hybrid vehicles

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Permalink Reply by Cara on October 4, 2008 at 9:12pm

I have a couple of friends with hybrid cars, Prius. They love them, and if they are careful in town with the way they brake and drive can get 100 mpg. Yes, there's a read out on the dash which tells them their mpg while they drive. The thing's so quiet you don't even know it's running.

I don't see the fascination with pickup trucks and SUV's. Unless you have to actually haul things or use them for work trucks, I really don't see why the average person needs them. We had a family of 6, and never needed an SUV, and we played ball, etc too. Mom just hauled us around in the car, and we actually had to sit close to each other.

This is probably a minority opinion but I don't think we as Americans can continue to ignore the realities of the world. When I was in Germany 20 years ago gas was 3 marks a gallon. We enjoy something the rest of the world does not.

I very firmly believe we must, as a nation, pioneer alternate fuel alternatives besides oil. We should be leading the way and coming up with this stuff first, like we used to, instead of waiting for some other country to come up with it first.

If the USA no longer needed oil, the goings on in oil rich countries would no longer be of as much a national interest and perhaps instead of invading a country, we could actually be a real agent for peace.

*shrugs* but what do I know, that's just my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Jill Jones on October 4, 2008 at 11:28pm

I can see both sides of this. I want to be "green" but I have to realize that we can all contribute in at least some areas. I turn off light switches, raise the A/C temp., wash clothes on cold and other "easy" things. I use to recycle all the time in my former home, but it was readily available. I am starting to do more of it here.

I personally havent' heard a lot of really great feedback on the hybrids, except the Ford Escape. I know that if you are passionate about this cause, you probably love your hybrid, just like and SUV driver who carries 3 Saint Bernards might love their SUV.

I've been driving an SUV for 8 years now. I love it. It's moderate, a V-6 engine, not a huge V-8, gets around 19 mpg city, 23 highway. My reason for loving it is purely physical. I've broken both of my femurs, I have steel rods in my legs, and a brand spanking new titanium right knee to boot, and it's just simply easier to get in and out of an SUV when your butt is at seat level when you're climbing in, then gravity helps me out again!

This is a tough issue for me, and I am blessed/cursed with looking at both sides of everything. I believe in personal freedom but encourage individual accountability and responsibility. If each of us could do a little bit more to help on any given issue, really, a LOT of improvement would be made! :)

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Permalink Reply by Shelli Russell on October 4, 2008 at 11:35pm

Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh...

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Permalink Reply by Munky on October 4, 2008 at 11:39pm

You are correct: trucks are a bargain right now. Based on current fuel prices, it is hard to justify the additional cost of a hybrid compared to a conventional internal combustion engine. $3.29 per gallon is lower than the $3.99 per gallon cost of a few months ago, but it is still a high cost. If gas prices rise again in the future, and it costs $100 ($4.00/gallon) or even $150 ($6.00/gallon) to fill up the (25 gallon) fuel tank in a truck, a hybrid might start to be appealing to more people. A rechargeable hybrid would enable renewable power that is produced in the off-hours (e.g. wind power at night) to recharge batteries in a way that minimizes consumption of carbon-based fuels.

Gas prices have declined due to the economic slowdown, however, they could rise again. It is my opinion that gas prices will not stay low for two reasons:
1) Peak oil (many of the largest producing fields are in decline. As less oil is available, prices will rise in response to high demand for limited supplies.)
2) Global demand. Presently, the U.S. is only 5% of the world's population, but uses 25% of the world's oil production. Now that globalization is bringing prosperity to once-impoverished nations (especially India and China), they will start using cars more, increasing world demand for fuel, and increasing prices.

In addition, disadvantageous currency exchange rates caused by economic weakness in the U.S. also contributes to high fuel prices.

May God bless and look after your son. I honor and appreciate his service to our nation.

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Permalink Reply by Jill Jones on October 4, 2008 at 11:53pm

OK, my eyes are blurry and I need to go to sleep! But Agent 999's comments made me sort of remember something. Somewhere there is a "calculator" to help a buyer figure out how long it takes to recoup your investment on a more fuel efficient vehicle if you go that route. You can put in your current ride, payment if you had one, mpg's etc, and compare to your proposed purchase of hybrid. I'll look for it later and post the link!

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte on October 5, 2008 at 6:28am

that would be great--- I heard it would be five years ---- and also heard that in five years that you have to
replace the battery -- which costs five thousand dollars --- :)

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte on October 5, 2008 at 6:30am

thank you for your comment -- sounds like you are well-informed. :)

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte on October 5, 2008 at 6:46am

Cara -- I remember the long gas lines when Jimmy Carter was President -- there were actually fights in the gas
lines. The people were panicking because they thought we were 'running out' of gas. Then I saw it go away as
quickly as I saw it begin. We weren't running out of gasoline. And I think the same thing that happened then is
going to happen again. I truly believe that it's gonna just 'go away' and everyone is going to be stuck with a high
vehicle payment that is not necessary. How else could those hybrids be sold? Call me old-fashioned, but I just
don't believe all the panick hype they're feeding us on the news and talk shows.

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Permalink Reply by Munky on October 5, 2008 at 10:11am

Once again, Charlotte, you are correct. Battery technology is the problem with both hybrids and electric cars. Hybrid cars are very expensive because they have to have two motors, plus a large battery pack. The gasoline motors and the generators/electric motors in the hybrid cars work adequately. The currently available batteries can't store much energy. The energy stored in a battery is about 1/50 the amount of energy stored in the same weight of gasoline. A new generation of improved batteries is needed to make hybrid, rechargeable hybrid, and rechargeable electric cars more practical. There are batteries under development, that would last about 12 years, but they are not commercially available yet.

The folks who drive hybrid cars are showing their environmental ethic with their investment in the vehicle, the same way that folks who drive high dollar luxury cars show off their affluence. It's just a way of expressing themselves and their value system. There are other rich people, like Ted Turner and Warren Buffet, who drive modest cars like Fords. What you drive is often an expression of your personality.

I don't own a hybrid, but I do own several trucks. I can foresee that there will be a time sometime in the next 5 to 15 years, when fuel prices rise, that I will have to change what I drive. At that time, I will probably have to leave the safety of my high heavy vehicle and move to a vehicle that sits lower, has less air drag, and greater fuel economy to have a reasonable operating expense.

I admire the people who are the early adapters, who take the risk with technology that is just becoming established. Toyota has sold more than a million Prius hybrids. With this level of experience and feedback, the cars will continue to improve. In a few years, after these other folks work the bugs out, then I might venture out and buy one.

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Permalink Reply by Shelli Russell on October 5, 2008 at 12:12pm

www.fueleconomy.gov

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Permalink Reply by John on October 5, 2008 at 12:36pm

What they don't tell you about the hybrid is you only get great gas mileage if you drive around town. Once you hit the interstate, or any time the gas engine kicks in you're back on dinopower.

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte on October 5, 2008 at 1:28pm

Frankly -- I do not like hybrids -- they have been shoved down our throats -- as if they are the 'only way out'.
Is America run on propaganda -- or common sense?

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