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.
The Volt was conceived as fundamentally being an electric car with an onboard gas generator to extend range. The production reality is not quite the same as the original conception.
The Prius was conceivec as fundamentally being an i ternal combustion engine powered car with electric boost and energy recapture. That it is, and love it or hate it, the car works as conceived. They’re sort of bland appliances and do not appeal to me personally. But, there is abso,utely nothing questionable or unreliable about their drivetrain. They’re the gold standard of hybrid gas/electric passenger cars.
I don’t have a dog in this fight. You know, sometimes science and fate work out to the very simple proposition that the first discovery, the easiest discovery and application (an use) may actually be the best.
In the perspective of things, I think petroleum based resources are here for their use. I also think that this “green cred” idea you mention can be borne, not of higher efficiency - better use - better application, but of pure politics and plain power-grabbing and ultimate control.
Mother nature has a way of backfiring on proponents like this. In some cases, batteries, despite all the graft greed and kickbacks, just can take the ultimate use comparison in actual application. They burn up - their charging stations in the ‘green homes’ burn up.
Likewise for the plastics reduction nuts. Plastic grocery bags - oooga boooga - are a big fricking no-no! Yet, now we see indications where all the good little “green-cred” wannabe ‘consumer ecologists’ don’t wash their cloth reusable grocery bags and disease and illness follows.
I’m out of all this. I’ll stick with gas as long as it’s available and you won’t see a hybrid, nor a charging station in my garage. Let the “green creds” have them. Our fire department first responders need the work it seems.
The Prius is doing fine. From what I can tell, it is able to win over customers, while still playing by the rules (i.e., no Obama money). I agree with you - it’s night and day compared to the electric and mostly electric cars.