subject: Car Leasing As An Environmental Option [print this page] I know, branding car leasing as an environmental option seems like one of the more tenuous green options youve heard of. I get that. Aside from anything else, its very difficult to associate anything to do with automobiles as anything much to do with lowering your carbon footprint (aside from not driving them). But hear me out, Ive got a few points to make that you may not have thought of, and as we all know, being green can be a convoluted mess of ideas youve never thought of.
First things first: old cars are less carbon-neutral than new cars. Im sure there are exceptions, just as there are with any rule that you put out there as being a rule. Rules are made to be broken and all that. But generally speaking, new cars are designed to be more fuel efficient than their older cousins, particularly in light of government legislation introduced after auto-industry bailouts, especially in America.
Secondly: hybrid cars arent all their cracked up to be. There are so many conflicting reports in the press these days that its difficult to tell which way is up, but the added resources needed to make hybrid cars can counterbalance the good that they do. Similarly, bio-fuels are turning out to be an environmental con, with acres of land being given up to make ethanol that could be used for food, and increasing the land needed for intensive farming. Not to mention the manufacturing process.
So, how does personal car leasing come into all this? Follow the logic: new cars are more fuel efficient and therefore more environmentally friendly. This trend is likely to continue and cars will become more and more environmentally friendly as times goes by. Buying a car tends to result in keeping the car for a long time. Personal car leasing allows you to switch to a new vehicle every couple of years if your contract allows it just like with a mobile phone.
As less of our economy becomes based on ownership theres no reason why this shouldnt spread to cars as well. By taking out a personal contract purchase or personal contract hire agreement, you are putting yourself in a position of being able to update your vehicle to something more fuel efficient at regular intervals, as well as replacing a large capital outlay with more manageable monthly payments so its good for your budgeting too.
And once the infrastructure is there, the ones on personal car leasing contracts will probably be the first to adopt electric cars, which will surely be the greenest option in the future (provided the electricity comes from renewable sources).
Obviously serious environmentalists will tell you to stop driving altogether, but for many of us, it simply just isnt an option, particularly if you live in a rural area or a town with inadequate public transport. So, car leasing as an environmental option not such a silly thought after all.
