Prius Envy

news segment on Aug 15, 2006 about negative attitude towards hybrid cars and HOV lanes.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• news
• segment
• about
• hybrid
• car
• and
• HOV
• lanes
• Prius
• Envy

[neoartifact]

Cars that can reclaim kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy are a huge step forward in efficient car technology. It's a lesson or insight into energy conservation in transport. It's stupid people that blow technology like this out of proportion and start labeling it for political motives. Throughout time, most great innovations were scoffed and laughed at. Eventually you will see full-electric car races that will blow F1 away.

[cplai]

I think the reclaimed energy is just a drop in the bucket, especially when you have to factor in conversion losses. In my opinion, the fuel enconmy of the Prius comes from its ability to shut down the engine whenever possible. Hence, highway MPG is not as great as city driving.

[neoartifact]

Well if you can shut down the engine at times when the car isn't moving, that's a great step forward. Actually, about 15 years ago I saw a program on tv where a Mercedes Benz could shut down it's engine whilst standing still, could inch forward slowly in a traffic jam without turning over the engine and then could restart when the foot was planted. It was like a hybrid but didn't have much of a battery or electric motor.

[cplai]

I am curious how the car inches forward without power. I read an article that Nissan is developing a new engine that can restart without cranking the electric starter. It uses one cylinder to kick start. The design objective is to allow the engine to start and stop at will. I wonder if it has emission problem because initial burn during the engine restart is the dirtiest. The Prius solved the problem by electrically spinning up the cylinder to operating RPM before fuel injection.

[VertigoGTI]

I'm not sure how the cars creep forward, but my guess would be that the starter is causing it to move, similar to how a few motorcycles use the starter to engage a 'reverse' gear.

[cplai]

Motorcycles are light, the starter motor can assist the biker to do reverse slowly. However, for a small size car, the power required would be much higher. I read that the GM hybrid pickup truck has to use a big starter motor running at 48VDC to fake a hybrid system. They could only improve the mpg by less than 10% because the starter motor cannot do much.

[rompeligas2234]

I love my little ugly prius and I don't care what people say. They are just hating cause I can drive on the carpool lane and they can't hahahahahahahah!!!

[BBBLACKDOG]

Did you know that the full Enviroment cost of a prius over its lifetime is greater than a Land Rover Discovery !

The Enviroment Cost of the Magnesuim in the Battery's alone would be more than The total cost of a Fiat 500

[tadaa11]

" the free market would eat them up "

Your right, they sold 100,000 last year in the US alone.

[kstompaint]

Actually, the antarctic ice caps are reported to be at record highs. I'm sure you're not an accomplished scientist who has traveled to the ends of the earth, even if you play one on the internet.

Even assuming your "facts" are correct, there is still no arguement for my money to be forcibly taken to subsidize your purchase, regardless what it is.