The Green Smell of Hypocrisy
This past Sunday (7 January 2007), The Los Angeles Times ran a front page (below the fold) article titled: "A green limo is no stretch". The article profiles Ecolimo, a limousine company that started with a Toyota Prius and now has a small fleet of cars that includes a Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI that had been converted to run on bio-diesel. I'd give you a link to Ecolimo.com but it's not built yet.
What the article failed to mention is that the Mercedes isn't sold in California as it fails California's stringent emissions regulations. The article says that the Mercedes was a "former fleet vehicle" purchased used by Ecolimo's owner, Y Fray. I'm surprised that the E320 CDI was ever a "fleet" vehicle as there aren't too many limousine companies or rental car agencies in California (or elsewhere) that would have a late-model Mercedes diesel E-Class in service. However, I do know that you can buy a used E320 CDI at a couple Mercedes dealers in LA if you are willing to pay nearly the original cost of the car.
The current "diesel" markup in the pre-owned market in So Cal is pretty steep. Sellers are asking close to original sticker prices for late-model VW and Mercedes diesel cars. However that is all going to change later this year when Mercedes and VW bring diesels back to the US and back to California. Both companies say that their 2008 models that will meet California's new (as of 1 January 2007) emissions regulations. I'll believe it when I see it.
The fact that Ms. Fray converted the car to run on bio-diesel (mostly used vegetable oil) is impressive because it was done to impress the Hollywood Elite who are her customers (as profiled in the article). The only place I know that converts diesel cars to bio-diesel is a place called Lovecraft Biofuels [http://www.lovecraftbiofuels.com/] on Sunset in Silver Lake. I'm sure there are a couple other places that do it; but the bigger problem is finding places to buy bio-diesel fuel. If you don't live or work near one of the two stations in LA -- one in Pacific Palisades, one in Marina del Rey -- you will have to use regular diesel. I doubt that there are too many celebrities (other than Daryl Hannah) collecting vegetable oil from fast food restaurants to make their own fuel.
I want to thank the Times for confirming what I've said all along about hybrids and other "green" transportation. In Los Angeles, the "appearance" of being green is more important than actually being green. For example, one customer profiled seems to think that taking a ride from Santa Clarita to his office in Beverly Hills in a bio-diesel-powered Mercedes somehow makes up for the fact that he drives a giant Hummer H2 as his daily driver. In his karma-confused mind, using Ecolimo somehow puts "balance" in his life. Yikes!
But the best quote in the article comes from Sara McLean, publisher of Limousine & Chauffeured Transportation magazine:
"They might not drive an ecological car on their own time, but when they are at an event, they want to be branded as cool."
It's all about appearances, not substance. Another example of the need for the "appearance" of green is cited in the article. Some of the co-producers of Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth", have booked a big black SUV converted to bio-diesel fuel to go to the Academy Awards in March. After all, it would look bad to arrive in a stretch Lincoln or worse, a big black SUV like a Cadillac Escalade when you are representing a film about global warming. First, I'd like to say this is early wishful thinking. The nominations won't be announced until January 23 -- maybe the producers have inside information. But in Hollywood, you need to book this kind of transportation well in advance as I'm sure there will be a big "green-credential" check on the red carpet this year at the Kodak Theater.
Ah, it feels good to live in the land of youth, beauty, expensive cars and plastic surgery. It's all about appearances, not convictions. Don't you love hypocrisy?
