Re: Article: Plug-in hybrid

Milleron wrote: 
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 13:49:14 -0700, jim beam <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

In article <arSdnQpa4vvHH2LfRVn-og@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
jim beam <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



Is this like buying a book-sized battery pack to stick to the back of your iPod so that you can go longer between charges?


yes. and claiming higher mpg when in fact all you're doing is substituting motive energy from gas to motive energy from the electric utility company. once you're outside the range of the extra battery pack, mpg goes back to where it was before, or worse due to additional charging losses. 


And additional weight with less carrying capacity.

That was really my point--what are you achieving except to move your transportation costs from one energy bill to another?


you got it! 


Did you guys read the whole article?  I'm not vouching for the
accuracy of the article, but they're claiming that the greenhouse
gases and pollutants produced during the generation of the electricity
used are much less than those produced by burning the oil necessary to
propel the auto the same distance.  I, myself, don't even own a
hybrid, but I'd be reluctant to insult the intelligence of those
proposing this innovation by insinuating that they forgot that the
electricity was produced by burning fossil fuel.  Calculating the
break-even point of this proposition is going to be a little more
complicated than that.
Ron

did you read this tread? the claim that simply adding batteries creates higher mpg is utterly bogus. that's why i say, and repeat for your benefit, that if the author wants to claim high mpg, he should go the whole way and drive a fully electric vehicle.

you're right that generation of electricity at the average power plant is both cheaper & more efficient than within a car engine, but otoh, the majority of grid power is generated by burning coal which is mostly carbon. as least gasoline is a hydrocarbon, so proportionally, less of the output is co2. and burning gasoline does not emit the gross tonnage of mercury, cadmium, etc. of coal burning power stations.

.

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