on the Hybrid Soapbox ...again

There are as many gas guzzler haters out there as hybrid ones.

Could it be that some other low quality hybrids give all hybrids a bad name in general?

You guys are aware of this, right? http://hybridbuzz.blogspot.com/

 

Yeah, the way the article was written as well as its formatting seem really unprofessional; seems like they either have a grudge of some kind or just like to "stir the pot." Could you find anything describing the purpose of this poorly-assembled site? I couldn't. I also didn't see any real contact information for the organization, other than some generic contact form you could fill out. So, in the interest of fairness and accountability...

Fun Fact: The website domain, thetruthaboutcars.com, is registered to:

Robert Farago
Crichton House
Village Road
Dorney, BERKS SL4 6QH
GB
+4401628603006
[email protected]


As a journalist with a professional degree, I am saddened that such people who call themselves "freelance journalists" would create and publish something so irresponsibly. I can understand a few technical errors simply because the hybrid vehicle is admittedly a technical topic, but the numerous false and misleading statements in this article, as well as in other articles on the website, borders on gross negligence. Shame on them for either not doing their homework or misrepresenting the truth.

It just goes to prove that you can find anything on the Internet...

 

What torques me is that if you check out his bona fides, he claims to publish within the U.S. Syndicated news system including the S.F. Chronicle, The Robb Report and more. So somebody considers him an authority!?!?! What a hack!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"51348)</div>

Oh sure, give Bob 878 words and limit us to EXACTLY 800 words in which to correct his blatherings.

If it helps with attaining EXACTLY 800 words, I suggest the reply start out with
"BOB, YOU IGNORANT SLUT!"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco\";p=\"51350)</div>

Then maybe he should review the Chevy Silverado Hybrid. He can dump all over it with the same (factual for the truck) comments John listed above.

 

OK then, here is my first draft. Others will improve it, please. Me, I have plenty doubts that it will matter, but we are here assembled to keep the pot boiling, right? My starter responses are in (( ))

The Truth About Hybrids

By Bob Elton

Hybrids like the new Ford Escape are making quite a splash, both in the sales charts and the media. But do they really deserve all the love and attention? The Toyota Prius, Honda Accord hybrid and Ford Escape hybrid are a major hit.

((Honda Insights and Civics have also sold well...expand on this?))

The buff books rave about them, the Greens bless them and retail customers can’t get enough (literally). While the mileage, environmental and PC advantages of vehicles powered by a gas - electric powerplant seems obvious, how much of this hybrid mania is hype?

((Hybrids are popular because the gasoline and electric systems work in concert to allow a smaller, different (Atkinson cycle) gasoline engine to get the job done. This is what allows the use of a smaller, thus fuel-efficient engine, and results in emission reductions as well))

Buyers pay a large premium for a hybrid Escape or a Prius, presuming that the increased fuel mileage makes them a better environmental citizen. While there’s no question that the Toyota, Honda and Ford hybrids are more fuel efficient than their conventionally powered equivalents, the difference is nowhere near as great as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) numbers suggest.

((EPA numbers indicate improved fuel economy (CO2 emissions) as well as reducing air pollution. The price differential may be $2000-$5000. Anyone care to nail that down?))

The Prius' Synergy Drive looks clean and tidy now, but those big old batteries will eventually pose an environmental risk Because of the low speeds involved, the city portion of the EPA’s test is accomplished in battery-only mode. As the gasoline engine is off-line for a significant part of the test, the eventual mileage figure is grossly inflated. The test fails to consider the fuel needed to recharge the batteries later on.
What’s more, all energy-draining, electrically-powered accessories (including AC) are switched off during both the urban and highway tests. These variables contribute to the huge discrepancy between the EPA’s official numbers and hybrid owners’ real world experience.

((Insert here the most extensive real world hybrid mpg data, perhaps from greenhybrid))

Few people realize that a hybrid’s power train adds roughly 10% to the weight of a car. Even fewer realize that manufacturers try to offset the weight penalty-- and add to the hybrid’s headline-grabbing mileage figures-- by the extensive use of non-hybrid gas-saving technology. Engine shut-off at idle, electric power steering, harder and reduced rolling
resistance tires (at the expense of comfort and traction),

((Do we have any response to this? That several other means have been used to improve the the entire system, would not seem to cast any bad light on the function of hybrids.It would seem (?) to have been optimized as a system. I'd like to know whether a PSD or THS-II is actually heavier than the (absent) automatic transmission. My 2001 Prius has 41/39 psi in the tires and I can make no complaints about comfort nor traction.))

reduced option content, reduced engine performance, and, in the case of the Ford, a continuously variable transmission (CVT) all help raise the cars’ overall efficiency.

((Reduced options really seems like grasping at straws! I mean, some of us want moonroofs, but what else? No doubt Toyota could offer electric seats, etc., but then again there is the retail price holding us all back))

The hybrid powertrain adds roughly 10% to the car's weight.

((Can anyone compare weight of PSD or THS-II, MG1/MG2, and 50 kg battery to an automatic transmission?))

Of course, if gas mileage is the ultimate goal, all of these strategies could be applied to a "standard" car.

((All except the "torque complimentarity" of a properly-sized Atkinson engine coupled to electric motors, bufferred by 50 kg of NiMH batteries.))

A non-hybrid model with the equivalent modifications would significantly narrow the mileage gap with its hybrid sibling. In fact, in normal use, the margin between truly comparable hybrid and non-hybrid cars could be less than 10%-- hardly enough to justify the extra purchase price.

((IMHO, it is not possible to create a non-hybrid with "equivalent modifications", beccause the most substantial mods are Atkinson cycle, torque complimentarity, and PSD/THS-II))

And, lest we forget, the hybrid’s gas-saving advantage is not without its
own particular environmental costs.

Gas - electric hybrid engines use several large batteries.

((Just the one, methinks))

Creating these power cells requires a couple of hundred pounds of heavy metals

((I believe that the Prius' NIMH battery contains about 10 kg of nickel - can anyone improve that estimate?))

-- not to mention the copper used in the large electric drive motors and the heavy wires they require. Mining and smelting lead, copper and other heavy metals is an energy intensive process that generates both air pollution and deforestation.

((Copper may be an issue - can anyone help? Lead in the PbA is 1/2 that in conventional vehicles, as a smaller 12 volt battery is used. Nickel will represent less than 1% of of the total annual mining recovery, even when half of new vehicle production is hybrids. Most of Earth's nickel production goes into stainless steel. I miss the point here, and suspect that there isn't one))

Disposing of the batteries when they outlive their usefulness also raises environmental challenges.

((I presume that such "challenges" have been met at least in part by Toyota's "unused" battery recycling plant in Japan. Don't we also know that Toyota offers a $200 "bounty" for HV batteries?))

A seldom discussed alternative to hybrid-powered vehicles: walking

((This indeed is an alternative for _all_ vehicle use over short distances, and I agree that it is seldom discussed. I know at least one hybrid driver who walks or bikes the short trips, that being me. Simply misdirection - walking is not an alternative to hybrid vehicle use, rather to vehicle use in general))

And then there are the safety problems related to the gas - electric hybrid engine’s high voltages and amperages. While Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) regulate a passenger vehicle’s basic crash protection, there are no federally mandated procedures remain for the protection of rescue workers at the site of an accident involving a
hybrid-powered vehicle.

((A perfect opportunity to remind everyone that Toyota has gone to lengths to provide technical info to emergency responders, that no one has been injured by hybrid electrons (confirmation??), and that an earlier spate of "scare articles" on this were not retracted in the public eye))

Service technicians and do-it-yourself owners also lack the guidelines, education and training necessary to safely repair hybrid engines.

((Lacking technical manuals, tools and training, the same might be said of whatever Mr. Elton drives nowadays. Sorry, I'm not impressed))

So, if the hybrid’s mileage advantage is minimal, and the technology has its own set of negative environmental side effects, why is hybrid technology so popular, both in the marketplace and in the glossy pages of the car mags?

((My response would be that fuel efficiency and emissions improvements are _not_ minimal, rather, they are 2x and 10x, and that negative environmental side effects have not been clearly demonstrated))

The 1923 Stanley Steamer. Will hybrids also become a historical oddity?
Americans are fond of turning to simple silver bullets to solve complicated problems. The hybrid solution seems ideal. Want to be environmentally responsible? Buy a hybrid. A hybrid car offers instant gratification, PC-style. It relieves consumers of both guilt and personal responsibility for the broader impact of their daily energy consumption habits. Heaven forbid that a hybrid owner should switch off their central air, or buy less
disposable products, or use their car less, to help protect the environment.

((That hybrid drivers fail to do these other good things has not been demonstrated))

Hybrid technology embodies America’s "solution of the day" syndrome. A quarter of a century ago, the diesel-powered car was going to free us from dependence on imported oil. A while later, the turbocharger was set to improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and liberate us from foreign oil addiction. About a decade ago, the California Air Resources Board thought that battery-powered electric cars were the answer, cleaning the air as they saved the world’s petrochemical resources.

The problem with the "solution of the day" is that few of these "easy" solutions actually work. Automotive history is littered with failed miracles, from the kerosene-driven Stanley Steamer to the rotary-powered Skycar. Time has proven that the only innovations that persevere in the marketplace are the ones that deliver real benefits. No amount of hype can obscure, for long, the lack of results. When boosters call hybrid technology an "interim" solution to our energy needs, they’re more right than they even know.

((No doubt there have been other previous failed miracles. What those have to do with hybrid vehicles remains unclear to me))

 

Check out their "review" of the Prius under reviews-Toyota_ Prius. Look beyond the first two paragraphs. You will find several errors and harsh, unmerited criticism. Eg: Insert thr key in the slot, press a button and WAIT for the electronics( the wait is only 1 or 2 seconds but they make it sound like a lot), "press a botton to release the electric parking brake"( I am yet to find this brake or button), then release the normal parking brake(!!), mo=ve a fat stubby joystick.... "too bad there is no way to turn the damn screen off"( ofcourse there is). " the visibility up front is terrible"(??) etc etc.