There is a class of non-electric autos that achieved virtually zero emissions over a decade ago. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:
You probably haven’t noticed that no one is touting the PZEV anymore. The Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle attributes of their new . . . vehicles anymore. It was common until fairly recently – about ten years ago – to see “PZEV” badges affixed to new cars’ bumpers and tailgates.
Now you never see them anymore – except on one of those older cars.
Why would no car manufacturer want to advertise that they had all-but-eliminated the harmful emissions coming from the tailpipe of one of their new vehicles? This is precisely what “PZEV” means. It’s not just an advertising term – like “limited” or “special edition.” It has a very specific meaning – a very specific threshold – that must be met in order for that badge to be legal to affix to the bumper or tailgate of any vehicle.
What it means, specifically, is that the PZEV vehicle’s exhaust is within a hair – a fraction – of being as free of harmful emissions that it almost qualifies as a “zero emissions” vehicle.
Perhaps you see the problem here.
It cannot be admitted – the public must not be allowed to know – that non-electric vehicles – gas engined vehicles – achieved near zero-emissions more than a decade ago. Put another way, that there is no longer an emissions problem, if by “problem” one means emissions that cause problems insofar as air quality is concerned.
And that is a big problem for the pushers of electric cars. Which are also not “zero emissions” cars – notwithstanding the constant use of that false-advertising slogan.
It is true that electric cars don’t emit any unburned or incompletely burned hydrocarbons – the compounds that come out of he tailpipes of modern combustion-engined cars in fractional amounts.
But the claim that they do not emit any carbon dioxide – the “emissions” that have nothing to do with air quality is – is false.
Electric cars run on electricity and electricity has to be generated, which generally results in the emission of C02, via the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil.
