Putting Green Cars to the Test
By Todd Kaho
 When I first started in the automotive journalism field, fuel economy and emissions were on the fringes of the radar screen and really didn't carry much weight in most new vehicle purchase decisions. That was nearly 30 years ago and much has changed. Today, fuel economy is factored in right alongside sticker price, performance, functionality, and emotional appeal. Plus, let's not forget environmental impact and the fact that more and more new car buyers are looking for green alternatives with a desire to do the right thing.
One constant over the course of nearly three decades has been a passion for road testing and reviewing new cars and trucks. Over the years, I've been behind the wheel of everything from base model-production vehicles to exotics and multimillion dollar concept cars. It's curious, but often basic transportation-whether it's an entry-level economy car or base pickup truck intended for no-nonsense work applications-suit me more than luxury transports sporting amenities like heated and cooled seats and all the bells and whistles.
Green Car, with its enhanced online presence, is geared to be your source for the latest news and reviews on environmentally friendly cars and trucks. We plan to step up our vehicle review schedule and provide a wealth of content to aid consumers and green enthusiasts alike.
Often, we are among the first to see and drive new vehicles and technologies in pre-production or even concept form. From those contacts, we typically bring you a first look, or first drive, story while reserving final judgment until a regular production vehicle can be fully tested. Those first looks are very important and often help influence consumers as they decide whether to buy a current model or wait until the new model is introduced.
Our road tests and vehicle comparisons are a bit different than those of traditional car-enthusiast magazines. Certainly, green issues are of primary importance, but we really make an effort to provide you with a sense of what the vehicle would be like to own and live with on a daily basis. With car payment schedules stretching out for five and even six years, purchasing a new car is a long-term commitment and a decision you will live with for some time.
Test procedures differ here, too. We cover the basics of performance testing, including acceleration, braking, and handling parameters, but we don't generally dissect the empirical data into a sea of numbers that look impressive on a spec page but lose most people in the translation to real-world driving. Performance numbers like 0 to 60 mpg acceleration, for example, are a great benchmark in our tests because they show how capable a vehicle is on the road, such as when merging into freeway traffic.
The focus of Green Car is how our transportation choices impact the environment, so fuel economy and emissions are a prime concern. Most automotive magazines report fuel economy as "observed" during the course of their testing. As you might imagine, press cars are flogged pretty hard. Some of it is necessary to see what the vehicle is capable of, but a heavy foot seems to be the only way most cars are reviewed. To counter this, Green Car makes a point of checking at least one tank of fuel as a true economy test. It's a penny-pinching exercise that often eclipses EPA fuel economy figures. Over the years, I've beat on plenty of test cars trying to shave one more tenth of a second off a quarter-mile time. Now, it's time to show what clean and green driving practices can do for the cars we drive every day.
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