Why would I want a hybrid car?

[mtgianni]

Since VW killed the diesel market the only way to get range and city economy is the hybrid. My turbo-diesel BMW gets over 45 mpg on the highway, and does better than 30 mpg even with heavy city use. If you do nearly all your driving on a freeway, there are plenty of economical gas cars out there.

Note that I said cars. You can never get true economy from an SUV or a truck. Too much frontal area and an aerodynamically inefficient shape gets you every time. My SUV is the last of the V6 turbo-diesel Mercs, which compensates for these issues to some degree. It gets 23-24 mpg around town and 27 mpg on the highway. My old Xterra broke 21 mpg once with observance of the speed limits and diligent use of the cruise control. Around town it got 17 mpg. My wife's vehicle is the typical modern 2.0 turbo gas AWD SUV, and gets pretty good mileage given the amount of lead in her stilettos. Driven with moderate restraint on the highway it gets close to the magic 30 mpg.

3 of us rented a Nissan Navara 4 cylinder 6 speed diesel for a two week trip around Chile and Argentina. I calculated that my 7 liters per 100 Kilometers was really close to 35 MPG. Not for sale in the US I would have bought one in a heartbeat. Good room and acceleration, comfortable seating for 4 adults and 4WD.
Most of us who have to have heat in a car have many unanswered questions re electric vehicles.

 

[oldbrownhat]

...Most of us who have to have heat in a car have many unanswered questions re electric vehicles.

I certainly prefer a heated interior, rather than just heated seats and steering wheel! But I read that EVs and probably hybrids can heat the cabin, which reduces usable mileage but isn't of much consequence for local/urban driving. (A/C apparently has more drain.)

A biodiesel fueled hybrid would be the ultimate best of all worlds IMO/

Yes, and with a built-in bio-diesel heater (à la Wabasto or Espar) for longer trips. But I doubt we'll ever see one. In the headlong rush to electrify everything, biofuel interest has pretty much been bypassed.

 

[Secundius]

Chilean Diesel Fuel is grade B diesel fuel blended with approximately 2 to 5% ethanol to boost its performance…


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[NFrameFred]

A consideration in winter weather in mountainous terrain . . .

 

[BC38]

...In the headlong rush to electrify everything, biofuel interest has pretty much been bypassed.

Sad but true.

The peak interest in biofuels was around 10-15 years ago. Even though biofuels have many advantages over EV's they aren't being promoted - because they aren't the preferred solution of the current powers-that-be, and their international allies.

So the EVs are being subsidized by our tax dollars, but alternative fuels are not.

The Brazilian model of producing ethanol from waste biomass (in Brazil, alcohol motor fuels are produced from the waste from sugar production) won't even be considered because it doesn't put enough $$ into the pockets of the right politicians and the PACs that support them.

So instead of pursuing biofuels, we are subsidizing ethanol produced from GRAIN (food crops), and mixing it with our gasoline supply. Because that is what the special interest agri-business conglomerates are lobbying (paying) our politicians to support.

At the same time, the current administration is pushing for EV's as the ultimate solution to our transportation, energy, and climate crisis issues. Even though they are ignoring the fact that our existing power grid we can't even come close to charging enough EVs to meet our needs.

Follow the money. Even when we are dealing with an "existential crisis" like the current "climate change emergency".

 

[Muley Gil]

I certainly prefer a heated interior, rather than just heated seats and steering wheel! But I read that EVs and probably hybrids can heat the cabin, which reduces usable mileage but isn't of much consequence for local/urban driving. (A/C apparently has more drain.)


Yes, and with a built-in bio-diesel heater (à la Wabasto or Espar) for longer trips. But I doubt we'll ever see one. In the headlong rush to electrify everything, biofuel interest has pretty much been bypassed.

The heater in my Prius works just fine. Remember, the Prius runs on a gasoline engine at highway speeds. It has a radiator just like any other internal combustion engine. The heater doesn't affect the gas milage at all.

 

[biku324]

Today's grid is better than the 2021 grid and is improving daily. The Feds are spending $65 billion on it by 2032. Texas missed out because they opted out of the grid years ago and is now paying the price.

 

[BC38]

Today's grid is better than the 2021 grid and is improving daily. The Feds are spending $65 billion on it by 2032. Texas missed out because they opted out of the grid years ago and is now paying the price.

LOL, that is WONDERFUL news! Today's "grid" is now "better" (by some undefined metric) than it was just 2 years ago!

Hooray for us!

But the real question is, how does that increase in grid capacity compare to the current increase in demand?

As great as increasing the overall grid capacity sounds, if the increased demand exceeds the increased capacity, it is still a loosing proposition.

How about posting some actual NUMBERS regarding production vs. demand? That would be a far more significant metric than just overall generating capacity.

Generating 10% more electricity sounds great. But if at the same time that you are increasing the supply of electricity by 10%, the usage of electricity is increasing by 15% or 20% (or even more), then there is still a 5%-10% supply vs. demand "gap" between what is being produced and what is needed.

Forgive me for pointing out that the Emperor has no clothes, but that seems to be the issue we are facing right now.

Electrical capacity is increasing at a linear rate, but the demand for electrical energy (especially with the EV mandates) is increasing at an exponential rate.

That simply is NOT sustainable.

 

[biku324]

Sorry you're angry about this....improved transmission is the most immediate means for measurably enhanced power availability. Generation capacity increases, which have been ongoing in several sectors and locations, take more time. Infusion of real money changes things fast.

Here's a good start for you... National Transmission Needs Study | Department of Energy and Here’s how the infrastructure bill improves the grid and reuters.com and Grids Push To Link More Renewable Projects as Backlog Soars | 2022-02-10 | Engineering News-Record and the announcement prior to the raft of RFQs that have gone out (and continue to do so) ELECTRIC GRID PROJECTS | Department of Energy of which you can find many here https://www.esource.com/about-energyrfp

 

[cmj8591]

Today's grid is better than the 2021 grid and is improving daily. The Feds are spending $65 billion on it by 2032. Texas missed out because they opted out of the grid years ago and is now paying the price.

As soon as my Maine friends get their power back and come back on line, I'll let them know.

 

[cmj8591]

Sorry you're angry about this....improved transmission is the most immediate means for measurably enhanced power availability. Generation capacity increases, which have been ongoing in several sectors and locations, take more time. Infusion of real money changes things fast.

Here's a good start for you... National Transmission Needs Study | Department of Energy and Here’s how the infrastructure bill improves the grid and reuters.com and Grids Push To Link More Renewable Projects as Backlog Soars | 2022-02-10 | Engineering News-Record and the announcement prior to the raft of RFQs that have gone out (and continue to do so) ELECTRIC GRID PROJECTS | Department of Energy of which you can find many here https://www.esource.com/about-energyrfp

I don' know what kind of KoolAid they're serving out in the South West, but up here in the East infusing money into anything by the government just increases the opportunities for theft and waste. In Boston they are pumping billions of dollars into transportation infrastructure, they have been for years, and they can't get the train to go between South Station and Gov't Center with any kind of daily reliability. They spent billions on the "Big Dig" and every day you read about someone getting hurt by the ceiling falling in the Ted Williams tunnel. Heck, they can't even figure out how to pick up the trash in the median strip of the highway. So excuse me if I'm just a bit skeptical about the Feds coming to the rescue.

 

[biku324]

The corporation I consult with on completely different matters is primarily in architecture and engineering; the RFQs/RFPs for power transmission improvements to the grid have been moving steadily. The grid improvements and transportation projects aren't the same.

I respect things that work - lots of the engineering companies doing work on this massive set of projects have reputations built on reliable delivery. I look at things individually, not just generally.

 

[ladder13]

Why would you want a hybrid car?

Because you don’t want one of these.

calm down, just joking

 

[BC38]

Sorry you're angry about this....improved transmission is the most immediate means for measurably enhanced power availability. Generation capacity increases, which have been ongoing in several sectors and locations, take more time. Infusion of real money changes things fast.

Here's a good start for you... National Transmission Needs Study | Department of Energy and Here’s how the infrastructure bill improves the grid and reuters.com and Grids Push To Link More Renewable Projects as Backlog Soars | 2022-02-10 | Engineering News-Record and the announcement prior to the raft of RFQs that have gone out (and continue to do so) ELECTRIC GRID PROJECTS | Department of Energy of which you can find many here https://www.esource.com/about-energyrfp

O-K, so you have no data that compares how fast our grid capability is growing vs. how fast the demand for electricity is growing. Much less how much the demand will grow as we are forced into EVs.
Got it....

 

[meaneyedcatz]

Once we are all (passively aggressively) forced into hybrids and electrics our energy usage will go up.
Remember this? Computers will help us to become paperless? Now there is more paper used.

 

[oldbrownhat]

O... Remember this? Computers will help us to become paperless? Now there is more paper used.

"The paperless office"! HAHAHAHAHA! Not only that, many doctors and medical facilities still rely on sending faxes!

Temporary thread derail:

As regards "going paperless", the first thing I thought of was this French TV ad for the iPad:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13GTbEW0bco[/ame]

We now return you to your mud-slinging discussion.

 

[biku324]

O-K, so you have no data that compares how fast our grid capability is growing vs. how fast the demand for electricity is growing. Much less how much the demand will grow as we are forced into EVs.
Got it....

Belief resists information. U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis Attention Required! | Cloudflare This last project was completed and selling power more than a year ahead of schedule. And the cows using that land still use it.

 

[pmhayden]

We have figured out electric motors. They work well, they’re clean, they deliver immediate energy, and they don’t need a transmission. We still haven’t figured out batteries to the same degree. But it’ll happen.

I retired, and my retirement present to myself was a new car. I looked at the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. But I ended up buying the Toyota EV, all wheel drive, made in conjunction with Subaru. It looks a lot like a RAV4. The biggest weakness is the battery. Each electric car manufacturer deals with battery issues a little differently. Toyota optimizes battery life. Other companies optimize charging speed and capacity. I can probably do a 200 mile trip without recharging, which is adequate for 95+% of my driving. But I haven’t tried a cross-country trip yet. Without going into detail, it’s a really nice car. Toyota builds good cars.

I understand why a lot of people do not want to buy an electric vehicle. Some of the reasons are very practical, such as range limitation. But I don’t understand why some people get so emotionally involved that they don’t want anyone else to buy an electric vehicle, either. It’s not a religious belief. It’s just a car. Buy the one you want.

 

[cmj8591]

Belief resists information. U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis Attention Required! | Cloudflare This last project was completed and selling power more than a year ahead of schedule. And the cows using that land still use it.

Truth resists propaganda. Which is just about everything that comes out of a .gov. The information you use is put out by agencies that have the task of getting everyone to comply with an agenda. There are many, many caveats in the "facts" that they want us to believe.

 

[cmj8591]

I understand why a lot of people do not want to buy an electric vehicle. Some of the reasons are very practical, such as range limitation. But I don’t understand why some people get so emotionally involved that they don’t want anyone else to buy an electric vehicle, either. It’s not a religious belief. It’s just a car. Buy the one you want.

Here's why: No one cares what kind of car you buy. Really, no one cares. The problem is that they are trying to make me buy the same car that you have and I don't want it. They are also taking resources that I provide, in the form of taxes and higher costs, to pay for systems that address problems that are mostly contrived. In the mean time, they are creating a false industry that does nothing but create wealth for insiders and corporate donors. If you want to buy into that, knock yourself out. But you have to question why they need to mandate certain things or pay people to get consumers to go along with it. If it's so great, so important to our future, why to they have to throw money at it to get people to go along with it? "Buy what you want." you post. Absolutely! But in about ten years, no one will be able to because selling a fossil fuel car or installing a gas stove in my house will be illegal. THAT'S what is getting people upset about this whole EV scam. No one cares what you buy.