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Green
Car Production Facilities
Renewable forests Jaguar are planting renewable forests including walnut, oak, ash and birch trees. Some of the trees will eventually find their way onto an executives luxury dashboard, but not until 10-15 years of growth and healthy, oxygen-producing living. Landfill gas recycling No less than seven of GM's facilities in North America are partially powered by landfill gases. These otherwise wasted greenhouse gases come from decomposing organic waste, and are used instead of natural gas, reducing GM's natural gas usage by 21 percent. It also saves GM half a million dollars a year and is the equivalent of 6,000 acres of forest being planted. GM is the largest user of landfill gas in the US. Recycled steel MINI's produced at BMW's Oxford, UK manufacturing plant are made partly from recycled steel, steel that once may have been sitting on a supermarket shelf. As a full-circle form of recycling, the steel from the MINI can then be returned to the supermarket shelf once the car has forfeited its driving privileges. MINI and BMW, the proud parent company are currently the only company offering this service. With more likely to follow. Innovative manufacturing processes At Ford's manufacturing facility at Dagenham, Essex, England 100,000 tons of filtered water are used each year in the engine manufacturing process. Most factories filter the water through sand, but at Dagenham Ford the water is passed through recycled crushed glass, glass which would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. As a further benefit, Ford has found the glass to be so effective they are looking at introducing this filtration system at other facilities. Renewable energy Nissan plant in Sunderland, England has created their own personal wind farm. The project cost £2 million ($3.5 million USD) to create, but energy bill savings amount to around £800,000 ($1.4 million USD) each year! While also reducing the need for power from dirty fossil fuel power stations. Green buildings Aston Martin, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Honda and the Mclaren facility where the Mercedes-Benz Mclaren SLR supercar is built, all have facilities in the UK which have been designed to blend into the local landscape. By using trees, shrubs, plants and various water features and ponds to disguise the building, provide habitats for local wildlife and counteract carbon dioxide production. When it comes down to it, no other major manufacturing sector has made as much effort or progress in helping to reduce greenhouse emissions as the automotive sector. It's not really because their Greenpeace activists. But instead car makers are finding ways to cut costs and improve their image with environmentally friendly solutions. Related articles: What makes a great car Where do ugly cars come from? Retro or Rehash? 21st Century muscle car race Ascari Race Resort Artificial intelligence Related sections of the site: Sports cars Strange vehicles Concept cars Home page |
