Icnoclasts & CAFE

Just a reminder & recommendation to all that you must watch Iconoclasts on the Sundance Channel Thursdays @ 10PM ET/PT. This show is by far the most intelligent and inspiring on television. Its fourth season lineup includes the following pairings:

Desmond Tutu + Richard Branson
Stella McCartney + Edward Ruscha
Tony Hawk + my buddy Jon Favreau
Bill Maher + Clive Davis
Venus Williams + Wyclef Jean
Cameron Diaz + Cameron Sinclair

T Boone Pickens appeared on 60 Minutes last evening. He seems to really get the fact that fossil fuels is a dying business. At times it is hard to understand if his Pickens Plan is pure altruism or just plain greed. Whichever it turns out there is no denying his impact on educating and furthering the alternative energy discussion. I certainly wasn’t impressed to learn that he funded the 2004 swift boat campaign against John Kerry and remains adamant that it was the correct thing to do.

Interesting story in Sunday’s NY Times about the death of the SUV. Production at the plant in Wisconsin has been reduced from 1000 vehicles a day to 100 and the plant is scheduled to close on December 31st. In light of this, here are the top 10 fuel-efficient vehicles for 2009, based on EPA fuel economy data for combined city and highway driving:

Vehicle City/Hwy/Combined

1. Toyota Prius
48/45/46
2. Honda Civic Hybrid
40/45/42
3. smart fortwo
33/41/36
4. Volkswagen Jetta Sedan/Jetta SportWagen
30/41/34
5. Toyota Camry Hybrid
33/34/34
6. Nissan Altima Hybrid
35/33/34
7. MINI Cooper/Cooper Clubman
28/37/32
8. Toyota Yaris
29/36/32
9. Ford Escape Hybrid/Mercury Mariner Hybrid/Mazda Tribute Hybrid (tie)
34/31/32
10. Honda Fit
28/35/31
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agenc