Are green cars only a hype?

Europe's major car manufacturers are all talking green but is it more than just hype? See how well they're facing up to the challenge of climate change. View the manufacturers.

Cars

There are many cars on the road which, unfortunately, don't run on air. Still, by far the most engines of these cars need fuels to burn, which is essentially an environmentally polutting process.

Petrol is being extracted from oil. One of the resulting products of burning this petrol is energy - to get the car moving - but also a big part of this product is carbon dioxide. One drop on a glowing plate makes little difference, but many drops, as in many cars, do have a great impact on the environment. More than a tenth of our greenhouse gas emissions in the EU are being caused by cars.

The responsibility of developing green cars lays with the manufacturers, the responsibiliity of choosing green cars and driving less lays with the consumer. However, manufacturers have the knowledge and power to develop green cars and even to influence a large portion of consumers to choose green.

There is currently a lot of attention for being 'green' within most manufacturers. The following question should be asked: Is this just a hype? Hypes are temporarily, just to follow another current 'trend' in order to make more money. Or is there actually a permanent shift taking place within the policies of these manufacturers? Have some manufacturers realised that they do have a great responsibility in taking care of the planet? Greenpeace has created a list of most manufacturers, comparing how well they're facing up to the challenge of climate change.