I DL’ed the “Smug Alert” episode of South Park a few days ago off iTunes Music Store, and it got me thinking…
it seems the current marketing spin on hybrids is the “it’s good for the Earth” treehugger hippie crap (to paraphrase Cartman…)
imagine how much better they’d sell if they were marketed in a “Screw You, OPEC!” vein, don’t focus on the planet-freindly hippie crap, focus on the fact that driving a hybrid means you’ll spend less on gas, and therefore, support the oil infrastructure less, extending a metaphoric middle finger towards the oil companies and OPEC
now, if we could just get fuel-cell technology or biodiesel/hybrid technology on the market, that’d give the oil companies/OPEC an even bigger middle finger salute…
It might work but you need to recruit existing owners to always fly a small American flag on their cars to start the thinking. You also need an ad campaign showing camo painted hybrid cars crushing terrorists with a model wearing an American flag bikini at the wheel.
Heh. I used this argument on a dyed-in-the-wool republican (“damn the owls and beat the hippies”) and turned him into an environmentalist in about 15 minutes. All I had to point out was our dependence on foreign oil and our ability to produce ~ 40% of what we need. Once I could get him to see what would happen to the economies of the OPEC nations as soon as we don’t need to buy oil from them, you could see his eyes light up.
Of course, he still doesn’t really give a damn about enviro issues, but I think he views alternative fuel in a different light.
My understanding is that people don’t seem to need any incentive to buy hybrid cars. There’s usually a waiting list to buy them, and people pay more for them than for the equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle, to the point that they will probably not recover the additional costs through reduced gasoline purchases.
I think it is a great idea. People like me, {Green Republican} will be buying hybrids no matter what. But the FU Opec angle might get Joe 6-pack to buy.
Dewey Finn: the Auto Makers can step up production, which will start lowering the cost a little. My understanding is they want to keep demand slightly higher than production at this point. Kind of like when they reintroduced the VW Bug in the US and the Miata.
What I find really exciting about hybrid vehicles is the idea of plug-in hybrids. A group in Palo Alto called the California Cars Initiative has modified a stock Toyota Prius to add additional batteries to increase the electric-only range (up to ten miles at up to 34MPH) and a plug-in option so the batteries can be recharged at night. Those of us with shorter commutes could run on electricity only most of the time, and need to refill the gas tank only rarely. But the gasoline engine is still there, if you need a longer range or higher speeds.
Hm? Oh. The drivetrain, transmission, motors in the wheels, regenerative braking, all the non-motor, non-battery technology in hybrids that differs from traditional automobiles, can be adapted to other forms of engines. In an ideal world, we’d have a cold-fusion motor pushing us all around… but the drivetrain currently being tested by hybrids would be how it would get rubber on the road. Hydrogen, pure electric, whatever, however it is done, it will be making use of that technology.
Hybrids are only good as long as the gasoline supply lasts. They’re kind of a half-and-half solution. Better than what exists, but not a perfect replacement.
All Electrics require some huge advances in Battery Technology. Hydrogen has a production and infrastructure problem. Cold Fusion {Mr. Fusion} is regrettably a pipe dream. Plug-in Full Hybrids that run of 85% Ethanol are a legitimate technology that could be taking over the fleet by 2025. This child of the ICE engine might be with us for a long time to come.
Am I missing something here? I just heard about the Accord Hybrid, and checked out Car and Driver’s review here: http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=8779 --if I’m reading that correctly, the hybrid gets ~5 mpg better mileage? Pardon the yawn, but isn’t that a big fat so-the-hell what?
Somehow I imagined hybrids were supposed to get 67 mpg or something ridiculous like that. I could save more gas by trading my Accord for a standard Civic.
The review indicates that the hybrid Accord gets better performance than the V6 Accord, and better mileage than the four-cylinder version. So it’s the best of both worlds; performance and fuel economy. Honda seems to have made a choice to go for performance instead of really high gas mileage.
Yeah, you don’t get astounding increases in gas mileage on a V6 hybrid, but you do lower emissions.
And some portion of the hybrid-buying demographic is doing it because it’s the cool early adapter thing to do, but they don’t neccessarily want to give up power.
IRC: also lower Emissions.
There is a small Honda that gets very high mileage. 2006 Honda Insight Compact Coupe gets 57/56mpg.
The Prius gets 60/51 and has the lowest Emissions of any standard car on the road. A Good Quick link to most Hybrids available in the US.
I hope someone comes out with a Station Wagon package in 2-3 years.
I think it’s wise to concentrate on performance first. Creating a car that sacrifices performance for mileage won’t be popular. People will only think about the poor performance. Whereas with the current hybrids, people won’t perceive a drawback and will still feel like they’re being environmentally sensitive with the (slightly) improved mileage.
The gas mileage of the Prius is… well, let’s just say that it benefits greatly from the EPA test. The test is flawed. Observed mileage can be lower.
That said, yes, hybrids are going to be with us for a while, because currently, it is the best of all worlds.
I’m really dubious about Ethanol for various reasons. It exists, it’s just not as efficient as gas and more expensive to produce. But, you know, it works.
That said, I know all my ‘alternatives’ were generally not ready for prime time. Or, of course, nonexistant, in re cold fusion. The point was that the difference between the gas car and the hybrid car, as far as the non-engine parts go, are the same in a hybrid, or any other alternate power car. So we’re getting some valuable work in for the next generation of motor vehicle, as well. Hybrids are not simply and not only a goal in and of themselves.