Isn't that supposed to be instead A-PEZ, like the candy dispenser? I'm sure its about as good as one.:P

"Uhh, sorry, but I drove one of these things from my house to London, about 70 miles, and I averaged 45 mpg. A normal DIESEL will do better than that. A LOT better! .... I did the same route in a VW Lupo diesel and that did SEVENTY-FIVE miles per gallon."

Well said, Jeremy...well said.
And a top speed of 99 mph? Even the TDI has gone faster than that, and it's no rocketship by any means.

First of all, HenryD., thorsen, and others, I'm not trying to make this a hybrid bashing party. I respect them, I just... wouldn't own one for myself :D

An interesting description on that youtube thing... "And here's why. That is a normal 1.5 litre petrol engine which is sometimes used to drive the car, but sometimes it's used to charge the batteries which power... the electric motor"

Yes, I know this effect is minimal. But... just look at the design.

Whenever energy is transferred, efficiency is lost as some of it is lost to heat. So... instead of energy being produced by the gasoline, going directly to power the car, with a first stage loss to engine heat... it's going to the batteries. The electric motor then loses MORE efficiency when IT warms up as it works.

I know that it's such a small effect that it's not noticeable. But still... technically, using the electric engine by means of the gasoline engine means that one gallon of gasoline, used to move the car by itself, gives more efficiency per gallon than that same gallon, used to charge the battery, which is THEN used to move the car.

That's not how these hybrids work. The battery is charged mostly when decelerating, i.e. using the car's kinetic energy which would otherwise be lost. A hybrid is actually more efficient than a gasoline engine by itself. There's no need to bash these cars. Grow up people. It's just another way to save fuel (though not money). Not every hybrid owner is an ultra-left wing hippie.

The savings on one end, will catch up to them on the other end. they`ll have to pay the piper eventuelly;).

the thing that I get PO`ED about, is, we have these Diamond lanes, or also called HOV lanes in CA. you have to have two people in the car to use these lanes during commute time. well these hibrid`s can use these lanes with only one person in the vehicle. Just try that in a Mercedes. big fine $$$.

Charlie

:DPoint taken. However... if I wanted to REALLY get into a pointless argument just for the fun of it... I might try to say "yes, but would the car's kinetic energy last longer if part of it weren't being used to turn whatever kind of generator produces the current to charge those batteries" - it's like the wheel of an exercise bicycle. Tighten the belts or clamps or whatever, giving it another job to do with its kinetic energy, more to turn against... and it slows down faster :D but I see your point and I'm not going there.

Can I bash them for feeling plastic-y if I bash non-hybrid new cars including Mercedes econo-models for the same thing?

There's nothing wrong with objective bashing. It's just some people seem to bash stuff just for the sake of bashing. I used to own a Civic Hybrid and the dash was very rattly. So I would agree that the interior is pretty cheap. But my VW TDI may be even worse when it comes to interior rattles. Fortunately, I've been able to fix most of them by stuffing the offending parts with electrical tape or strips of pool noodle.

Regarding the kinetic energy, the system is fairly intelligent. The charging of the battery is proportional to the brake input. The more the driver presses the brake pedal, the harder the battery is charged, thus helping to slow the car down, saving the brake pads and capturing energy that will be used again to accelerate the vehicle.