I didn’t misinterpret his comments. I read them and can understand them.
Hydrogen, fusion, nuclear - it does not matter. Electric, like the hydrogen creation efficiency you disparage is equally as inefficient in the generation, storage and reapplication to energy that provides movement. For all-electric it is even worse. When you try to improve the amp/hour storage, discharge efficiency and reduce the charge time, you get fires.
Please take a gander at the article that started all the fuss:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/uk-autos-electric-hydrogen-idUSLNE91303P20130204
The article is about ‘battery electric’ cars…not the Prius.
Now here’s the quote you alluded to:
“Because of its shortcomings - driving range, cost and recharging time - the electric vehicle is not a viable replacement for most conventional cars,” said Uchiyamada.
Do you think he meant the Prius has a range problem? I don’t.
Is your understanding of his quote that he believes the Prius takes too long to charge? It’s certainly not mine.
The article had nothing to do with the Prius.
I will re-hash a post I made last week, explaining the difference between Prius and Volt.
“To put this into perspective, the Volt’s electric motor is 149 hp, while its engine is 80 hp....while the Prius uses a 80 hp electric motor and 98 hp engine. See how they are reversed? (also keep in mind that the Volt weighs 600 lb more than the Prius plug in, because it is primarily an electric vehicle).”
I hope you can see the difference. The quote meant that Toyota is not going to monkey around with a Leaf or Volt type car. Instead, it means they will stick with their Prius and try to find something better…but not go through the motions of producing a loser. Just for ‘green cred’. Now, they do have a plug in add on for the Prius…precisely to satisfy the ‘green’ crowd even more. And its actually not a bad idea. ..it allows the owner to pre-charge the energy recapture system…may save a few cents a day, with no real drawback.
“Electric, like the hydrogen creation efficiency you disparage is equally as inefficient in the generation, storage and reapplication to energy that provides movement”….true, but moot if the Prius merely captures energy that will otherwise be wasted. Again, I hope you can see the distinction between recapturing kinetic energy during braking, and paying 12 cents per kwh to charge a battery.
BTW, I may have come off as a huge fan of the Prius…I would never own one, because I don’t like the look, and its still pricey for its size. However, I recognize that the technology of energy recapture is here to stay…and it is now on many models, from different car manufacturers. And, the father of the Prius certainly recognizes this too. Re-read his quote one more time…it has absolutely nothing, nada, zip to do with the Prius.
Why do I care, and why do I keep chewing on this bone? If you tell a person that the Volt has terrible sales, and cost too much….you will get a response that includes some equivalency to the Prius. There is none. The basic philosophy behind the vehicles is completely different. I don’t want whatever success the Prius has had to be used as a crutch to keep spending more taxpayer money on the Volt. Its that simple.