Ottawa/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 Thursday rated the "greenest" vehicles available in Canada are among the poorest-selling.
The Honda Insight, Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid damage the environment the least, the organization said as it released a list of the Top 10 "greenest" and "meanest" vehicles sold 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.
Burkhard Mausberg, executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, says manufacturers of low-pollution vehicles need to spend more money on advertising, marketing and educating the public. Photo: Patti Gower/The Globe and Mail
The group released its lists at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto amid record high gas prices across the country and a growing debate about the political correctness of SUVs, including anti-SUV ads 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 Thursday.
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."
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 carries a price tag of $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 vehicles on fuel economy, tailpipe 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 provincial government.
Beyond price, however, is the issue of utility. The hybrid cars are small — the Insight, for example, is a two-seater — so anyone who needs more space has to buy something less environmentally friendly.
Consider Mr. Mausberg's situation. He gave up his Ford Escort compact car last year and bought a Toyota Sienna minivan because he has three children under the age of 5 and could not fit three child seats into the Escort.
