Why hybrid cars are here to stay

The original TV ad two years ago for the
70-m.p.g. hybrid Honda Insight shows it pulling up next to an old VW
microbus with a dirty exhaust and a "Save the Earth" bumper sticker.

By Ed Hunt Christian Science Monitor

The tag line of the ad is that you can show your concern for the
environment better by buying a clean, fuel-efficient car. Honda’s
marketing campaign was successful – the Insight and competing
Toyota Prius became status symbols for the environmentally
conscious. The success of these hybrids demonstrates a clear
market for green vehicles in the US.

However, it is also clear that the market is limited. In a country where
half of all vehicles sold are SUVs and pickup trucks, and where there
are at least a dozen magazines dedicated to sports cars, it is
obvious that fuel economy isn’t the prime motivating factor for most
American car buyers.

As Dan Carney writes in the April issue of
Popular Science: The Insight and Prius
represent "great technology, to be sure, but
for other people. People willing to sacrifice
driving pleasure for fuel economy."

Yet, the headline over the article reads
"Hybrids Get Hot" and it features a very cool
hybrid sports car and half a dozen hybrid
production vehicles about to enter the
market. As hybrid technology goes
mainstream, the top selling point may not be
fuel economy. This fuel-sipping technology is
about to find a home among the
gas-guzzling sports cars and big trucks
Americans love to drive. In fact, the
best-kept secret of hybrid-electric vehicles is
that this technology can have performance
advantages in addition to better mileage.

The reason you never hear about hybrids
winning Formula 1 races is because the
international sanctioning body banned the
technology. Hybrid cars would have had an
unfair advantage on the track because the
electric motors would have given them bursts
of extra power. Too quick for Formula 1? A
hybrid? At recent motor shows, Honda and
Ford rolled out variations on the hybrid theme that emphasize
performance and power – not fuel efficiency. Both concepts borrow
tricks refined in hybrids like the Insight to boost their engines,
making them perform better. (Oh, and they pollute less and get better
mileage, too.)

Ford’s three-ton Tonka Pickup concept stores energy from braking –
just like other hybrids and electric cars do. However, it stores this
power hydraulically instead of in batteries – thus capturing three
times as much energy while boosting fuel economy by 35 percent.
Like the Toyota’s hybrid Prius sedan, Ford’s Tonka turns itself off
when it comes to a stop and uses the stored energy to get rolling
again, restarting the engine when the truck reaches about 20 m.p.h.
Thus the diesel engine is off at times when engines are at their least
efficient and most polluting – when idling or starting from a stop.

All of this is done without sacrificing the performance or hauling
capacity of the truck. Indeed the technology actually increases
starting and stopping performance. It’s a better-performing, more fuel
efficient truck. Honda’s Dualnote sports car concept also makes use
of the energy from braking by using an ultracapacitor – an
energy-storage device that discharges much more quickly than a
battery. The result is a hybrid sports car that boasts 400 horsepower
and whiplash acceleration, while averaging 42 m.p.g.

Starting this year, Honda’s Civic will launch a series of hybrids rolling
off the production lines right next to their gas-powered counterparts.
Ford will introduce an Escape hybrid SUV next year that gets 40
m.p.g. – instead of 26 – while turning in 200 horsepower performance
on a four-cylinder engine.

US automakers plan to roll out other hybrid-electric power options
within two years. Like the Tonka concept, the trucks will keep their
V-8 engines for towing, but will boast better performance and 30
percent better mileage. The Dodge and GM trucks will even be
equipped to act as power generators for your home during a blackout,
or at a remote construction or camping site.

Hybrid power is about to become an option – like automatic
transmissions – on production cars.

Buyers of these new hybrids may not walk into the showroom looking
for a high-mileage car, but when offered a choice between an SUV
that gets 40 m.p.g. and one that gets 26 – why would anyone choose
the SUV that gets lower mileage?

So much for the argument that requiring better fuel economy will
force us to drive smaller, unsafe cars. The auto-makers’ own product
lines and press materials show that argument to be pure myth.

• Ed Hunt is editor of http://www.tidepool.org.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0404/p13s02-coop.html