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Q&A with the Sierra Club's Dan BeckerWhy the Sierra Club Is Helping Ford Make Its Hybrid a Hit - A Guide for Skeptics Sierra Club Planet editor John Barry asked the Club's clean car and global warming expert, Dan Becker, some questions about how the Club came to be helping Ford launch its hybrid SUV, the Mercury Mariner. Planet: The Sierra Club has been very critical of Ford for years. Did the company undergo a conversion?
You bet we've been critical of Ford, but one reason is that they're the ones most likely to listen. And they have. We picked the right horse. We've tried using both the carrot and the stick before to good purpose. We gave the first two hybrids -- the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius -- environmental excellence awards, essentially creating a third-party cleanliness endorsement. We hope that by helping to make the Mercury Hybrid a success, we will encourage Ford to do even more to produce environmentally sound vehicles and turn around their public policy positions. Planet: How do we know this isn't just greenwashing? How do we know it's a good, reliable car? When did the Sierra Club become Consumer Reports? Becker: Buyers should do all the things that Consumer Reports recommends. Take it for a test drive. Look up everything you can about it. Compare it to other cars. Planet: But Dan, it's an SUV. A few years ago, in a Club publication, we stated: "When it comes to wasting energy, SUVs are unrivaled." What's the story? Becker: Yes, it's an SUV, but it is a hybrid SUV that gets better mileage than most cars on the road today. The reality is that there are some people who are going to buy an SUV. It would be much better for them to buy this one that gets more than 30 miles per gallon than one that gets half that. The Mariner will be one of the most fuel-efficient and cleanest SUVs on the road. Its electric motor can give the car enough juice to operate at low speeds and in stop-and-go traffic. This allows the gas engine to shut down automatically to conserve fuel, so the car gets better mileage in the city than on the highway. Planet: Does Ford really mean it? Becker: We hope so and we want them to succeed. We recognize that all the other vehicles that Ford makes guzzle more gas. We hope this serves as a model for other cars. Planet: Why would we do this in the middle of a campaign to get Ford to make its cars and light trucks average 40 miles per gallon? Does this mean our campaign is over? Becker: Absolutely not. We will continue to work to convince Ford to make vehicles that average 40 mpg. But the Ford we challenged at the beginning of this campaign is different from the one we face today. Since then Ford has made a commitment to cut its global-warming emissions by 45 percent by 2030 through an 80 percent improvement, in fuel economy. It produced its first hybrid, the Escape and now this second, the Hybrid Mariner. While these are only a fraction of what Ford needs to do, they're not nothing. It's easy to run a campaign against a target that is ignoring you. The hard part comes when they start doing things that you want them to. And of course, we're going to hold them to their promises. Planet: But Ford has consistently fought CAFE increases at the federal level and clean car legislation in California, Canada, and elsewhere. Becker: That's true and we will continue to pressure them to reverse course. Planet: Why is this important?
Every gallon of gas we burn produces 28 pounds of global warming. Every gallon of gas that we don't burn cuts global-warming emissions, cuts our oil dependence, and saves consumers money at the pump. Photos from top: Sierra Club collection; all rights reserved. Courtesy Ford Motor Company; used with permission. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
Becker: Maybe not conversion, but we've been saying for years that Ford could make an SUV get better mileage by using a hybrid engine, more advanced transmissions, sleeker aerodynamics, and high-strength lightweight materials. Now they've designed an SUV that does all that. What, we should beat them up for doing what we've asked?
Becker: Six years ago, there were no hybrid vehicles. Now there are a half-dozen different ones, and we felt that it was important that the Sierra Club help build the market.