Automobile+Companies+Around+the+U.S.

Automobile companies around the world today are slowly but surely becoming more and more environmentally friendly. Even companies that have shown minimal support for protecting the environment are turning the corner. Toyota, Chevy, and Honda are three of the biggest names that have been taking the environment into consideration with their business production. The Union of Concerned Scientists ranked Honda and Toyota the greenest automakers but said they both still can do better. "It’s important to support policies to reduce carbon dioxide and raise fuel efficiency," Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists clean vehicles program, told the Detroit Free Press. General Motors however, has been one of the least supportive companies towards improving the environment. The company is not respected in regards to an eco-friendly company, and after experiencing a major dip in sales over the last decade, it is financially in their best interest to go green. General Motors plans to one day offer green models of every car it has built to consumers and become the first automaker to produce 1 million fuel cell cars by 2013.

Not only are automobile companies trying to become greener, but green car dealerships are becoming more common throughout our country today. These types of dealerships have sprung up in 10 states, including Maine and Hawaii. Customers are able to compare prices and test drive multiple vehicles at the lot. The green dealerships will serve customers on a one-to-one basis and be an educational resource for purchasing a green automobile. Ron Gompertz, the owner of Eco Auto Inc. that operates in Montana, believes outdoor lovers, college students, baby boomers and gadget geeks could learn to like electric cars and compact fuel-efficient cars. Customers need to be drawn away from settling on cars at the major dealerships, and instead looking at greener dealerships. Gompertz states, "“For every one customer that goes to those (alternative) dealerships and finds something, there are a hundred customers that settle at the regular dealerships despite the fact that they want cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.” As the more popular automobile companies produce more hybrids, diesels and electric cars, these new automobiles will appear in the traditional dealerships and lure consumers back. The Green Car Company of Kirkland, a Seattle-area green dealership will offer customers electric neighborhood vehicles, full-speed electric motorcycles, used hybrids, electric bicycles and refurbished full-size biodiesel vehicles, including popular biodiesel trucks and minivans.



Automobile recycling companies are immensely beneficial to improving the environment as well. These companies are still small and upcoming, but play a major role in recycling scrap medal from old cars. Annually, automobile recycling companies crush and recycle over 14 million tons of steel from old broken down, rusted automobiles. Barbara Utter, Executive Director of Automotive Recyclers of Michigan stated, "This steel come from end-of-life vehicles". People who are driving a brand new car do not realize that their new investment is mostly comprised of recycled parts from another car. Automobiles are the most recycled product in the world. Up to 90% of a single car can be recycled and reused. After a car is crushed and compressed into scrap metal, it's then sold to companies. The scrap metal is smelted, melted down, and processed back into steel. Automobile recycling companies try not to waste any part of the car. Parts that are deemed unusable are disposed of properly so that contaminants do not find their way into the environment. Below is a video that shows the process of how a car is broken down and reused.

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The New York City Police Department has the task of protecting the streets of the biggest North American city. In order to carry out their duty, the NYPD relies on automobiles as their prime source of transportation. Recently, the NYPD has equipped their force with Ford Fusion hybrid patrol cars. A total of 102 eco-friendly Ford Fusions will be joining the current 76 Nissan Altima Hybrids along the New York City streets to replace the past fuel-consuming Chevy Impalas. The Ford Fusion uses less fuel for operation and releases fewer pollutants into the air. It also gets an EPA-estimated 41 miles per gallon, which is more than two times the gas mileage for the Chevy Impala. A long-term goal for the city is to reduce their carbon footprint 30% by the year 2017 and gradually replace the 3,000 Chevy Impalas in the city.

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References

Automotive Recyclers Association. ARA. Retrieved from http://www.a-r- a.org/content.asp?pl=505&contentid=505

EPA the United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/index.html

Gordon, Jacob. How to go green: cars. Planet Green, Retrieved from http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/green-cars/

Korzeniewski, Jeremy. (2010, August 19). NYPD goes green with nissan altima hybrids. Autobloggreen, Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">McNulty, Anne. (2010, March 25). Auto recyclers go green. Suite101, Retrieved from <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Squatriglia, Chuck. (2007, November 14). GM: We're going green! No, really we are… Autopia, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">UPS completes deployment of 300 new cng trucks. Going Green Matters. Retrieved from http://www.goinggreenmatters.com/CategoryView,category,Efficient%2BCars.aspx

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Zappala, Lynn Jenny. (2007, October 24). Green car dealerships popping up around U.S. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">MSNBC News, Retrieved from []