Dark Side of Hybrid Vehicles

Huh?
I recall an SAE sponsored talk from a Honda VP who said that the
Insight got about a third of its mpg benefit from each of:
lightweighting, engine downsizing and efficiency improvements, regen
braking.

The battery/motor is directly responsible for the latter. How will
you do regen without a motor/generator?

The hybridization enables the engine downsizing, ie it allows you to
maintain acceptable acceleration with a smaller engine.

And the hybridization allows you power management advantages, ie you
can run the engine in more efficient ranges. Sourcing/sinking to
the batteries allows this.

The Prius is not light like the Insight. And it has a much larger
battery. Thus much more of its mpg benefit is directly due to
hybridization.

 

Current mid-size diesels can do that, too.

 

Really? Don't all cars have advanced engines and computer control
these days? I am not aware of any particular advancements in the
Prius' gasoline motor which would explain it's exceptional fuel
economy. The computer only improves economy because it has a battery
and motor to control. If manufacturers could get the same benefit
without these expensive parts, why don't they do it? The fact is that
the most advanced gas engine with computer control cannot match this
efficiency level, at least not with acceptable performance.

I thought everyone was saying that the manufacturers are losing money
on hybrids. As for CAFE, it wouldn't help your CAFE if it didn't
improve milage.

 

Yates is waaaaay past his "Use by" date.

Are we to conclude Yates is a conservative bed wetter?

 

You sound like some liberal bed wetter, boy.

<vbg>

 

LOL. Hey, I'm just a realist, and happen to believe strongly in
efficient use of resources--in general. Using non-renewable stuff up is
inherently inefficient, but using it up faster is more inefficient than
using it slower.

Actually, I drive a puny Honda Civic and can't see around those monster
SUV bastards, which fuels my ire... ;-)) But even worse is the fact that
their suspension is so high up, and my Honda's so low, that my hood now
sports a few good dimples where some assholes just backed right up over
my car when pulling out of a parking space. So I'm pissed at SUVs for
other reasons. GRRRRR!!

 

Yes, of course. But the immediate subject here is a wholly alternative
fuel source that does not involve gasoline, for the time when we run out
of oil--or gas gets too expensive for all but the very rich to afford.

 

wasn't a lot of the bleating about diminishing reserves done to get tax
write-offs? wasting asset status?

personally. i doubt reserves will be seriously pinched any time soon.
or even during our grand kids lifetimes. and then we can just switch to
biomass solutions. fuels that are liquid at normal temps/pressures are
by far the easiest solution.

 

"volumized" gas with low calorific content doesn't do much for cafe either.

 

Not to mention that the "benefits" of SUV's touted by so many just don't
seem to pan out, in real life. Here in Upstate NY, for example, we get
a fair bit of snow. There have been days when I keep track of which
vehicles have slid/been driven off the road while driving to work. The
vast majority of the time, the SUV's far outnumber the conventional vehicles
when it comes to forlorn looking people waiting in the ditch for
the tow truck. It verges on the hilarious.

And then there are all the people who complain that they need cargo
space. As a family who takes 4 people - including a toddler and a 4
year old, with all the extra stuff they need - on week long vacations
where we have to bring our own towels, bed linens ( which take up a LOT
of room ), portable crib, etc, in a 4 door Civic, all I can say is,
"Why haven't you learned how to pack?" Sometimes we have to
use a roof bag, but buying as huge vehicle for activities that happen
just a couple times a year is simply insane.

For some reason, people keep asking me if I REALLY am a
conservative Republican. ;-)

- Rich

 

funny! and so true.

 

The New Yorker had a great report a couple of years ago on the testing of
SUVs, proving positive that they are unsafer.

Ha.

I know a couple who drive _two_ SUVs with Kerry/Edwards stickers still on
them. I don't know how they can call themselves the liberals they claim to
be!

 

I heard that Kerry was observed driving an SUV. When a liberal member of
the press questioned him about it, his response was "The SUV is owned by
my wife."

 

LOL. Liberal = "I can drive any unsafe gas-guzzling ststus symbol I want"?

 

One of the local newspapers mentioned some people that are now making use
of recycled french fry oil that they get for free from restaurants. I seem
to recall that country singer Willie Nelson makes use of it in his bus.
The owner of one of those vehicles that burn it said that the only problem
is that it makes the car smell like french fries so his kids are always
asking him to stop at MacDonalds so they can order some french fries.
Jason

 

I'm not so sure that I'd even agree that they're relatively unsafe.
The problem I see is that, barring mini-SUV's like the Subaru Legacy,
they are trucks, and need to be driven like trucks - you need
to account for the larger mass, higher center of gravity, generally
longer stopping distances in wet/snowy conditions, and so on. But
when the average nut climbs into his Ford Behemoth with the leather
seats, climate control, and a ride as soft as a Buick Century, they
*think* they're still driving a car. Until they end up in the ditch. ;-)
Honestly, when it comes down to it, nearly any vehicle can
be driven safely as long as it has a decent suspension, and appropriate
tires for the conditions. It's just that most people don't.

Being a liberal doesn't mean you're an enviromentalist, just like
being a conservative doesn't mean you can't belong to the Sierra Club and
ACLU. ;-)

- Rich

 

The New Yorker article would really be worth any interested person's time,
IMO.

Like you imply, certain (many?) SUVs are in fact some top contraption that
looks like a truck top but thrown onto literally a passenger car chassis.

But

When it comes down to it, one has to consider the psychology behind people's
driving habits.

So you don't give a testosterone laden 16-year-old boy a muscle car, period.

It does to me. It also means you don't try to keep up with the Joneses.

In fact, this couple I know are otherwise huge recyclers and
environmentalists.

You are simply naming exceptions to the rule, and huge ones at that.

I suspect anyone who isn't a Democrat who belongs to either the Sierra Club
or ACLU is far more likely to say he's a moderate this or that, or an
Independent. It's highly unlikely they're self-described "conservatives."

 

Uh oh, I was a testosterone laden 17 year old boy who bought a 5L
Mustang. ;-) Which was, if I may say, absolutely the worst possible
car to drive in the snow. Ever. Even with excellent tires.

It really depends on how you're using "liberal" - if it's the classic
political definition, then a liberal could very easily be the owner
of, say, a fleet of SUVs that leak oil like, well, my old Mustang. ;-)
The sound-bite definition of a liberal is closer to what you describe,
even if it's really an unholy combination of a political view with
enviromental and other attitudes.

I guess I'll be the exception that proves the rule, then, as a
self-described conservative who is members of both those organizations, and
until recently, the NRA, as well. ;-)

ObHonda: If anyone has gotten this far - any recommendations for
a decent roof rack that fits a 2002 Civic?

- Rich

 

This is from the "Libertarian's Guide to Language Abuses--Vote
Libertarian!," right?

I prefer the real world.

snip

For whom have you voted in the past six Presidential elections?

 

Ewwww, don't even get me started about the Libertarian party.

Unfortunately, they don't allow children in Middle School to vote. ;-)
But in the ones I was able to legally vote in, I voted for Bush Sr,
Clinton, Bush Jr, and Kerry - at least if you count a vote against
Bush as a vote for Kerry. Local elections are totally mixed,
depending on who happens to be running.

- Rich