[SuziQ]

I don't want a hybrid for it's 'fuel efficiency' though, if it's a little more efficient than what I have now, that would be a bonus. I like the idea that, at most around town speeds, in most towns, the gas engine would never engage. If the car is running on electricity around town, that means that car exhaust and pollutants are not going into the air. It would keep the air in cities much cleaner. That, to me, is as much a benefit as getting a few more mpg, but I'd get that too!

[Right Wing Assault]

It would keep the air in cities much cleaner.

But when people get home to the suburbs, the gas engine has to kick in to recharge the batteries and now the pollution ends up in the suburb where people and their kids live.

It's like pure electric cars. They claim they don't pollute. Sure they do. The power plant has to run more to generate the electricity to charge the cars, so the pollution comes out of their stack rather than the exhaust pipe. It's tough to get something for free in the car/energy game.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I don't want a hybrid for it's 'fuel efficiency' though, if it's a little more efficient than what I have now, that would be a bonus. I like the idea that, at most around town speeds, in most towns, the gas engine would never engage. If the car is running on electricity around town, that means that car exhaust and pollutants are not going into the air.

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Actually, ALL the energy used to move a hybrid comes from burning fuel while driving. The supposed advantage is that you can have a smaller gasoline engine that runs at moderate power all the time at efficient levels, with the electric helping during acceleration, and the gas engine charging the batteries other times.

[Reeses]

I like the idea that, at most around town speeds, in most towns, the gas engine would never engage.

You double odds of hitting a pedestrian since they can't hear you coming. If you drive a hybrid in the city, you might never run a yellow light and be super vigilant. And buy lawsuit insurance so the ambulance chasers don't totally clean you out.

[Palmetto]

If the car is running on electricity around town, that means that car exhaust and pollutants are not going into the air. It would keep the air in cities much cleaner. That, to me, is as much a benefit as getting a few more mpg, but I'd get that too!

Wow.

That is all.

[Ghengis]

I don't want a hybrid for it's 'fuel efficiency' though, if it's a little more efficient than what I have now, that would be a bonus. I like the idea that, at most around town speeds, in most towns, the gas engine would never engage. If the car is running on electricity around town, that means that car exhaust and pollutants are not going into the air. It would keep the air in cities much cleaner. That, to me, is as much a benefit as getting a few more mpg, but I'd get that too!

So the poor folks downwind from the power plants get that much more fly ash from the increased kilowatt hours usage from everyone plugging in their battery chargers.

I'd rather the city folks keep their own pollution. It does not seem right that they import their power and let the neighbors of the power plants deal with their increased pollution.

[mvpel]

What would keep the air in cities even cleaner is a catalytic coating on automotive radiators, breaking down pollutants from other cars in the air as it passed through to cool the engine.

But since this technology had no effect on the vehicle's own tailpipe, it was disincentivized by the government.