Posted on 02/13/2006 10:36:24 AM PST by voletti
With more of the gas-electric cars on the road, it's time to dispel some of the misinformation surrounding these alternative vehicles
Five years ago hybrid cars were an unknown commodity. Today vehicles powered by a combination of gasoline and electricity are all the rage. Like any new technology, until you get your hands on it -- in this case, on the steering wheel -- it's hard to get your mind around it.
If you are having a tough time separating hybrid truth from reality, you're not alone. The warp-speed adoption of hybrids into popular culture -- and into hundreds of thousands of American driveways -- has produced more than a little confusion and misinformation. Most industry analysts predict the continued growth of gas-electric vehicles, with estimates ranging from 600,000 to 1,000,000 hybrid sales in the U.S. by 2010, so this is a good time to debunk the 10 most prevalent myths about hybrid cars.
1. You need to plug in a hybrid car. As soon as the word "electricity" is spoken, you think of plugs, cords, and wall sockets. But today's hybrid cars don't need to be plugged in. Auto engineers have developed an ingenious system known as regenerative braking. (Actually, they borrowed the concept from locomotive technology.) Energy usually lost when a vehicle is slowing down or stopping is reclaimed and routed to the hybrid's rechargeable batteries. The process is automatic, so no special requirements are placed on the driver.
Car companies explain that drivers don't have to plug in their vehicles, but a growing number of them wish they had a plug-in hybrid. The ability to connect a hybrid into the electric grid overnight to charge a larger set of batteries means that most of your city driving could be done without burning a single drop of gasoline.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Any product that has acquired 10 myths must have serious issues, no matter if they are real myths or not.
Should have been 11 myths. They left out the myth that Hybrids' actually get 50-60 miles per gallon as it says on the sticker.
That plug-in thing kind of aggravates me. If you could just get to work and home on a battery charge, why bother with gas?
This was very interesting--thanks for providing it. I plan to replace my current car in about five years, and will be willing to consider a hybrid. Performance, reliability, and cost are the important factors to me, though I'd also love it if we could tell the world "No thanks, we don't need your oil any more." I realize we're nowhere near that point now.
All new technologies take time to mature.
At one time "Get a horse!" was a serious comment.
Hybrids are so passe. I heard on the Phil Hendry show about the latest technology: wind-powered cars.
And if your commute back and forth to work is downhill in both directions you won't use ANY gas at all !!!!
You mean the myths are "fake but accurate", huh?
That would probably work well for Hendry.
Save the Whales!
When hot young women start driving these, maybe I'll care.
I think all you guys should go out and immediately buy a Prius.
(I need the gas for my Mustang)
No I won't--I'm not buying one unless I'm sure it's a good deal financially! (I do appreciate the warning, though.) I just said I'd consider it. I consider a lot of things, like eating Brussels sprouts, that I end up deciding aren't worth doing.
I don't know how true this is, but I heard that it can cost upward of $4500.00 to have a battery pack replaced in the hybrids. Is this correct?
Don't forget the "tax benefit for the rich"- the USG subsidizes up to $3000 of your new hybrid purchase, as well as providing tax incentives for the manufacturers.
Other than that, hybrids seem to be OK. A hybrid pickup with the power and load capacity of mine would be great if it used less gas and cost $20,000.
so what, we have plenty of coal and can produce electricity from that, and perhaps get a few more nuclear plants built. the idea is to use less gasoline, period, and therefore import less oil.
With the publication of this article it looks as if there are twenty myths now.
Wasn't there an early American who harnessed the wind to power his wagon across the Great Planes? I think his name was "Windwagon Smith".
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