if that is your stance you should be glad to see something which conserves resources like this
moondog Send a noteboard - 10/03/2010 02:05:36 AM
Although I find this work laudable, it still does not solve the issue at hand: fossil fuels. I love hybrids for their gas mileage, but I love them more for the attempts at new technology that is diverging from fossil fuel use. We need something sustainable that isn't going to fuck with the environment to the superfluous level that petroleum, natural gas, and coal is doing now.
and if you drive your hybrid faster than its predetermined max speed for its electric engine, you're spending almost as much fossil fuel to keep it running as your non-hybrid counterparts when the gas engine kicks in and takes over. ok, fine, you get better *average* mpg than your non-hybrids, but even the estimates of mpg on hybrids has been overestimated in many cases, and the actual mpg -- while still good overall -- is not as good as it was sold to be. i get 40mpg highway in my non-hybrid corolla, a hybrid camry gets 45mpg. this new technology so far claims to get 70+mpg, so tell me how much better hybrid is again? since it's not practical to drive under the max speed for the electric only engine, it's not enough of a breakthrough for me to welcome it as a great alternative. an alternative, yes, but nothing *that* special.
You like this technology? They came out with a compressed air car in India a couple of years ago, that could travel across the country on one tank of gas, but America refused to import the technology because of the "safety issues" with the cars construction; in other words, the gas companies were not happy, nor will they ever be so, if there is some technology that will make their monopoly obsolete. The answer for me, a simple lay person, is simple for the gas companies: simply develop the fucking technology yourself, instead of buying out patents and burying them in the darkest, deepest hole you can find.
actually, the air car was invented in france about 7 years ago now and it is something i would definitely prefer to see. the two biggest problems (as i see them) with the compressed air car are: (1) they are mostly for daily traffic and commuting, because (2) if you ever run out of air and you can't get to an electrical outlet or pump station, you are pushing your zero emission car until you can. this makes things difficult if you ever need to drive outside the city metro area. but if the only driving you do is inside city limits and you never need to go more than 100 or so miles in one direction, then they are a much much better alternative than fossil fuels.
of course, as i understand it, there is a version of the compressed air car which also has a gas powered engine for just such occasions as running out of air, but again, we're back to square one with fossil fuel consumption. also realize that until we get that fuel that transcends our dependence on fossil fuel, it's much better to conserve what we have than to wait for the next big thing to come along. and from an economic standpoint, if you only have to spend a few hundred dollars to get 70-100mpg on your current car instead of $15-30,000 on a new or used hybrid, i know which one i would prefer to pick.
"The RIAA has shown a certain disregard for the creative people of the industry in their eagerness to protect the revenues of the record companies." -- Frank Zappa
"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
i always had a suspicion that hybrid cars were just a gimmick
- 09/03/2010 05:02:05 PM
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Re: i always had a suspicion that hybrid cars were just a gimmick
- 09/03/2010 09:00:25 PM
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if that is your stance you should be glad to see something which conserves resources like this
- 10/03/2010 02:05:36 AM
162 Views