In today's ever-evolving and largely sheep-like, ultra-pc-concerned world, Governments, the auto industry and people are racing to find the 'quick-fix' for the 'Green Movement'. Everyone is trying to appear as if they are doing their part for the environment. It's taken decades to affect the climate and it'll probably take over a century to undo.
But in the here-and-now, companies are trying to make the consumer believe that they're doing something good for the future. Don't be fooled into thinking that the environment is their first concern, it isn't! Profits are. But so long as they can create a convincing illusion of trying to reduce the ill-effects of their products' damages upon the environment and consumers remain nothing more than sheep with wallets, they'll continue forging ahead with the lie.
Enter stage-left, the Hybrid vehicle. In principle, it's a fantastic idea. In execution however, it is a quick-fix that is nothing more than an automotive illusion with no real benefits. When the automotive climate changed (no pun intended), suddenly the car makers found themselves being blamed for the hole in the ozone, global-warming, cat farts and God knows what else. The truth is, cars aren't responsible at all for global warming, nor are they the major factor in greenhouse gases. Silly as it is, it's farm animals that are producing the largest quantities of greenhouse gases. That's right, farms and more specifically, cows. The rain forests are being torn down to make room for cow farms that will eventually sell the animals to McDonald's and other large food chains.
But will Greenpeace tell you that? Nope. That don't sell. How would it appear if when watching the daily news, you hear a report about how cow-farts are the largest factor in greenhouse gas emissions? Would you believe it? Would you be so disgusted to think that cow farts are warming the planet that you'd want to go out and shoot at every cow you see? That idea don't sell. And it's too sickening to be believed. But it's true. But the tree-huggers of the media want you to think that the horrid automobile is the evil source of global warming, (it is NOT the sole source and nor is it the first source of global warming).
But as I said, the 'perception' is that cars are responsible. And it's easy to see why. Look at Los Angeles' air in the morning rush-hour. Look at Mexico City's air during rush hour. You can see smog (IF that is something that truly exists; ever notice how on 'smoggy' days, it's really only very humid?!), it's visible, tangible and easy to associate with cars.
So what's the solution? Well, there is none, not when it comes to cars, not yet anyway. Today's cars are over 700% more fuel-efficient and generate less exhaust gases than those made in the 1970's. Cars have never been 'cleaner' to manufacture and maintain. But public perception is a very strong motivator and so something had to be done. Enter the so-called Hybrid car. Well all know the basics of the hybrid, one gasoline engine mated in some way to an electric motor. In the many variations of Hybrids, the basic concept is the gasoline engine is used for acceleration and long distance travel, the electric being used for putting about in the city, thereby cutting on the exhaust gases produced by the individual car. And the poster-car for the Hybrid generation is the God-ugly Toyota Prius, (pronounced PRY-us, NOT Pree-uss!).
Already in its second-generation, one has to wonder right away: Why did they make it so ugly?? There was no need to make this car look like a tumor! It was ugly in its first generation and now it's uglier in its second-generation! And I wouldn't expect it to look any better for the third generation. But let's move on to why I'm using this automotive gallstone to demonstrate that Hybrids don't work.
So here you have the electric motor that holds its charge in a lithium-ion nickel battery. Mated with a 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine, you would expect this car to be easy on the wallet every week. Well it's not!. Let's back track to before the car is even built. For example, the nickel in the battery is mined in Canada, somewhere in Alberta I would expect. Then it's shipped across Canada (by truck or train I would expect), then loaded onto a cargo ship to shipped all the way to China to be refined, then it is loaded again on a ship to be sent to Japan to be integrated into the battery, which incidentally weighs over 1000 lbs! That's right, well over half the weight of the Prius is the car's electric motor's battery! In fact, it is a fact that building a Prius with all of its components 'harvested' from across the globe, it is more harmful to the environment than the typical construction of any other vehicle.
So, with the typical Toyota four-cylinder aboard and then large-capacity battery along with the electric motor, this car weighs far more than it appears to. It weighs well over a ton-and-a-half, more than a Corolla which is marketed above the Prius. I have seen claims that the electric unit for the Prius weighs in at only 100lbs. I find this incredibly difficult to believe considering all the power it must hold and the duration for which that charge may be needed. But this is only an example of the weak-kneed marketing of this car.
Bear in mind, the laws of physics play on the Prius as much as upon any other vehicle and there is one dynamic figure that will make or break the myth of the Hybrid: Power-to-weight ratio. In simple terms, it's like this: how many pounds of the car's total weight must each cylinder generate energy for in order to move the vehicle forward? So say in a typical car, it's 24lbs per cylinder or horsepower. But in the Prius, that power-to-weight ration is skewed far to the right of logical.
To demonstrate the British car show, Top Gear, created a comparison to show that the Hybrid and specifically the Prius, is not the solution to reduce the effect driving a car has on the environment. They placed a current-generation BMW M3 with a 4-liter V8 against the Prius. On their two-mile test track, they had the Prius do ten laps as fast as it can with the M3 chasing it. No passing, no fooling around, just ten laps around and then run the results. Even though the M3 weighs-in at nearly two tons, it has a larger engine in which that means that per cylinder there is less weight to move as there's more horsepower and more cylinders.
This test demonstrated that common belief that the larger engine is a gas guzzler and the lighter, smaller engine is better. The results are factual: the Prius brought in 17.2 miles per gallon, the M3 19.4. This is proof that it's not WHAT you drive, but HOW you drive. And it's also proof that Hybrids, although a good concept, just don't deliver what they promise. It's not poor design, it's more a lack of time to properly design a truly efficient system. Although Toyota's system is the best on the market today, it does NOT help the environment, it does more damage to it long before the car's even on the road. Today's Hybrids just don't deliver!
The upcoming Chevy Volt holds promise as it uses a design that reverses the engines' roles: the electric is the primary means of propulsion and the combustion engine is the back-up engine for higher speeds or highway. It has yet to be seen if this will be the new direction for Hybrids. Only time will tell.
But as I try to point out on most of my blogs, do the research, form your own opinion, look at yourself and ask are you just another 'sheep' who believes clever marketing?
Remember, the truth and the promise aren't always the same.
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