A friend sent me a link to this article: Dirty Secret: Green Cars Automakers Won’t Sell You. I was really amazed at some of the details in here. It’s about certain cars (or models of cars) classified as PZEV which means Partial zero-emissions vehicle. Some US states have requirements that cars within this classification are available to consumers.

There are actually quite a few PZEV models out there, and typically the manufacturers produce a special model for this classification. Amazingly, these models are “designed to produce minimal air pollution at their point of use, typically less than 10% of that of an equivalent ordinary vehicle.” A 90% reduction. This would, by itself, solve a large portion of our greenhouse gas problem. (Although, since it says “typically” I was trying to get some emission comparison numbers, but was unable to find them so far)

The catch is, according to this article, that it’s actually illegal for dealers to sell PZEV cars to people from outside the approved states. This is thanks to the “Clean Air Act”. Wow. Another example of how blatantly idiotic and corrupt the US government and car manufacturers are.

On a last note, this is an inspiring story of a family that decided to not bother fixing their car when it broke, and the benefits of living car-free: Giving up car revs family up.