What's up with people driving V8 cars but have environmental plates?

Question

I've seen a few extra large pick-up trucks with these plates, and I can understand that people might need these for work, but now I've seen a couple SUV's, like Suburbans and Escalades with them. It's wrong!

Answer 1

What's wrong about it.  Are they newer model SUV's?  Yes, they have a slightly lower mpg rating, but the amount of pollutant is so slight it's not worth mentioning.  An SUV running at 60 mph gets the exact same gas mileage as your avg. 4 passenger car.  Also, an SUV can carry more passengers than your avg. car, so you would think with this type of car-pool potential the SUV would be the transportation of choice of enviroMENTAList.

Answer 2

Oh that's probably algore or a celebrity They have done all they needed to do by getting the word out on GW

Answer 3

No it's not wrong, it's smart.  The bigger the car, the safer it is for those who are in it.  When I totaled my 1967 Valiant Signet into an ambulance that was going thru a red light at an intersection, the next car I got was a full size 1969 Dodge station wagon.  And yes a V8.  In fact the next car was also a  full size 1979 Pontiac Station Wagon.  That one was rated the safest vehicle on the road by the National Highway Safety Division.

Answer 4

You should have asked this in the general auto section and you would have gotten a proper answer much more quickly.

Chevy is and has been mass producing V8 engines that can run on either 8, 6, or 4 cylinders depending on whats needed. If you are at a red light, then its only running 4 cyl.

If you are towing a heavy load or accelerating hard then all 8 cyl will fire.

Its like having your cake and eating it too. You get the power and torque of a v8 but also the fuel economy of 4-6 cylinder engines under most conditions

Answer 5

Isn't that entertaining?

I am tempted to go up to some of these people when I see them and ask them what they have in mind with their environmental bumperstickers and plates on cars that are clearly fuel hogs.

Answer 6

Some people feel better by "talking up a big game". They feel that if they have the bumper sticker or enviro-plates they are helping-maybe they are/maybe not. Remember the saying "actions speak louder than words"? They should stop talking about the environment and do something-THROWING MONEY AT IT WONT MAKE IT GO AWAY!

Answer 7

So is adultery, but it feels soooooo good.

Answer 8

It would it be nice if they could appreciate the irony, but at least they are throwing a few bucks towards a good cause.  I have a special plate that has a "protect the coast" message at the bottom, and I've noticed that most cars that have it use license plate covers that obscure the message.  I had to shop around to find one that showed it, but I finally found one.

That said, I try not to act as judge and jury.  A lot of people with kids buy giant vehicles because they feel they are safer for their children.  That they are, but if they hit me and my Mini Cooper I'm a goner.

Answer 9

What are environmental plates?

Answer 10

Most say it is because of safety concerns. I often wonder if the statistics from Europe, Japan, and other countries where smaller cars are used is worse than the US.

I think for most it is just a status symbol, and that is more important to them. The large family argument doesn't hold because a mini-van will usually haul as much as a large suv and get much better mileage.