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Blogger extraordinaire Mickey Kaus recently spied the above SUV innocuously parked in Santa Monica and sent us the photos, wondering if we had any clue what it is. As luck would have it, we do. The truck is a SsangYong Actyon SUV, but it's also more than that. You see the Actyon, in both SUT and SUV body styles, is the basis for Phoenix Motorcars' electric SUT and SUV, which are scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in 2010. The white example Mickey snagged had been de-badged, which lends it an air of mystery, but we know SsangYong's not coming to the U.S. market.

As our esteemed colleague Sam Abuelsamid points out, Phoenix is based in Ontario, CA so it's basically a lock that this is one of their EV development mules. Using the SsangYong trucks as the basis for their electric utility vehicles has two distinct benefits for Phoenix. First, they offer proven, practical and usable packaging that'll work fine in the real world. Second, their front-end styling is bizarre enough that the unwritten rule which states that EVs have to look weird will surely be upheld. Obviously, those Tesla guys, with their sexy-spiffy Roadster, didn't get that memo.

You can check Mickey out every day at Kausfiles, and, on occassion, at Bloggingheads.tv as well. Thanks for the photos!

[Source: Mickey Kaus]

2008 Honda Element

We get a lot of interesting emails in the AutoblogGreen inbox. Some of them provide good tips or lead us to stories of people doing amazing things. Some just make us laugh. And some just ask us a question we're just not able to help (no, I can't tell you how to order ethanol in Africa. Sorry). A message we got today is a blend - part good idea for a post, part need more info. Here's the note from reader Kelsey:

I have a 2006 Honda Element. I'm trying to find any information available about how bad my SUV is for the environment, according to how much I drive and how I use it, etc. I keep finding articles that deal with the "greenest" cars, even the ones that are the worst, but not a lot about specific cars like mine. Any suggestions on where to look? Thanks for the help!

It's not hard to find sites that take SUVs to task - and with good reason. For most people, these giant rides are just overkill and a more reasonable vehicle should certainly be on their radar. Still, while we're not interested in the anti-SUV sites right now; we should also shy away from the types of stories that say a Hummer is better than a Prius. That's just not true.

In Kelsey's case, the best place to start is the Element's miles per gallon. This is one of the areas where we have the numbers available. According to the EPA, a 2006 Element with 2WD, an automatic 4 speed transmission and the 4 cyl, 2.4 L gets 19/24mpg city/highway (the manual gets 19/23 and and the 4WD versions are similar). As Kelsey writes, how much the vehicle is driven and the driving style plays a huge role in the Element's impact on the environment. But for now, let's stick to the averages. Kelsey, feel free to chime in with a comment to let us know how accurate these numbers are. Read more after the jump.

It's become common to hear how big trucks and SUVs are not selling well in the U.S. these days. But it's not just in the States where people are rethinking just how useful a road tank is. Automotive News Europe has a story (subs req'd) on the hit that big SUVs are taking on the continent. Unlike in the U.S., it's not just high fuel prices that are driving the trend in Europe (prices have been high there for a while), but it is the combination of those prices and the new CO₂-based taxes implemented by various governments.

Sales of some models - ANE lists the Volvo XC90 and the Hyundai Santa Fe - are down almost 40 percent compared to last year. Customers may still be looking for SUV capabilities in their rides, but are willing to pack people into smaller, cleaner models. This means that the overall SUV market in Europe is down only slightly, thanks in part to big sales of the BMW X5, which benefits from the marque's EfficientDynamics technology.

[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req'd)]

Currently, hydrogen is the most common element in the universe. But if Ford gets its way, we'll have to rethink our science texts in the coming decades. At least, according to The Onion we might.

In yesterday's Onion Radio News piece, anchor Doyle Redland talked about the new Foresight, a hydrogen-powered SUV from Ford. As Bill Ford says in the piece, "The 11-ton Foresight will be unaffected by the price gouging whims of OPEC as it uses water electrolysis to gather fuel from the oceans and the fresh mountain air." The one problem is that this one model is expected to use up all of the world's hydrogen supplies by 2070. Of course, by then, we might be in the stars and can collect hydrogen from space.

Remember, it's all a joke, and an old one at that. This article was first published a few years ago and talks about a Fall 2004 rollout of the Ford Foresight. Still funny, though.

[Source: The Onion]

Across America, people are finding themselves trapped in their gargantuan Ford Excursions as well as other over-sized SUVs. When gas was under $2 a gallon they seemed like a good idea if you had absolutely no regard for the environment, had places to go and wanted to feel like the captain of a large ship (the Exxon Valdez, for instance) getting there. However, as the price of fuel has gone up, owners are now finding themselves in the predicament of not being able to drive them anywhere because of the expense and not wanting to sell them and take a $20,000 beating on a more efficient trade-in.

Such is the situation Derek Hunter of Lima, Ohio has found himself in. To make matters worse, the other vehicle owned by this two-vehicle family of 7 is the massive Ford Expedition. As he explained to Steve Inskeep on NPR, his Excursion gets 8 to 10 miles a gallon in town if he doesn't turn on the air conditioning and, although his initial investment in the vehicle was in the neighborhood of $50,000, the best offer he's gotten for it is $11,500. Ouch. We'd feel a bit more sorry for him if he wasn't so dismissive of the obvious option of buying a used mini-van that can carry his entire family and get over double the gas mileage. Click the "Read" link below for his tale of woe.

[Source: NPR]

Photo by Joguldi. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

We all know that sales and values of large vehicles are slumping - just ask Nissan about their Titan pickup. But if you're driving an SUV today and really hate watching the pump rack up all those dollars each time you get gas, Kelley Blue Book researchers have some advice for you: don't sell. Sound like a bad tip? Here's the reasoning, digested from a KBB press release (available after the jump):

Even though SUV and truck values have dropped about eight percent since September (an eight percent drop usually takes between 12 and 18 months), KBB thinks that these large vehicles are "nearing their minimum price points." When winter comes, KBB expects an "uptick in buyer interest in SUVs." Therefore, keep biting the bullet at the pump and, "Don't let emotions make your decision."

Of course, the value of this advice varies depending on what large ride you've got, whether or not you really need a vehicle of that size and how much you drive. Does it make sense for you?

It's no secret that the pickup truck market is shrinking, with high gas prices as one obvious culprit. In fact, Toyota's ridiculously popular Camry midsize sedan is nipping at the heels of full-size truck stalwarts such as the Chevy Silverado and Ford F-Series. So far this year, General Motors has seen an 18.5 percent decrease in full-size truck sales and a huge 31.5 percent decrease in full-size SUV sales compared to last year. These sobering statistics are forcing GM to reconsider their future product plans. Already testing the waters with its upcoming Pontiac car-based truck and concepts such as the Denali XT, General Motors needs to know just how large of a market will be left and what external forces will continue to impact that dwindling market share.

Mike DiGiovanni, executive director of global market and industry analysis for GM, is leading a research team deep within GM which is "keeping a close eye on full-sized trucks and asking ourselves how much more aggressively we want to enter the crossover space, given where the world is going." So far, his team has figured that the market for big trucks, though shrinking, will still be sizable, though he adds that "all bets are off if oil skyrockets." Hmm, isn't that exactly what oil's been doing lately?

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

In another of the ongoing rounds between diesel versus hybrid we bring you two heavyweight contenders, the Chevy Tahoe hybrid, which we had in the AutoblogGreen garage, versus the Mercedes-Benz GL320 CDI. Actually, it's brought to you by the good folks at Edmunds who took it upon themselves to give these two a through shakedown. As I'm sure you've already noticed, these are two humongous SUVs that we don't consider especially green but for those folks who need to tow large trailered objects or haul large families they are relatively more green than their forebears.

The competition between these two was pretty tight for a while. Pricewise, the Mercedes was only $480 more than the Chevy for the base model though the Chevy became a pretty good bargain once the options came into play. Both of the beasts excelled at acceleration (8.5 second, 0-60) with the Tahoe ahead by the slimmest of whiskers as long as they traveled in a straight line. With the cones set up, the Mercedes superior agility really shone, whipping through the course at 60 mph while the Tahoe had more waddle than a flock of ducks on the hoof. Also, in the all important fuel economy category, the diesel pulled decisively ahead, at one point returning 26 mpg during a stretch of highway driving where the Tahoe could "only" eke out a 21.9 figure over that same stretch. Advantage diesel. To watch these two duke it out auto à auto, hit the jump.

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The fourth annual Green Grand Prix takes place next weekend in Watkins Glen in upstate New York. AutoblogGreen received a few photos taken at the 2007 Green Grand Prix that we'd like to share. Looks like some of our old friends were a the race last year, along with some vehicles we'd like to learn more about. Each photo in our gallery below has a caption that describes what you see in the image, but let's just point out that we have here a wood-powered Isuzu Trooper, a 1933 Ford pickup that burns propane and a flex-fuel Ford Escape hybrid. There's also a nice shot of our friend Jory Squibb's Moonbeam. The Green Grand Prix is the only official SCCA Time-Speed-Distance Road Rally for alternate fueled vehicles and hybrids in the United States and takes place on May 3. There's more information in our original post on the race.


[Source: Ericho Communications]

We hear a lot about how the stricter emissions laws in California are sometimes used by other states. Over a dozen states have either taken some or all of the California laws or are contemplating doing so; and sometimes those discussions cause trouble. In Minnesota, truck, SUV and minivan supporters are trying to prevent their state from adopting the California standards. Don't Take My Truck was set up by the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association to get Minnesotans to contact state representatives and voice concerns about the Clean Car Standard (HF 863), which state Representative Melissa Hortman is pushing through the legislature. According to the Don't Take My Truck folks, the law will hurt customer choice in the state and "impair the state's ethanol policy," among other arguments against the bill (PDF).

As our friends over at Green Daily point out, while Don't Take My Truck claims that trucks are "99% more efficient that they were in the 1970s" and that trucks are not a major contributor to global warming, the Oakridge National Laboratory finds otherwise and that about a third of all U.S carbon dioxide emissions comes from cars and light trucks. Trucks aren't alone in contributing to that third, but to say they're not a "major contributor" is slippery at best.

[Source: Don't Take My Truck via Green Daily]

Click on the image above for high-resolution shots of the Aprilia Scarabeo 200

There's a new term to add to your vehicular lexicon: the grudge purchase. This phenomenon usually occurs shortly after pumping gasoline into your SUV and the inevitable large outlay of cash which follows. Scooter shops seem to be benefiting the most from this new-found appreciation for high gas mileage.Motorcycle sales are also up, but are seeing a smaller upturn. According to The American Statesman in Texas, an informal poll of area scooter shops shows that all of them are citing higher-than-normal sales of gas-sippers. Especially now that the weather is turning nice in most areas of the country, we expect that the sales will keep on humming for the next few months at least.

[Source: The American Statesman via The Scooter Scoop]

Chevy has two new TV ads for its Tahoe hybrid. First a little background. The Chevy Tahoe hybrid won Green Car Journal's Green Car of the Year award last year. A full-size SUV winning a green car award supplied much comedic fodder for Top Gear (see first video below the fold). Okay, the first new Tahoe hybrid ad (see second video below the fold) begins with a riddle: Which is heaver, a hundred pounds of bricks or a hundred pounds of feathers? If you figured out they are the same weight, then according the ad, you are just as smart as the Chevy Tahoe hybrid, winner of Green Car of the Year award.

The second ad (see third video below the fold) begins with children wearing paper car costumes. The small paper cars are uncomfortable and have no room for their "stuff." Just around the corner, however, is a giant paper SUV and when the children see it, they are ecstatic. They throw off their small paper cars and run to the paper SUV. The teacher character in the commercial explains the paper SUV has the same fuel economy of small cars (like the Camry), room for your friends and most importantly, room for all that "stuff" the children are carrying around for some reason. "I guess they like it" the commercial's teacher character concludes.

I have to admit, I really like these ads. I think they're the best hybrid ads out there. I might not agree with the message that hybrid SUVs are green but at least these ads have a message. Recent hybrid ads from GM and Lexus are too vague for my taste. These Chevy actually persuade with facts about the Tahoe's fuel efficiency or the CotY award. Besides, SUVs are the only vehicles large enough to carry all my "stuff."

[Source: YouTube]

The Detroit News, the home town paper of the American automakers, has noticed that the Geneva Motor Show has a lot of green concepts but very few green cars coming to market soon. Large SUVs are still flooding the market, the Detroit News writes, as politicians and public only see green technology demonstrations. Are we being fooled by the pretty green dangling keys?

To defend the automakers a little, the concepts shown are not so many years out like the diesel hybrid cited in the Detroit News article. While diesel hybrids will be expensive, they are not impossible to make today. Also, if a car sparks real excitement at an auto show, it's often fast-tracked into production. So, yes Detroit News, there is a little green washing but also a lot of good ideas that are coming to the market very soon.

[Source: Detroit News]

How much car do you really need?

In a posting comparing the GMC Yukon Denali with the GMC Acadia, Karl Brauer says, "The emphasis on 'really' comes from a phenomenon I think we're all aware of -- perceived versus actual vehicle needs." Brauer goes on to suggest making a self-examination of sorts to find out if you truly require the added capability of a larger, more powerful SUV over something a bit more rational, like one of the "crossover" vehicles flooding the market these days. In fact, Brauer suggests that a typical sedan or wagon would likely work fine for 95 percent of most people's daily needs and the money saved when purchasing this type of vehicle would allow the purchaser freedom to rent the larger vehicle they may need the other 5 percent or so of the time. Most of us probably realize that Brauer is right... the question, then, is do we care?

[Source: Edmunds]

California bill SB 1374, if passed and signed into a law, would allow any car to join the HOV sticker program as long as that vehicle is carbon neutral. This would mean someone driving alone in a Hummer could legally be allowed into the HOV lane, if the Hummer's emissions were offset. Senator Jim Battin officially proposed the legislation but his press release - which includes lines like "every owner of a polluting, flashy, fuel sucking car" - makes me think he is not serious. The law is starting to grow on me anyway. Why shouldn't a carbon neutral car - even a Hummer - be allowed in the HOV lane?

[Source: LAist]