| Hybrid
Cars: Join the Revolution
|
EPA, hybrids, and the "gas
scare"
Friday,
April 15, 2005
Yesterday I read a Honda
Accord hybrid thread that discussed EPA gas mileage
numbers and real world numbers.
EPA numbers are a poor estimate - the point has been
beaten into the ground.
The real point is that hybrid technology is diverse, and
it is only going to get more diverse. The Accord hybrid is
a performance hybrid optimized for highway driving. Think
of it as a turbo-charged V6 Accord, except its turbo
chargers increase fuel efficiency and significantly reduce
pollution, in addition to providing quicker acceleration.
Nonetheless, if your goal is pure fuel efficiency, this
hybrid vehicle is not for you. If you live an urban
lifestyle, with lots of stop-and-go traffic, the Accord
hybrid is not going to be especially fuel efficient.
The Ford
Escape hybrid and Toyota
Prius hybrid, on the other hand, are most fuel
efficient in these conditions because they are able to
function using mostly electric power generated just by
driving the Prius or Escape hybrid - free, regenerative
energy.
Toyota's next hybrids are going to diversify hybrid
technology even further. Currently, the Escape hybrid SUV
utilizes a 4 cylinder engine in its hybrid powertrain.
Both the Lexus
RX400h and the Highlander
hybrid will utilize 6 cylinder engines. Thus, as with
the Accord, both new Toyota hybrids will also be
performance hybrids.
Still, both new Toyota hybrids, unlike the Accord hybrid,
offer significant fuel saving tools. In urban driving both
the RX400h and the Highlander hybrid can function on
mostly electric power, just as the Prius. On the highway,
both new hybrid SUVs can still achieve significant
improvements in fuel efficiency, but assistance from the
driver is required. Here the Accord hybrid probably has an
advantage.
Does it all really matter? Is gas really that expensive?
That was the point in the article, "Gas price scare
is just that" by John McCormick of the DetroitNews.
AAA recently reported that the average consumer is
spending just under $1300 per year on gasoline. Mr.
McCormick states, "That's a round of drinks at the
bar, a cheap bottle of wine in a restaurant or your co-pay
at the doctor's office. Sounds like a deal to me."
Maybe in Detroit people only pay $1300 per year, or $25
per week, as Mr. McCormick states, but averages are always
confusing. My friend has a long Southern California
commute, like many Californians, and it used to cost him
$35.00 per day to go to work and back. Recently, however,
he bought a small Toyota and cut his gas bill in half.
Still, half is almost $90.00 per week, not including
weekends.
That is pretty scary to my friend and many others.
Hybrid
vehicles can help people like my friend, and as gas
prices and commute times increase, as predicted by many
experts, they'll help much more.
More important, the thing missed by hybrid-haters -
especially the Big 3 - hybrids create a covenant between
buyer and seller that stands for making the world a better
place. That's a pretty strong customer relationship. While
a hybrid purchase might only be a step, it is a
significant step for many consumers.
Detroit missed this opportunity.
Instead of spending 100's of millions to market gas
guzzlers, Detroit could have said, "Make America
stronger, buy American-made fuel efficient technology.
Help fight the War on Terror and foreign
oil-dependency."
The sell isn't that hard is it?
--> Blog
/ Comment on this
We the people, must be the
difference. Join the revolution, buy a hybrid car
|
|
|
