Apparently advances in hybrid-electric vehicles, and the increasing number of hybrid cars coming to market, has environmental group the Sierra Club making a mends with the auto industry. Ford’s new Mercury Mariner hybrid and Honda’s 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid debuted at Sierra Club’s national environment convention. In fact, the group plans joint promotions with Ford to increase awareness of its Mariner and Escape Hybrid. Wired.com reports that Sierra Club invited Ford, Honda and Toyota to the convention because it wants to make hybrid vehicles more successful.

I’m all for this strategy, as long as it’s not a wholesale acceptance of hybrids and doesn’t reward companies that are merely throwing around the hybrid designation to ride the coat tails of others. Fact is, some hybrids are terrific. Others are just PR campaigns. While it’s great that the industry is coming out in full force with SUV hybrids, the bigger problem is the continued widespread promotion of SUVs — period. Some so-called hybrids are a joke.

Case in point: Porsche announced today it’s going to build a hybrid version of its Cayenne SUV. “The hybrid Cayenne will cut fuel consumption by approximately 15 per cent while retaining its legendary Porsche driving dynamics. To be launched by the end of the decade, the vehicle’s environmentally friendly drive system is being developed together with Volkswagon Group.”

Launched by the end of the decade? Fuel consumption reduced by 15 per cent? Again — is this a joke? Considering the Ford Mariner is claiming a 50 per cent increase in fuel economy for city driving, and is out today, why does it take Porsche until the end of the decade to make such modest improvements?

Kudos to Sierra Club for rewarding those making some serious progress and punishing those that aren’t taking the issue so seriously. The group reportedly did not invite makers of hybrid SUVs that aren’t achieving substantial fuel efficiency, and it remains opposed to manufacturers who are simply using hybrid technology to give slightly better fuel economy to muscle cars and monster trucks/SUVs.

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