Welcome to the first edition of Green Thursday. This will run on alternating weeks with Tech Thursday, and will highlight the efforts of various carmakers to think green. This week, for no other reason than that I drive one, we’re spotlighting Subaru.
You probably know that Subaru was one of the first makers to offer all wheel drive standard on every vehicle, but did you know they also have a zero landfill policy at their Indiana plant? More than 99% of their waste products are either re-used or recyled, and whatever remained is incinerated and used to generate steam.
This same plant, by the way, was also the first to be completely smoke-free - and that happened in 1994.
In addition, Subaru offers Legacy, Outback and Forester models nationwide that are certified to meet PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) standards, and that also meet California’s stricter SULEV (super ultra low emissions vehicle) certification. Not bad, considering there isn’t a hybrid among them. (In fact, Subaru’s gasoline engines often result in fewer emissions than the average hybrid-electric.)
Today, in fact, as I was filling the gas tank in my 2001 Subaru Forester (which still gets 300+ miles per tank), a cop stopped to chat. “I have the same car,” he said. “I love it. Wouldn’t buy anything else.”
Now that’s the kind of conversation you WANT to have with the police.
