hybrid cars.....

[lucky13]

ok......
after reading some interesting thoughts and opinions in a few other threads on hybrid cars, i thought i'd ask some questions......

would you buy a hybrid car?

if SS Commodores or XR8 Falcons (or whatever you're into) were available with a hybrid engine, would you choose one over the regular model, even if it meant less power?

is the only thing holding you back, the fact that hybrids generally look crap?

do you think they'll make a difference if everyone drove one?

i myself own a Hilux (i love it) and if there was a Hilux hybrid i would definately buy one. and next time Mrs Lucky is looking for a new car i'll be urging her to get a hybrid (or a wind powered skateboard). i'm 35 years old (tomorrow, WOOHOO!!!!) and i'm amazed how peoples opinions about the enviroment have changed since i started driving. my first car was a HQ V8 kingswood and i didn't even think about how much fuel it used, or how i was affecting the enviroment (however small a way, i still affect it).

you younger fellas are the next generation of drivers, so if attitudes continue to change in the same way they have in the near 20 years since i started driving, the earth might just make it.

any other alternatives?

 

[No Skid Marks]

I too drive a Hilux, if they made a hybrid one I'd buy it. I was going to get mine put on gas but it's too expensive because mines injected.
I think a Pryus would smoke your old V8 off at the lights.
Hybrids are sorts lame, I can't wait for for electric with power stations everywhere. Electric motor have so much more potential for fast cars, it's only the battery that holds them back. I look forward to electric F1.
I'll probably buy a desiel next though, and make my own vegie desiel.

 

[frostbite]

I read somewhere (on the internet, it must be true) that the energy required to build a hybrid is stupidly high because of the batteries (and also the cost to dispose of them afterwards) and that in terms of pure energy its much more efficient buying a regular car.
anyone know what the real figures are?

 

[scblack]

An efficient Turbo Diesel can often be a more fuel efficient car than a hybrid. A european magazine just did a 900km test between a diesel BMW and a hybrid Prius. The diesel BMW used 49litres, the Prius 51litres.

But hybrids are better in stop-start city driving, whereas this is obviously highway driving.

But would I buy a hybrid? - not with current pricing. It would take a driver 10 years on current additional cost for a hybrid to recoup the added outlay via cheaper petrol costs.

 

[lucky13]

It would take a driver 10 years on current additional cost for a hybrid to recoup the added outlay via cheaper petrol costs.

this made me think of another question i've had for a while......

how long do the batteries in hybrids live for?
as in, do they need replacing every few years?

 

[stoff]

I drive a turbo diesel Navara. Would definitely change over if there was a hybrid available. Lets face it, it would be hard for it to be less powerful. Although I would want it to maintain the same pulling power. I would also love it if bio diesel became readily available.

 

[red death]

I'm 44, yep I'd buy one.............if they were better looking & had some grunt I'd even buy one sooner. Sure currently some diesels are greener than hybrids, and in pure $ terms it's probably not cost effective (yet - wait till we get carbon trading on fuel) but we gotta start somewhere. There's a limited future for the internal combustion engine.

I'd prefer all electric even. If it was available. Plug in overnight & away you go. There's a bit of work to be done before that's practical though. Then again, imagine if all the oil dried up overnight. I reckon it'd be 6 mths max before we had truly viable electric vehicles at reasonable cost. It's just there's no real will to do it at the moment.

I think vehicle looks & lack of power perception holds many back. & the fear of the untested. We all know how reliable and long lasting internal combustion engines are - but we're pretty well still in the dark re electric/hybrid just yet. Responsible govts need to act to change that perception.

But yeah it does suck, I love the feel of a V8 going off, or a jap 4 cycle ripping your arms outa their sockets & splitting your eardrums, or even a 2 stroke or rotary roaring! But I reckon I could love a big DC motor giving instant maximum torque too!

How about a 350HP electric Datsun1200?

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cf89tawZX8

 

[scblack]

I drive a turbo diesel Navara. Would definitely change over if there was a hybrid available. Lets face it, it would be hard for it to be less powerful. Although I would want it to maintain the same pulling power. I would also love it if bio diesel became readily available.

What we are really talking about is a small Turbo Diesel for cars like a Golf, or other small cars. A truck-like vehicle like a Navara will never be truly fuel efficient.

I also read somewhere that to produce a litre of bio-diesel required something like 13 tonnes of vegetable matter. Not sure how accurate that is, but that sounds hardly efficient.

 

[Ivan]

Yep. I have driven a Prius, and it actually had more acceleration than I had expected.

But, they look like shite and are expensive.

 

[Elbo]

I voted no because I would like to see a cheap purely electric car soon. Something like Tesla Motors creation but affordable. Not a mixture of 'old' and new technology. I own a 4Runner and a '74 Beetle. The Beetle is the round-town car and gets around 10L/100km for around-town driving. The 4Runner is running on 23 year old Diesel technology and regularly gets 11-12L/100km. I think we need to look at a 'radical' change and not just try and patch up the now apparent consequences of the combustion engine with relation to fuel, oil and the environment.
If hybrids use 1/3 of the fuel a current car does, what's to say fuel is not going to triple in price by the time these babies are being produced in full swing. It'll still mean it'll cost me $90 to fill up the 4Runner. Back to square one.

 

[lucky13]

How about a 350HP electric Datsun1200?

800ft/lbs of torque....11.5 sec 1/4 mile........

i hope some major car manufacturers see that car (though they probably have bigger, badder ones locked in their warehouses).

inspirational stuff

 

[Elbo]

I also read somewhere that to produce a litre of bio-diesel required something like 13 tonnes of vegetable matter. Not sure how accurate that is, but that sounds hardly efficient.

There is an Enthanol Plant planned for Coleambally, NSW. The plan can be be found here (6.6MB PDF)

The figures are as follows:

Approximately 725,000 tonnes of grain (e.g., wheat, barley, maize and sorghum) and 2,000 tonnes of additives (e.g., enzymes, yeast, urea etc) would be required to produce 300ML of ethanol.

To produce 300,000,000 litres (300ML) of Ethanol takes 727,000 tonnes of vegetable matter (additives included).

Therefore, to produce 1 Litre of Ethanol it will take 2.4kg of vegetable matter.
(727,000 / 300,000,000) x 1,000 = 2.42kg

The Coleambally plant will therefore use 1,989 tonnes of vegetable matter per day if it is to reach its target of 300,000,000 litres per year.
((300,000,000 / 365) x 2.42) / 1000)

The next thing you'd have to work out is the cost of producing all that wheat, etc.

The good thing about the Coleambally plant is that it uses the waste of the vegetable matter from the Ethanol plant to feed a dairy of 18,000 head of cattle on the same property, which will produce 77ML of Milk each year. Also, the wheat and other crop used for the ethanol plant is sourced close by, but still 1989 tonnes a day!

 

[stoff]

I also read somewhere that to produce a litre of bio-diesel required something like 13 tonnes of vegetable matter. Not sure how accurate that is, but that sounds hardly efficient.

I was thinking more down the line of recycled oil from cooking and vegetable matter that is regarded as not fit for human consumption. This wouldn't give all the raw material, but would reduce the amount of purpose grown material needed. Blended bio-diesel is sold in Europe so there must be some efficiency in producing it.

 

[a.davis12]

fark i hate hybrids
yeah they sound good intitially with the whole yeah no petrol thing but when it comes down to it theyre still almost as bad for the environment as there petrol engined counterparts. this is because of, firstly, the amount of petrochemicals that goes into making a toyota prius is ridiculous the whole thing is a lump of plastic, and secondly because every 5 years the 150kg of lead and acid sitting under the boot need to be replaced with a new set of 150kg of lead and acid.

for a bit of trivia: i read somewhere that a hummer is more environementally eficient as it roles off the production line then a prius (dont quote me...it might be crap)

but yeah thats my 2 cents. feel free to disagree.

 

[lucky13]

another alternative perhaps?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4217016.html

 

[Kingswood]

The facts:

I own a Prius.

I get 1100 k's out of a 50 litre tank of premium (have tested about 10 tanks worth now).

My driving consists of freeway, Brisbane city, and up and down Mt Tamborine.

Yes it looks nerdy. But you do get used to it. You would be amazed how much room it has on the inside.

I dont care how much petrol costs.

The getup is not bad, just like a 4 cyclinder. It's no Monaro of course, but I probably burn a quarter of the fuel.

I love it, when sitting in traffic, going through an intersection, roundabouts, or stopped at lights, I am burning zero fuel.

If they made a Hybrid dual cab ute I would be a lot happier.

It's not the perfect car, as it still burns fuel, but it is the best I can do now.

 

[Kingswood]

fark i hate hybrids
yeah they sound good intitially with the whole yeah no petrol thing but when it comes down to it theyre still almost as bad for the environment as there petrol engined counterparts. this is because of, firstly, the amount of petrochemicals that goes into making a toyota prius is ridiculous the whole thing is a lump of plastic, and secondly because every 5 years the 150kg of lead and acid sitting under the boot need to be replaced with a new set of 150kg of lead and acid.

for a bit of trivia: i read somewhere that a hummer is more environementally eficient as it roles off the production line then a prius (dont quote me...it might be crap)

but yeah thats my 2 cents. feel free to disagree.

The body of the Prius's are metallic, built just like a normal car.

Another quote I heard: A vegitarian that drives a hummer will produce less emissions than a meat eater that drives a Hybrid.

 

[Oliver.]

No chance.

The problem with Hybrid cars is that the electricity that is used to fuel them is often just as dirty as what comes out the back of a petrol car.

I would much rather look into a Diesel car instead of a Hybrid. Or I would look into buying a small engined turbocharged petrol like the Golf GT. Those cars are seriously quick for the size. 1.4 TSI, one of the greatest engines made this year.

Even driving around in the Golf 2.0 petrol, I can trip up to Katoomba and back from northern sydney (thats a four-hour round trip) on a quarter of a tank, a quarter! (I managed 6.7L/100km average) Why buy a hybrid when those sorts of stats are so easily achieved with little or no performance loss.

I think Diesels, especially small forced induction ones, and lightweight car materials are the way to go for now. Until petrol starts really hitting $5 per litre, there is no need for hybrid cars. When Solar technology comes along to power those hybrids, then we'll talk.

 

[lucky13]

is this the future hilux?

toyota's hybrid pick-up concept

 

[sockman]

The main problem with producing crops for ethanol fuel is that it reduces farming land for food crops, and im not sure on the exact figure but we are losing an absolute fuckload of land per year to urban expansion... I can dig up all the info if there is demand for it... I had to write 5000 words on the topic for Agriculture at school. Twas phun