The Magazine of The Sierra Club
How We Roll
When caring for your EV, hybrid, or fossil-fuel burner, make sure your car-care products are responsible
Of course you'd rather take the bus. Or the train. Or ride your bike. Or walk! But 97 percent of Sierra Club members own at least one car, and presumably drive it occasionally. When caring for your EV, hybrid, or fossil-fuel burner, make sure your car-care products are responsible.
Natural rubber helps YOKOHAMA's Avid Ascend save more than 100 gallons of gas--and more than 2,100 pounds of CO2--over its life. That says a lot, given that this reinvented wheel goes 17,000 miles farther than most. Its rolling resistance rate is 20 percent lower than that of conventional tires, but performance doesn't suffer: Grooves channel water away while orange oil improves grip. Price varies by region, yokohamatire.com
Running your vehicle through a car wash uses more than 45 gallons of water. The hose-in-the-driveway method can waste even more, and the runoff goes into storm drains. ECO TOUCH's Waterless Car Wash evokes Karate Kid Zen: Just spray on, then wipe off. The liquid is biodegradable, phosphate-free, and nontoxic. And thanks to citrus essential oils, it smells nice too. $13 for a 24-ounce bottle, ecotouch.net
You'd think nothing could be more petrochemical than motor oil, but VALVOLINE has good options both conventional and synthetic. MaxLife NextGen High Mileage Motor Oil is 50 percent recycled and double-refined to extend engine life and improve fuel efficiency. It's manufactured via a process that uses 90 percent less energy than cranking out standard engine oil. $5.50 for a 1-quart bottle, nextgen.valvoline.com
Sebastian Blanco, the lead blogger for AOL's AutoblogGreen, alerted us to a device called LUBRICHECK. "In only a few minutes," Blanco says, "it'll help you tell if your oil is still good, which could spread out your trips to the service bay." $40, lubricheck.com
Forget those dangling trees. They may be shaped like the Sierra Club's logo, but there's nothing natural about those chemical-swathed "pines." To freshen your car, choose an organic plant-oil spray like AMALA's spritzable mists in peppermint, lavender, or rose. The German company never tests on animals and is certified by Natrue (natrue.org). $24, amalabeauty.com
