Results tagged “hybrid” from Green Mesh

I received an HCH Class Action Settlement for my 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid (True vs. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ) last night.

Fortunately for Honda, the settlement includes rebates for new vehicles. I get $100 cash back and a video to train me how to best use my gas and brake pedal.

The lawsuit revolves around EPA mileage estimates for Honda's hybrids and the lower than expected mileage figures some people got from their Honda hybrids.

I suggest Honda use a disclaimer sticker.

Failure to use common sense may result in lower than expected mileage figures.

Smashing the gas pedal (combining the use of electric and electric motors without the use of cylinder deactivation) and smashing the brake (not using regenerative braking) will result in lower than expected economy.

Accessories, like air-conditioning, use energy. When you shut them off you use less energy.

Very cold days and very warm days take more energy to keep you comfortable and move your vehicle.

Some days I can get over 50 mpg and some days it may be as low as 40 mpg.

All vehicle manufactures use EPA standards for fuel economy. It is the competitive benchmark for selling a car in the United States. It makes no more sense for Honda to post figures lower than the EPA testing procedure than it would be for Toyota.

Honda can keep my $100 and put it towards research and development. I am happy that there was a car on the market in 2005 (or 1999 with the Insight) with the potential of 50 mpg.

Perhaps it would be more beneficial to force the mindless, lawsuit money train toward adopting a universal standard that more accurately reflects the cost of driving. This would actually help all consumers.

It will be interesting to watch what happens when vehicles with an even greater variability of mileage like the Chevy Volt (230 mpg) or a totally electric car like the Nissan LEAF come on the scene with the same aging EPA standard.

Jim Buvalic is a hybrid transmission systems engineer at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Mich., who worked on the development of the Fusion Hybrid. He gives a Q&A about what where they gained efficiency designing the Ford Fusion Hybrid. auto.theglobeandmail.com

Buvalic says that it's a "total systems approach" but that regenerative braking gives the total boost in fuel economy.

Regenerative braking is also the single most driver controllable element of driving a hybrid.

Long slow stops.

The longer your brake pads last, the more you have mastered this skill. I have 80,000 miles on the original brakes of a 2005 Civic Hybrid. I predict that I may squeeze another 8,000 miles out of the original front brake pads.

The daily voice of the Obama campaign, manager and adviser David Plouffe slipped into history after the election.

He recently purchased a Ford Fusion Hybrid (41 mpg city and 36 mpg) in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. usnews.com

OK, let's just get it out there: The 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is the best gasoline-electric hybrid yet.

What makes it (Ford Fusion Hybrid) best is a top-drawer blend of an already very good midsize sedan with the industry's smoothest, best-integrated gas-electric power system. It's so well-done that you have to look to the $107,000 Lexus LS 600h hybrid to come close. usatoday.com/money

The journalist tester got 40 mpg in a series of short trips out of a car that weighs 3,720 lbs and says Ford has mastered removing the engine start-up "shutter" usually associated with this type of hybrid power plant.

It's interesting to read the heated reader replies from this story. It's a lesson of just how long it takes a car company to build and destroy perceptions. Big deal!!!!I have a Honda Civic Hybrid and I get 50mpg. Having the experience of owning a 1997 Taurus and a 1998 Camry and watching their depreciation,...Let's stick to the facts. Get Consumers Reports...

I have driven a normally powered Ford Fusion and was nicely surprised at the feel and fit. It feels and looks more European than Ford sedans of old and I am a Civic Hybrid, former VW TDI and BMW bike owner.

The car is bigger and heavier than a Honda Civic Hybrid so the mileage is in line or better than the competition. Consumer Reports now says that Fords are equal to Honda in reliability.

Fusion Hybrids are also eligible for a tax credit until the end of March.

Time will tell if reality will change perceptions, but the facts are stacking in Ford's favor as well as a projection I have that Americans will begin to make a concerted effort to start coming home to spend their dollars where it will do the most good for their own future.

Even if the Fusion Hybrid is assembled in Mexico; at least it's a North American country that shares our border and it isn't a communist, currency manipulator. It is a noble effort by an American automobile company to use brain power to harness new technology to offer the American car market with an efficient, well designed hybrid car.

Baltimore Boat Show at the Baltimore Convention Center
Wednesday, January 21 through Sunday, January 25, 2009.

The Green Boating Zone will feature eco-friendly boats and accessories, including hybrid boats and products that reduce water and air pollutants.

Featured manufactuer Torqeedo, was awarded start-up company of the year, producing ultra-lightweight, foldable, strong electric outboard motors.

Torqeedo produces lithium-manganese battery systems which allow increased energy density over heavy lead batteries and improved cold operating performance. The batteries also aren't subject to memory effect and according to the manufacturer are more resistant to a reduction of charge capacity over time.

Read on for Baltimore Boat Show schedule.

Honda Motor Co will begin selling the Insight, the first of its next generation low-cost hybrid cars, in Japan in February, followed by launches in Europe and the United States in March and April.

The model on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week has listed mileage of 40 miles per gallon in city driving and 43 mpg on the highway.

But Yasunari Seki, the Insight's chief engineer, said it has proven potential of as much as 72 mpg, or about 30 km/litre, aided by an "eco-lamp" color meter that goes from shades of blue to green to prompt fuel-efficient driving.

"We had a contest for journalists test-driving it on a course last month and the winner got 72 mpg," Seki told Reuters ahead of the auto show, which opened to the press on Sunday. reuters

The car will arrive here this Spring.

The star of "Revolutionary Road" recently traded in his Toyota Prius hybrid for a $147,000 Tesla Roadster, the first high-performance electric car. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Leonardo DiCaprio also talked up his passion for eco-causes, and his first sports car. "It's scarily fast and it all happens with the flip of a switch, unlike a piston-driven engine that needs to build up momentum." chicagotribune.com

Greenmesh has been sitting dormant for a few days as my mind shuffles trends of environment, the economy, leadership and world peace - my eyes have glazed over a bit.

Maybe a quick ride in a fast car (motorcycle) would provide some inspiration.

Leo's all electric powered car is all torque from the start. Think of squeezing the trigger of an electric drill.

Gasoline engines build horsepower with their mechanical parts gaining momentum by burning fuel over a given duration. The instant torque of an electric motor must be built over time with a gasoline engine burning fuel until it reaches its potential. There are many factors that effect efficiency when a gasoline engine turns power into fuel.

The gasoline/electric hybrid tries to minimize the loss of energy transformation that occurs in a gasoline engine by trapping energy in the batteries when the gasoline engine is most efficient and when energy would normally be lost through braking.

Leo's Tesla would be very eco-conscious if charged by wind or water... but plugging into a power grid charged by an aging coal fired plant yields the opposite result.

A few gallons less a year controlled by OPEC and speculated on by the free-market is always a good thing for the consumer.

The federal tax credit to spur demand and development of hybrids is dwindling. The credit was tied to the number of units sold by a given manufacturer. The credit on Toyota's Prius (46 mpg) ran out last year. Now the federal government is phasing out the same incentives on Honda's Civic Hybrid (42 mpg).

Hybrid tax incentives start to go away when a car maker sells its 60,000th alternative-fuel vehicle.

Manufacturers currently offering full tax credits for their hybrids include:

• GM's 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid


• Ford's 2009 Escape/Mercury Mariner Hybrid


• Nissan Motor Co.'s Altima Hybrid

The article notes that these hybrids get between 27-34 mpg.

It would still take about nine and a half years to recoup the Altima hybrid's premium at the pump. But that time frame would balloon to16 years without the tax credit. With gas at $4 a gallon, it would take about seven years.

wsj.com

So with gas currently at $2 a gallon, buying a hybrid (with the surcharge) without the tax credit, the pay back may exceed the life of the car. We all know gas won't be $2 for the next decade.

When I bought my Civic Hybrid in 2004, there was a four digit federal tax incentive. Since I have owned the car and driven it 71,000 miles there have been no repairs other than oil changes and filters. Over the past four years gasoline has gone from $2 to $4 and back again. I consistently get 45 mpg, with spikes above 50 on long trips.

With my factors considered to date, the hybrid has saved me money, reduced the trade deficit a couple dollars and deprived a few oil producing entities a few dollars of profit.

As cars evolve from simple gasoline engines, to hybrids, to plug-in hybrids calculating real world mileage gets more difficult to estimate. The extremes and disgruntled customers will also become more obvious.

My neighbor jokes that his Chevy pick-up gets 11 mpg whether he is going uphill, downhill, or pulling a few thousand pounds. It's a simple large displacement V-8 that doesn't have to work very hard and breaths a continuous hefty mixture of fuel.

General Motors Corp. said Friday that it had reached a preliminary agreement that cleared the way for U.S. regulators to certify the Chevrolet Volt as the first 100 mpg car. But the Environmental Protection Agency said testing guidelines hadn't been finalized. latimes.com/business

After about 20 years of using the same calculating process, in 2008 the EPA began using new testing methods, which EPA finalized in December 2006. Previous to this, hybrids were tested under old methods. While it was legal and prudent marketing to say a Toyota Prius attained 60 mpg and a Civic Hybrid 51, it wasn't realistic, which left some customers angry at the discrepancy.

Plug-in hybrids will offer a whole new chapter in EPA estimates verses consumer expectations. The numbers will be wild...

Toyota will unveil a compressed natural gas (CNG) hybrid Camry at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

Honda currently has the only CNG vehicle available in the U.S.

And a face...

A lithium-ion battery pack supplemented by a variety of propulsion possibilities will power the Chevrolet Volt, including gas and, in some vehicles, E85 ethanol to recharge the battery while you drive beyond the 40-mile battery range.

How about a clean running diesel? Diesels love to run in constant speed applications like generators.

Fully charged in 3 (220) or 8 hours (110) depending on the power source, the vehicle differs from a hybrid in that it uses its internal combustion engine to charge the batteries that turn the wheels. The ICE never drives the wheels.

Citing a 10-cent per kilowatt electric utility rate, GM estimates Volt owners will spend about 80 cents per day recharging without filling up at a gas station. boston.com

So do you think these will roll out of Chevy dealers?

Wired reports that Honda will unveil a new dedicated hybrid today that hits the 60 mpg mark and sell for $19,000.

While hybrids have tended to go upscale in price and equipment or relegated to high end SUV's, this market niche has more of a global vision aimed at neutralizing a price difference between a hybrid and traditional gas powered car.

Look for the car to go on sale next Spring.

J R writes greenmesh:

When looking for hybrid mileage information, ask what MPG is in Winter. My 3 year old (Toyota) Highlander gets 28-30 in Summer, but drops to 21-23 in Winter because the gas engine must run more often to provide heat for passengers. It was better the first Winter but refineries were forced to change additives and that made MPG worse.

The new federal mileage stickers (in effect after this vehicle was purchased) are a more realistic assessment of hybrid mileage. Everyone knew a Toyota Prius didn't get 60 mpg, but that was the law and the number was legal and every other manufacturer used the same standardized testing.

Ethanol reduces mileage. I have given up trying to fill up with pure gasoline because that option just doesn't seem to exist in the York area anymore. Every pump seems to sport the 10% mix with sayings like "enriched with ethanol" and pictures of corn stalks.

Corn based ethanol is a counterproductive alternative form of energy helping to increase food prices and lowering the national fleet fuel efficiency. Compared to gasoline and diesel, the gas mileage in ethanol is the least. Ethanol yields about 30% less gas mileage than gasoline. The stuff even takes more energy to produce from field to consumer than it is worth. Ask our politicians why they love it so much.

My neighbor Chuck says his Chevy pickup with a 6 liter V-8 gets 11 mpg whether he runs it hard or takes it easy. It's basically a simple, large displacement energy converter that doesn't strain or change it's operating function to adjust for load.

Hybrids use several tools to squeeze mileage out of a gallon of gas so mileage can vary widely.