULEV 8.08 6.51
9. Hyundai, Accent 1.5 litre 4 cyl. manual LEV 8.36 6.51
10.Toyota, Celica GT 1.8 litre 4 cyl. automatic.LEV 8.08 6.51Top 10 Meanest 2003 vehicles in Canada
City High-
(Number 1 being the fuel way
most environmentally friendly) consumption
litres.litres
Emission per per
1. Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari 6.0 litre 12 cyl Tier 1 29.28 19.52
auto stick
2. Lamborghini, L-147 Murcielago 6.2 litre 12 cyl Tier 1 26.02 18.02
manual 4wd
3. GMC, Yukon XL 82500 6.0 litre 8 cyl HDT 19.52 14.64
auto 4wd
4. Chevrolet, Suburban K2500 6.0 litre 8 cyl HDT 19.52 14.64
auto 4wd
5. Chevrolet,Silverado K2500 HD/ 6.0 litre 8 cyl HDT 19.52 14.64
auto 4wd
5. GMC, Sierra K2500 HD 6.0 litre 8 cyl HDT 19.52 14.06
auto Awd
6. Land Rover, Ranger Rover 4.4 litre 8 cyl Tier 1 19.52 14.64
auto Awd
7. GMC, Sierra Denali 6.0 litre 8 cyl Tier 1 19.52 13.78
auto Awd
8. Cadillac,Escalade/ESV/EXT 6.0 litre 8 cyl Tier 1 19.52 14.64
auto Awd
9. GMC,Yukon Denali/XL Denali.6.0 litre 8 cyl Tier 1 19.52 14.64
auto Awd
10. Hummer, H2 6.0 litre 8 cyl HDT-LEV.19.52 14.64
auto 4wd
11. Ferrari, 456M GT/GTA 5.5 litre 12 cyl Tier 1 23.42 15.61
automaticEnvironmental rankings as set out by the California Air Resources Board
Tier 1: The prevailing U.S. EPA standard, same as Canadian standard.
HDT: Heavy duty truck, the weakest standard for light trucks.
LEV: Low emission vehicle, an intermediate California standard about twice as stringent as Tier 1.
ULEV: Ultra low emission vehicle, a stronger California standard emphasizing very low hydrocarbon emissions.
$ULEV: Super ultra low emission vehicle, a California standard even tighter than ULEV including much lower NOx emissions and more durable control systems.
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