Paul McCartney’s Lexus Hybrid Gets 4 MPG
In a perfect example of why Cliff’s Notes don’t substitute for reading the whole book, the method by which Paul McCartney’s new luxury hybrid was delivered to him has ruined any environmental gains that might have been made by driving a hybrid in the first place. Indeed… his brand new Lexus LS 600h hybrid was flown to him by cargo plane. Questions of whether or not a 5.0-liter, V-8, 19 mile per gallon luxury behemoth really exemplifies the spirit of a “hybrid” aside, the judgment involved in shipping cars by airplane is enough to cringe at.
Doing some of my own napkin calculations (below) I came up with a fuel efficiency for the 5,966 mile trip from Tokyo to London of 4 mpg. That’s assuming the cargo plane burned 5 gallons of fuel per mile and there were 19 other cars in the plane. I’m not so sure there were 20 cars on that cargo plane, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. What this means is that the former Beatle’s new Lexus hybrid got 4 mpg for the first 5,966 miles of it’s life without ever starting up or even getting the chance to enjoy it’s V-8 glory on the open road. What a shame.
To be fair, we’ve all been guilty of this kind of inefficient transportation at some level (think bananas from South America), and Paul McCartney is simply an easy target. In fact, most new cars being bought off the lot will have a large “carbon debt” due to the simple act of manufacturing. This debt, even in the case of a Prius, will take tens of thousands of miles of driving to pay off versus something like a fuel efficient used car. In the end, the lack of wisdom here points out that we can deliver all the great new technology we want, yet without the conscious decision to change our habits we won’t make much headway in improving energy efficiency.
*Editorial Note: Nick Chambers is the newest writer on Gas 2.0: welcome Nick!
Posts Related to Fuel Economy and Carbon Emissions:
- The World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car: 285 MPG, Not A Hybrid
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- Clean Diesel Cars Coming to US This Fall: 2008-2010 Timeline
- A Truck That Runs on Coffee Grounds (and How Wood-Gas Powers Cars With Garbage)
- The Cleanest Cars on Earth: Honda Civic GX and Other Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs)
This argument completely ignores the idea of relative comparisons. Of course there are more energy efficiency issues than just driving a car. The question is whether or not the methods overall are maximizing efficiency. In this case, even if the car is technically getting 4 mpg for that first trip (which is deceiving in the headline since it appears to be an overall lifetime average), what do other cars get if you include their transport? It is entirely possible, if not likely, that McCartney has left a larger carbon footprint than many here; however, without a similar number for the average car, the numbers are deceptive and irrelevant.
BAD math
it does not take 30,000 miles to go 6,000 miles. gah
hippy=on drug= bad math
this makes no sense. this is also true for the non-hybrid car shipped in the same fashion. the only difference is that once its delivered the hybrid car will emit less co2. now, thats not to say that the method of transportation cant be addressed….but assuming every car is transported the same way, this isnt as drastic as you make it seem. a regular fuel burning car would have a lifetime mpg of less than the 4 you calculated…..
Great article. Sir Paul supposedly thought it was going to be shipped by boat and Lexus was the party that decided ship it by air.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1951848/Paul-McCartney-‘horrified’-as-his-eco-car-is-flown-7,000-miles-from-Japan.html
It went 5,966 miles without even STARTING ITS ENGINE?
Sounds like the world’s MOST efficient car to me.
How else would you like items to be delivered to you? Plane, Train, Boat? Sure the air choice cost more, and might harm the environment, oh, maybe a teenie, tiny bit, but is it enough to write a blog post on a website about it? Were you sitting in a room with the lights on, using a computer that requires electricity? Did you harm the environment by writing about it?
I get your point, but come on, give the guy his credit for trying to do something good. It is an awesome car!!
Cheers!!
But if McCartney had bought a Hummer and had it flown to him, that would be much worse.
If all you can see is the negative you are not likely to ever be very happy.
You’ve got to be joking, right? You seriously have nothing else to concern yourself with? Wow dude, get a freaking life.
- The World
“I’m not so sure there were 20 cars on that cargo plane, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt”
The benefit of the doubt - of course, as no one charters an entire cargo plane for a single piece of cargo, unless thats all that will fit.
But the calculation is actually the entire fuel expenditure of the aircraft divided by the laden planes gross weight - gives you fuel per pound ($fpp), then $fpp*$car_weight = $delivery_fuel
Even then, it is only relative to the $delivery_fuel of the standard delivery method of that car, or the $delivery_fuel of any comparison vehicle, as there is always $delivery_fuel. Its all relative.
hypocrite!! all of these stars and environmentalists