Front De Troglodistes

This is an informal guide I’ve put together after doing a lot of research on buying a new car and I thought some people might find it useful. I am not an expert on any of this, I’m simply sharing what I’ve learned from doing my own research. Obviously, the most ecological choice you can make when it comes to buying a car is to not buy or own a car at all. Unfortunately, for a great many people, particularly in rural and suburban areas, going car-less is not an option. I hope this guide will help people who cannot practically do without a car make the most ecological choice of vehicle.

Shopping Suggestions:

Buy used: From an ecological perspective, it’s better to buy a used car over a new car and it will also be a lot cheaper for you. However, used cars tend to have more mechanical problems than new cars, so if you buy a used car, I would recommend buying a fairly recent used car that still has at least a year or two of the manufacturers warranty still in effect. Also, as cars get older, they tend to be less fuel efficient unless they are very well taken care of. Very old cars (more than ten years old) tend to be less fuel efficient, less safe, and will cost you more in parts and repairs. I’m assuming most people reading this do not know how to fix a car themselves, so unless you are a mechanic who can do your own repairs I would avoid buying a used car older than, say, seven years. (Should you keep a car, longer than seven years? Yes, if you take good care of it. Just don’t buy one older than that.)

In addition to used cars, there are essentially new cars that you can often purchase for a significant discount off the full retail price and still have many of the benefits of having a completely new car. Some nearly new cars you can find at a dealership include:

The test drive or showroom model: Some small dealerships, expecting their customers to order the exact car they want (with accessories and options), will have only one or two cars of a certain model for display and test drive purposes. These cars will often have milage in excess of 100 miles giving you room to bargain on the price. If you can settle for the showroom or test drive model on the lot you can often get a better deal on the price, and you will also be helping to save on the use of fossil fuels from shipping and manufacturing a new car that you have custom ordered.

“Damaged in shipping” models: almost all well connected dealerships will get a few cars from the manufacturer that had problems in shipping and can’t be sold as new. For example, some foreign cars often get doused with sea water when they are aboard ships en route to the US or they get soot on them from the ship’s exhaust. The car is otherwise perfectly fine and still brand new, but due to manufacturer’s quality standards and some state laws they must be sold at a discount as used. Ask about these kinds of cars when you go to a dealership. Again you will be saving on the use of fossil fuels by not ordering a custom car, and you will be getting a new car at a discount.

Buy the car that will get the job done: If you really need a pick-up truck to haul materials around, it might make sense to just get a pick-up instead of a vehicle that does not suit your needs but is more fuel efficient. However, you should make sure that you really do need a pick-up or an SUV. Do you mostly just need all-wheel drive? Then maybe a Subaru wagon or their Baja mini-truck might be better than a pick-up since all Subaru’s are all-wheel drive, are better made than other AWD vehicles, and have better gas milage than most other AWD vehicles. Do you need to haul stuff around, but you really don’t need as much space as an SUV or truck provides, then maybe you should go for a fuel efficient wagon, like the Toyota Matrix, or a flexible compact, like the Honda Fit. But in the end, if you really do need a truck or van, then get one since it’s better to use a truck to make one trip hauling things than making two or three trips, or more, with a “fuel efficient” vehicle that isn’t suited to your needs. Just try to get a fuel efficient truck if you must get a truck or van. As for SUVs almost no one actually needs an SUV. I would avoid buying one even if it’s a hybrid.

Hybrid vs. Diesel: While diesel vehicles get much better milage than their gasoline vehicle counterparts, the best hybrids (Toyota Prius, Honda Insight) get vastly better milage than any diesel vehicle. Diesel vehicles are also dirtier than gasoline vehicles, even with the new cleaner burning diesel fuel. However, one major advantage of having a diesel vehicle is that it can be converted to biodiesel. If you have the equipment and resources to use biodiesel then, diesel is the correct choice for you.

Is the most fuel efficient car the best choice?: Not always. Take the Honda Insight, for example: it is the most fuel efficient car available in North America and one of the most fuel efficient cars ever made. But, unfortunately, it’s a two seater. A two seater is fine if you’re a single person who lives alone, but if you have a family or roommates, or you would like to have more space for storage, it’s not such a great choice. If you’re not single, or you want to further minimize the environmental impact of owning a vehicle by car pooling, then a hybrid like the Toyota Prius is the wiser choice. What about hybrid SUVs? I say they’re still SUVs and should be avoided, even if they get better (even respectable) gas milage. In reality, there is an incredibly small number of people who actually need SUVs or other large vehicles. More than 90% of all private vehicle owners would get along just fine with a regular mid-size car, or even a compact or subcompact. Hybrid or not, don’t perpetuate the blight of SUVs on the road by buying one.

Some good sites to help you make an informed decision about your next cars fuel economy and emissions standards

Greenest Cars of 2006

fueleconomy.gov - fuel efficiency and vehicle emmisions data

EPA Green Vehicle Guide

Driveclean.CA.Gov


Manual Transmission vs. Automatic Transmission: As a rule, manual transmission vehicles are much more fuel efficient than automatics. With a manual transmission, the driver has complete control over the vehicle’s engine. It is claimed that with modern automatic transmissions, the milage difference between automatic and manual transmission vehicles has become negligible, however, even with a hybrid car like the Honda Insight (which is the only remaining manual transmission hybrid still on the market), if you check the EPA MPG estimates for the Insight’s manual and automatic versions, the manual transmission model has a significantly better MPG rating than the automatic. One key gas saving trick that you can’t do with an automatic is coasting in neutral. A skilled manual transmission driver can save quite a lot of gas by taking every opportunity to coast in neutral (rolling down hills, rolling up to a stop, etc.). If you know how to drive a stick or you’re willing to learn, buying a manual transmission vehicle is invariably the best choice if it is available for the model you wish to purchase.

eHow Guide: How to Drive a Car with Manual Transmission

How to drive a manual transmission (stick shift) car

Busting the Myths of Driving a Manual Transmission - How not to drive a stick by Edmunds.com's editor in chief

Some manual transmission driving tips from personal experience: 1) Press the clutch ALL THE WAY DOWN when changing gears, every time you change gears. You’ll either wear down the engine or the clutch or both if you don’t press the clutch to the floor every time you change gears. 2) As a beginner, when familiarizing yourself with a manual vehicle: press down the clutch and start the engine, keep the parking break in place and put the car in first gear, then slowly release the clutch. When the engine starts to sputter push the clutch back down to keep the engine running. Keep doing this until you have a feel for where the clutch completely engages. This will make it much easier for you to get the hang of the clutch and to start driving with fewer stalls.

What are the best car makes: this is my opinion, but it is backed up by data, I suggest: Toyota, Honda, and Subaru (if you need AWD). Avoid American cars, they simply suck quality wise. Speaking generally, no one else comes close to Japanese cars in terms of quality. The best objective resource for quality car makes is Consumer Reports car buying guide. If you want free advice, you can usually just do a google search for Consumer Reports top 10 most reliable cars and use that as a starting point for your research.

After you’ve bought the car: to maximize your fuel efficiency, you should start learning good driving and car maintenance habits. The following links can provide you with some good general tips on improving fuel economy and the life of your car.

Car Talk’s Guide to Better Fuel Economy

Tips to Increase Your Gas Mileage

Synthetic or Conventional Motor Oil: Which is Better for the Environment?