July 10, 2008

What’s the Most Polluting Car?

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suv.jpgForbes.com has published a list of the ten dirtiest cars. Or more accurately—vehicles, since all but a few are SUVs and trucks. (And surprise! The Hummer isn’t number one).

The list order is mostly based on the EPA’s air pollution rankings, but to break ties, Forbes.com also took into account vehicles’ carbon footprints. The nadir of the coverage is in their “Tips for Polluting Less”:

Experts say that realizing even minor improvements in fuel economy among the worst polluters on the road is the most efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions overall. For example, choosing a base GMC Yukon with a 5.3-liter V8, which gets 16 mpg overall, instead of the high-end Denali version and its 14-mpg 6.2-liter V8 would save more than 130 gallons of gasoline per year for the typical driver, and eliminate 1.7 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, says Therese Langer, transportation program director for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Langer then goes on to say that “achieving the same savings through improvements to a 42-mpg Honda Civic Hybrid would require a 25-mpg boost, to 67 mpg.”

So let’s get this straight: Consumers should feel good about choosing a Yukon SUV over a hybrid, since the Yukon is way more efficient than the Denali? That’s kind of like trying to lose weight by eating a ho-ho instead of a ding-dong.

Full top ten list after the jump.

10. BMW M5
BMW M6
Mercedes-Benz CL600/CL65 AMG
Mercedes-Benz S600/S63 AMG/S65 AMG
Saab 9-7X Aero

9. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8
Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG
Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG

8. Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 RWD
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 RWD
Chevrolet Tahoe 1500 RWD
MC Yukon 1500 RWD
GMC Yukon XL 1500 RWD

7. Chrysler Aspen Flex Fuel
Dodge Dakota Flex Fuel
Dodge Durango Flex Fuel
Dodge Ram 1500 Flex-Fuel
Jeep Grand Cherokee Flex Fuel

6. Jeep Commander Flex Fuel
Ford F-150
Lincoln Mark LT

5. Chevrolet Suburban 2500
GMC Yukon XL 2500
Hummer H2

4. Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI
Mercedes-Benz R320 CDI

3. Mercedes GL320 CDI

2. Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD

1. Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI

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WE'LL BE BLUNT.

We have a considerable $390,000 gap in our online fundraising budget that we have to close by June 30. There is no wiggle room, we've already cut everything we can, and we urgently need more readers to pitch in—especially from this specific blurb you're reading right now.

We'll also be quite transparent and level-headed with you about this.

In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. It's going to be a nail-biter, and we really need to see donations from this specific ask coming in strong if we're going to get there.

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