HONDA SWEARS OFF "TRASHY" CARS

Although following in the footsteps of Subaru—which was the first to have a "zero landfill waste" U.S. plant—Honda's recent announcement that eight of its 14 North American plants send no waste to landfills and none will by next year is an admirable feat. It is especially noteworthy because, in comparison, Subaru only has one plant in the U.S. “In its sixth annual North American environmental impact report, Honda said 90 percent of the parts in its new cars can be recycled," reports the Associated Press. "It also said it eliminated 4,500 wood pallets and 513,800 pounds of corrugated materials that had been used for parts shipments.” Moreover, Honda says Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for model year 2009 (MY2009) rose 1 mpg to 31.3 mpg, a 3.3 percent increase from MY2008 and a 7.2 percent rise from MY2005, outpacing the company's voluntary goal (set in May 2006) to achieve a 5 percent increase over MY2005 CAFE levels by MY2010. We're happy to see auto makers focused on the big picture when it comes to being green. Ailis Aaron Wolf 40mpg.org