On 11/1/06 12:22 PM, trailerman_66 wrote:

> you know I dont know if hybrid cars are such a great idea:

> 1- the gas
> mileage is attainable with a simple single source gasoline car, ie Geo
> Metro, Chevy Sprint, I had one that got 60 MPG,

Add the Honda VX to your list. But, those cars are not as clean with regards
to smog-forming emissions -- at best, they might have been LEV, but were
probably not even that clean. Most hybrids are at least ULEV, and many are
SULEV and/or AT/PZEV. Good fuel economy is just one part of the puzzle to a
cleaner, greener earth.

> 2- you have two
> propulsion systems to maintain,

Or not. If you look at the hybrids, there is one transmission, one source
turning the wheels. You do not have to "maintain" the hybrid battery -- it's
completely sealed and maintenance free.

> 3 the batteries dont last forever, 8
> year max. they start to loose capacity upon installation, with varying
> charge cycles, the life can be shortened considerably,

Or not. There's no such thing as an "8-year max" on the hybrid batteries.
That's just a rumor. That's the minimum warranty, but as with any car, the
warranty is not the maximum lifespan. Look at the typical car's 3/36
warranty -- saying that a hybrid battery has an 8-year lifespan is like
saying your Geo Metro had a 3-year lifespan, because that's when the
warranty expires.

Some hybrids carry a 10-year/150,000 mile warranty on the hybrid system.
There's no way they'd do that if the battery was going to die at the 8-year
point.

You can rest assured that "varying charge cycles" do not shorten hybrid car
battery life "considerably". The computers in these cars jealously guard the
state of charge, never allowing you to too deeply drain them, nor overcharge
them. The available state of charge is a carefully controlled "window" or
percentage, of the battery's total state of charge. When your gauge shows
"full", the overall battery is not at 100%. When your gauge shows "empty",
the overall battery is not more than 60-70% discharged. The computers keep
the battery healthy -- these batteries are not like your laptop or iPod
battery, which the user CAN abuse, they are protected!

> 3- high inital
> cost of vehicle

"High" is relative. A hybrid Civic is not substantially more expensive than
a Civic EX when you factor in all the luxury items and upgrades that are
standard in the hybrid. Likewise, a car in the Prius' category costs what a
Prius costs when it is similarly appointed. If you doubt me, look at
Consumer Reports, who corrected themselves to point out that the gas savings
on a Prius or a Civic Hybrid would pay for any "premium" you felt you were
paying for the car -- over the life of the car, you end up saving money.

> 4- then you have disposal of the batteries to deal
> with, which are an enviromental hazzard,

Or not. You do not have to deal with the disposal of the batteries. Hybrid
car manufacturers have recycling programs in place for when these batteries
do finally need replaced. The batteries are no more an environmental hazard
than are the 12v batteries, motor oil, tires, or other "disposable" aspects
of a non-hybrid car.

> 5- then if you go to a
> recharagble car 100MPG you use electricity to charge the batteries,
> which in most cases is produced with fossil fuel or nucular energy,

Energy studies have shown that overall, electricity production is cleaner
than energy produced by an internal combustion engine. While that varies
from place to place -- the coal-fired electrical plant in my town is quite
dirty, for example, while another town's hydroelectric plant is quite clean
-- the fact remains that no hybrids are gridable at this point in time, and
this point is not relevant to currently available hybrid cars.

> the key is green technoligy, conservation, and more fuel efficient cars
> and change they way we use cars.

Amen. And if those fuel efficient cars are also clean with regards to
smog-forming emissions, like hybrids are, it's even better.