Hybrids

I saw an entry by Orin Kerr at The Volokh Conspiracy about Hybrid cars and how they are not all they are claimed to be. Kerr said he did not know about Bob Elton, the author, or the website, but that it could be plausible. It could be but I do disagree.

In December 2003, I put an order in for my Toyota Prius and took delivery of it in late June 2004. Having driven it for almost 5 months now, I would like to make some comments about my car and some of the comments made against hybrids.

1. The gas mileage people actually get isn't as good as the EPA mileage.
My answer, no kidding. I have read about ANY car where the general public get the same mileage as the EPA. That means all the SUV's that have an EPA of 18 or 20 MPG are really getting something like 10 to 15 MPG.

So what type of mileage can a hybrid get? Well it depends on the driver. Another Prius owner I know has a (self admitted) heavy foot and only gets 28 - 30 MPG in the city. Think about that for a moment. By driving hard, quick acceleration, hard stops etc. he is able to get better mileage then many cars EPA mileage.

For me, I have a lighter foot and so I normally get 48 to 50 MPG in city driving. This latest tank of gas isn't doing as well and I'm only averaging 46 MPG, time to check tires or something. No, I'm not getting the EPA city driving of 60 MPG but I am definitely not complaining about the mileage I'm getting.

Oh yeah, for the record, I use my AC, radio, navigation system which increases my energy usage. If I didn't use them, my mileage would most likely increase.

2. Hybrid gasoline engines don't have any power or pickup.
Well, compared to a sports car that is true. Compared to our other car, a 98 Toyota Corolla or our previous car a 94 Nissan Altima, the Hybrid has plenty of acceleration and power.

No hybrid will win off the line or in the quarter mile stretch. If its horse power you want, buy a corvette or 300Z or something like that.

I've taken the car on some longer road trips and it can keep up with the traffic on the interstate without trouble, and actually has more power climbing some of the passes that one must go through to get out of the Southern California area.

So from my personal experience, the Prius has as much power with its gasoline engine as most other 4 cylinder engine cars.

3. If one would drive without the AC or better yet walk, one wouldn't need to buy a Hybrid to help the environment.

Well, since I live to far to walk to work that isn't an option. As for turning off the AC, well in city driving that doesn't help much. Before we got the Prius, I was driving the 98 Corolla to work. In the city, I was getting 23 to 25 MPG, no air conditioning and trying to get the best mileage I could. I'm now getting twice the mileage by driving the Prius. My wife is now driving the Corolla and has to drive the freeways to get to her work. The Corolla gets 36 MPG on the highway, much better then the 28 the Altima was getting when we got rid of it.

So by getting a Prius, I've doubled my MPG, or to look at it another way, I've cut my gasoline consumption in half. My wife has cut her gasoline consumption by 22%. Those type of savings don't come from turning off the air conditioning.

As to the disposals of the batteries, they will have to be recycled and not put into the landfill when they need to be replaced. But since these are not lead acid but rather Nickel-Metal Hydride they are not as dangerous and easier to recycle.

So while Hybrids are not the perfect vehicle, they will not by themselves end the US dependence on oil imports and they will not end air pollution, they are a step in the right direction.

As gasoline prices stay over $2.00 a gallon, more and more people will be interested in hybrids. As more and more people become interested and want to purchase them, manufactures will increase production to eliminate the waiting time and it will reduce the premium that dealers are currently able to charge for the cars.

The reason I ordered one a year ago is the same reason I still like the car today. The technology is neat, the car is a lot of fun to drive and I don't have to visit the pump as often as before. I purchased it because of the technology, everything else is just a bonus as far as I'm concerned.