The Big Three? No, the Dirty Three

Among the top eight automakers, the formerly Big Three are the bottom three on "green" ratings from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Toyota's No. 1, right? Nope, its Priuses can't pull up its entire fleet. Honda is No. 1; Toyota ties with Hyundai - yep, Hyundai - for No. 2. (To be fair, Hyundai sells no pickups.)

Other details are no shock, like Chrysler just making minimum efforts and GM using its light hybrids more to boost horsepower than anything else.

Hyundai now bigger than Chrysler

Yep, you read that right. With partner Kia, it’s now the United States’ seventh-largest auto seller, edging ahead of Chrysler during the recession — and it’s No. 4 worldwide. How far the Big three have fallen!

In other words, it’s not going away after the recession is done.

And, with more interest in hybrids than any other automaker not named Toyota, that’s a very good thing.

Hyundai goes green for $3 bil

Korean carmaker Hyundai will invest more than $3 billion in various “green” ideas, including hybrid drives, hydrogen fuel cells, finding weight savings on materials and more.

In comparable terms, it would be like General Motors investing $50 billion. Fat chance of that.

Car sales an economic dark cloud

The formerly Big Three all had sales drop 40 percent or more in January, compared to a year ago. Chrysler was off more than 50 percent.

The Japanese companies weren’t quite so bad, but had losses in the 25-33 percent range. Hyundai, meanwhile posted another gain. Guess those $7,999 Excel, or Accent, or whatever, ads are catching some eyes.

Hyundai improves engineering while Big Three whine

Hey, both Obama and McCain, before you give in to the Big Three TittyBabies demands for not only $50bil in loan guarantees, but also their push to loosen last year’s toughening of CAFÉ standards, read this from the Wall Street Journal.

Or, read this, since I found it first, although it’s French.

(Google Translator helps you out)

“The Hyundai group is able to meet by 2015, the standard fuel consumption of 35 miles per gallon (6.7 litres per 100 kilometres) which must apply to the USA in 2020 without recourse to hybrid vehicles,” said Lee Hyun-soon, head of research and development division of the Korean manufacturer.

Well, that’s pretty plain English.

If that’s not good enough for you, Schmuck Talk Express™ and Just.Another.Politician.™, here’s more from that same story.

Hyundai says it can do this by a combination of using more lighter materials, dual valve variable valve timing, and – eight-speed automatics.

Now, Lee’s comments about hybrids aside, Hyundai has a hybrid partnership, in Korea to start and coming here in 2010, with Kia.

I found the general story line referenced in this week’s issue of Gregg Easterbrook’s always-interesting Tuesday Morning Quarterback column at ESPN.

Oh, and the WSJ aside, WHERE is this in the American media?

And, ask me again why I plan on voting Green?