What are your thoughts on hybrids

obi_waynne

obi_waynne

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When looking at cars would you dismiss a hybrid car completely?

Do you still view hybrids as ECO friendly slow boring cars or has there been a hybrid that has got you thinking along fresh lines?
 
nope as long as it was only a couple of years old. up around 7 or 8 then yeah it would be dismissed unless the previous owner had refitted new battteries
 
I think the hybrid technology has further to go.

None are as economical nor as clean in real world conditions as the official figures suggest.
 
Hybrids are the devils work. They should not be up for sale. I think we have missed the whole eco thing here. (granted I hate anything eco) The pollution caused building these horrible things is more than caused by building an old car and the amount of pollution that comes from it in its whole life time. On another note, where does our car tax money go? It says it goes on the amount the car pollutes? Why? Have the government got some type of air purifier that cleans the air that we pollute? NO! Its just another way of making money! SCRAP THE WHOLE ECO THING, ITS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!! I'm off to do some dounuts in a nature reserve next to a marine life centre in my gas guzzling Evo that will do 4mpg when I floor her!!!!
 
Even if I was a campaigning environmentalist I would struggle with the concept of hybrid vehicles. What happens to the spent batteries after eight years?

And what about the factory pollution making the new ones?

And the original ones!

Mankind alone does not have enough clout to destroy the planet. We'll destroy the human race, that's for sure. So why not enjoy doing so? :)
 
@ bigbadjoe: hahahaha..... very funny, but due to the sudden tremendous change in climatic conditions all over the world, we have to find another way... as long as the scientists comes up with good hybrids like TOYOTA PRIUS, we dont need to worry about performance & speed....
 
ronniecalcutta said:
as long as the scientists comes up with good hybrids like TOYOTA PRIUS, we dont need to worry about performance & speed....
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how is this a good hybrid ? NHS has a couple around here, wifes boss took it up to glasgow for a confrence.
just him in the car and motorway all the way never above 80 and wait for it.
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34mpg

its only good in towns where you are below 10 mph all the time

now lexus had the right idea v8 with a electric motor for town driving
 
@Pgarner & Indiaman: I just heard that the Toyotas are being used by NYPD for chasing rascals...haha... so I thought they were enough good regarding the torque factors... I personally never drove one except the toy things like REVA.....
 
@Pgarner & Indiaman: I just heard that the Toyotas are being used by NYPD for chasing rascals.
The "rascals" may have been riding cycles!!
BTW Honda tried to sell their hybrids in India last year, I believe they could only sell two of them in India, and withdrew the lot .
 
Once someone devises a way to store electrical energy more densly than we can now then the fully rechargeable electric car will become a very attractive proposition.

We're nowhere near that point yet. The Hybrids are just a compromise, possibly a step in the wrong direction. It would be better to invest the money in battery technology.
 
pgarner said:
how is this a good hybrid ? NHS has a couple around here, wifes boss took it up to glasgow for a confrence.
just him in the car and motorway all the way never above 80 and wait for it.
[snip]
34mpg

its only good in towns where you are below 10 mph all the time

now lexus had the right idea v8 with a electric motor for town driving
Click to expand...


Should get better mileage than that, as in theory, when the motor is running it only ever runs at optimum efficiency (roughly equivalent to 50mph), which means it should have been getting far better mileage than that.

Indeed, the hybrids - like most cars - should be most efficient when they run longer distances.

Ought to have it checked out, sounds like something is very wrong.
 
@ HDI fun: yes, you are right when it comes to environment friendliness. But the battery powered electric cars are somehow a piece of metal when I think about driving satisfaction. With no ICE, clutch, gears, revving sounds, all we can get is a electric motor coupled with a potentiometer. Is that what we, speed maniacs expect from our trusted research engineers? ;) ;) ;)
 
ronniecalcutta said:
@ HDI fun: yes, you are right when it comes to environment friendliness. But the battery powered electric cars are somehow a piece of metal when I think about driving satisfaction. With no ICE, clutch, gears, revving sounds, all we can get is a electric motor coupled with a potentiometer. Is that what we, speed maniacs expect from our trusted research engineers? ;) ;) ;)
Click to expand...

I could live without clutches and manual geraboxes because I'm intrinsincally lazy :-( They're only a compromise to make up for the internal combustion engine's lack of flexibility.

Then again I couldn't tolerate a car which takes half a minute to go between 30mph and 60mph so I think I'm stuck with internal combustion for now.

I think what you're saying is that we've all got ourselves accustomed to what we know as driving a car and a radical change to fully driveable electric cars would be rather strange.

At the moment hybrids and full electric cars are items of curiosity. They caould well end up consigned to the museum because internal combustion engine development is still surging ahead.
 
WLBjork said:
Should get better mileage than that, as in theory, when the motor is running it only ever runs at optimum efficiency (roughly equivalent to 50mph), which means it should have been getting far better mileage than that.

Indeed, the hybrids - like most cars - should be most efficient when they run longer distances.

Ought to have it checked out, sounds like something is very wrong.
Click to expand...

not really bothered as im not driving it. the cars are extemly well maintained i do know that much.

regarding the pirus ive heard a few people saying that they get poor economy when driving about outside of town
 
A Tesla with fuel cell technology would be my ideal. At present the new Tesla electric cars have a range of over 200 miles, acceleration and top speed are out of this world! with fuel cell technology, the range would be the same as any petrol vehicle. Only a matter of time..
 
indiaman said:
A Tesla with fuel cell technology would be my ideal. At present the new Tesla electric cars have a range of over 200 miles, acceleration and top speed are out of this world! with fuel cell technology, the range would be the same as any petrol vehicle. Only a matter of time..
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They've certainly made best use of the torque characteristics of DC motors. The problem is still the size and weight of the batteries. And what happens to them when they're at end of useful service life. Museum??
 
MasterAuron said:
Land fill :lol:
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Why not just cut to the chase and bury them as they leave the factory. The hybrid technology is vastly under-developed at this point in time. It's also vastly over-priced. Free road tax is not enough incentive for me.

None of 'em give remotely near the suggested MPG.

Unless you drive at about 4mph, that is.

Once we get a fully electric car that's driveable, enjoyable and covers more than five yards without needing to be plugged in again I will be in the queue to buy one.
 
HDi fun said:
They've certainly made best use of the torque characteristics of DC motors. The problem is still the size and weight of the batteries. And what happens to them when they're at end of useful service life. Museum??
Click to expand...

Recycling worn out batteries is big business, old batteries are fed into a hammer mill and the different metals separated. Lead acid batteries are relatively easier to recycle than Lithium batteries, especially large lithium car batteries that may hold some residual charge, these are recycled by freezing to minus 300 odd degrees before being broken up to extract the metals. An Electric car is truly "Green"
 
How much energy is needed to attain such low temperatures?

Further, how do you get to minus 300 degrees when absolute zero is minus 273 degrees?

How much energy is consumed in the manufacture of the batteries themselves?

How much in the manufacture of the recycling equipment?

I'm not sure we're quite there yet. All this seems to make burning fossil fuels under the bonnet seem relatively clean.

The breakthough will be storing electric charge without the weight we need to do so at present. And when the batteries have a much longer service life.

Blimey, you don't need to replace the fuel tank in your car every 7-8 years.
 
"They've certainly made best use of the torque characteristics of DC motors".

Though DC motors generate a lot of torque from standstill, AC motors do better for sustained high speed running, for example the Tesla uses an AC motor and does 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds.
 
indiaman said:
"They've certainly made best use of the torque characteristics of DC motors".

Though DC motors generate a lot of torque from standstill, AC motors do better for sustained high speed running, for example the Tesla uses an AC motor and does 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds.
Click to expand...

I know of the Tesla and it's an interesting concept. 3 phase AC motors with variable frequency and variable phase supplies are very efficient - that is not in question. But I still see the electric car as being in a developmental phase.

However, I will acknowledge the Tesla as being a several steps closer to real-world electric cars than the current assortment of hybrid vehicles.
 
HDi fun said:
How much energy is needed to attain such low temperatures?

Further, how do you get to minus 300 degrees when absolute zero is minus 273 degrees?

How much energy is consumed in the manufacture of the batteries themselves?

How much in the manufacture of the recycling equipment?

I'm not sure we're quite there yet. All this seems to make burning fossil fuels under the bonnet seem relatively clean.

The breakthough will be storing electric charge without the weight we need to do so at present. And when the batteries have a much longer service life.

Blimey, you don't need to replace the fuel tank in your car every 7-8 years.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I should have mentioned it was 300 degrees F not C, quite easy to attain, again used ONLY if the batteries to be recycled still hold a charge, the purpose of low temp is to freeze the electrolyte.
A hammer mill is not rocket science, and is in common usage.
Lastly, yes agreed that you do not have to replace your fuel tank every 7 to 8 years, BUT yo do have to replace the fuel in it much too often, especially now with the spiralling price of fuel.
 
indiaman said:
Sorry, I should have mentioned it was 300 degrees F not C, quite easy to attain, again used ONLY if the batteries to be recycled still hold a charge, the purpose of low temp is to freeze the electrolyte.
A hammer mill is not rocket science, and is in common usage.
Lastly, yes agreed that you do not have to replace your fuel tank every 7 to 8 years, BUT yo do have to replace the fuel in it much too often, especially now with the spiralling price of fuel.
Click to expand...

I think the full electric will become a reality over the next ten years or so. Power stations can burn fossil fuels much more efficiently than we can burn them in an IC engine.

So it really is down to conquering the storage problem. Battery chemistry is constantly evolving and that's why I think the hybrid is nothing more than a temporary compromise.
 
I have got one solution to fix all the energy problems. All electric cars made to date are about as much fun as getting stuck in a lift with a wasp. They are slow, boring, dull and pollute (in the long run) just as much if not more than your normal car. Why not build nuclear powered cars with a mini reactor inside. People will drive nice and save sat on one of them bad boys. And after the 25 year life, then just dump them in some rubbish country like France.


Sorted.
 
bigbadjoe said:
I have got one solution to fix all the energy problems. All electric cars made to date are about as much fun as getting stuck in a lift with a wasp. They are slow, boring, dull and pollute (in the long run) just as much if not more than your normal car. Why not build nuclear powered cars with a mini reactor inside. People will drive nice and save sat on one of them bad boys. And after the 25 year life, then just dump them in some rubbish country like France.


Sorted.
Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol: Freakin ace! Bigbadjoe for PM! Although not France, because that's where Le Mans is.

Spain maybe?
 
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