Almost every car manufacturer has an eco-friendly, electric or hybrid model in their line-up these days. Renault is even creating a brand new range of ZE (zero emission) cars due for launch in the UK in 2011. Pretty soon, diesel and petrol cars will be a thing of the past and we’ll be paying a small fortune to look at our old VW Golf in a museum somewhere.
But while some manufacturers are trying to get us to buy an eco-friendly car, others are telling us how to drive them! A famous car manufacturer in France is currently running ‘eco-friendly’ driving lessons, teaching owners how to drive effectively to conserve fuel and save energy. But it appears eco-friendly driving might not be so ‘friendly’…
Apparently eco-driving is all about keeping moving as building up momentum uses fuel and slowing down wastes it. This means the least thirsty way from A to B is a constant speed, even if it means cutting up fellow drivers and not giving way to buses. What’s the key to being green? Constant steady speed and early braking, of course.
Whilst on your lesson, the driving instructor studies the figures via laptop hooked up to the cars dashboard. The aim is to get under 100 g/km. And just like the real driving test, he also tells you what you did wrong (or right) at the end of the lesson.
The lessons are to be introduced into the UK next year with ‘green’ drivers able to test out their skills behind the wheel of an ‘eco’ loving car. A pushy nature is essential as politeness and dawdling aren’t allowed.