News Flash: We're Running Out of Oil. Get Used to It.

By Warren Brown

There is no cheap gasoline.

Accept that.

Now get on with your Memorial Day weekend and summer travels, and have a good time.

I'm serious.

End the silliness. Stop worrying about whether gasoline will go up to $4 a gallon. It will. In some California communities, the price is already there. Stop running around all over the place wasting time and the gasoline you have looking for fuel a few cents a gallon cheaper. What's the point? You save 10 cents and lose 10 minutes. You can always find another 10 cents. What about the 10 minutes?

And while you're at it, stop listening to those goofy TV news reports about "price gouging," or "finding the cheapest gasoline," or about worried consumers switching to hybrid cars. It's all ratings hype that has little to do with reality.

Take the hybrid car thing. Gas-electric hybrids constitute barely 1 percent of the nearly 17 million new cars and trucks sold in the United States. They are a marginal percentage of the fleets of Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co., the three major car companies that make them. Hybrid battery and related technologies are changing so quickly, the hybrid vehicle you buy today might not be the one you'll want to keep tomorrow.

There is also the matter of fiscal common sense. I've grown weary of people who owe more on their current car than it's worth asking me about the feasibility of trading in their automobile for something more fuel-efficient. Doing that is neither feasible nor sensible. Here's why:

Presumably, your goal in getting a less fuel-thirsty car is to save money. But how can you save money by wasting it? Do you think a dealer is going to give you the new car free? Do you think a bank or financial company is going to forgive the debt on your current car? Do you believe the bank or other financial institution will allow you to roll that existing car debt into a new auto loan at an annual percentage rate that is disadvantageous to the lender? Are you serious? Get real!

Here is the hard truth:

Oil is running out.

It probably will not disappear before many baby boomers and their immediate progeny run out of life. But it will disappear.

Every oil company knows that.

Every major automobile manufacturer knows that.

Every politician who got a decent score on a scholastic aptitude test knows that.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney and all their aides know that.

Oil is running out, and it is running out as global demand for available energy resources is growing rapidly. That means per barrel prices and pump prices are going up and will stay up.

All influencing externalities -- global terrorism, political unrest in oil-producing nations such as Nigeria, refinery disruptions caused by Gulf Coast storms, the odd and often suspicious behavior of oil futures markets -- are important. But not one of them changes the essential fact that oil is running out.

So, stop wasting your time worrying about pump prices. If you don't have enough money to hit the road and buy all of the hamburgers and trinkets you want, sacrifice some of the hamburgers and trinkets. If you are in a vehicle that uses lots of gasoline, look at how much you owe on the thing and do the math. You might be better off keeping it and driving less. Ever consider using the Metro?

Do you have a recreational vehicle, a motor home? I love those things! My fellow RVers love them. You know what? High fuel prices, or not, we're still going to roll this summer. We're just not going to roll as far and as long as we used to roll, but we're going to roll!

And when we get back, we're going to put pressure on Congress to do something real for the American people. Enough of this meaningless showmanship of putting the Federal Trade Commission on the dock in search of "price gouging" that no one ever really expected to find. That's just a ruse. We want something real. We want a national energy policy that deals firmly, fairly, sensibly with the reality that oil is running out.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052600900.html

Energy Efficiency, Low Emissions Drive Winners at Green Car Competition

GreenBiz.com

GREENFIELD, Mass, May 25, 2006 - The results are in at the Tour de Sol, billed as the number-one green car show and competition "driving toward zero carbon emissions" in the U.S. More than 50 light-duty vehicles demonstrated their ability to reduce oil use and greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional vehicles that achieve the 27 mpg CAFÉ standard for light-duty vehicles.

Held May 10-14 at the Saratoga Spa State Park and Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY, the Tour de Sol featured entrants in three separate competitions who turned in spectacular results and took home trophies and $10,000 in cash prizes. Using many energy efficiency techniques, and in some cases switching to less carbon intensive fuels such as compressed natural gas, biodiesel, vegetable oil, or electricity and hydrogen from clean renewable sources, the entrants demonstrated an average of 66 mpg, 140% above the current CAFÉ standard, and reductions in climate change emissions of 57%. Wayne Gerdes of Illinois, West Philadelphia High School of Philadelphia, PA, Gavin Watson of Ridgefield, CT, Burlington County Electecs of Lawrenceville, NJ, Optibike of Bolder, CO and NTDI Ebike Club took top honors.

"For auto enthusiasts and environmentalists these are tremendously exciting results," said Nancy Hazard of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), organizer of the Tour de Sol. “This demonstrates what is possible today and that we can do even better in the near future. We must work together and continue to develop vehicles that aim to cut oil use and climate change emissions to zero.”

“We have been very impressed with the innovative technologies demonstrated by the vehicles participating in the Tour de Sol,” said Peter R. Smith, President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, premier sponsor of the event. “NYSERDA is pleased to have brought the Tour de Sol to New York State to showcase how we can lessen our dependence on foreign energy sources, and control our own energy destiny.”

In the Monte Carlo style Rally and Fuel Efficiency Competition, Gerdes drove a stock Insight from Chicago on a single tank of gas achieving 90.4 mpg and captured the grand prize of the Monte Carlo-style fuel efficiency Championship. Two other interesting independent teams, Jack Lee from Venice, FL and Willy Williford from Campo, CA, had added TurboChargers to their Honda Insights, which have a 57 mpg EPA rating. Jack Lee's vehicle demonstrated over 76 mpg.

Perhaps the most interesting entry in the Monte Carlo Rally was a modified Honda Insight employing Plug-In charging and Integrated Motor Assist, and a 5th wheel powered by an electric motor for faster electric startup. This unique vehicle, driven by Mike Dabrowski of North Grosvenordale, CT. achieved an overall performance of 82.49 mpg and took 3 awards, including the top “Plug-In Hybrid” Award.

Additionally, HyMotion, from Concord, Ontario, Canada, showed one of the most interesting commercial options that could take hybrid technology to the next level. HyMotion's PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle) kit is designed to convert a Toyota Prius or Ford Hybrid Escape into a hybrid vehicle that can drive in electric-only mode for 20 miles, and plug into an electrical outlet for recharging. The advantage of such a vehicle is that, in normal use where daily driving is often between 20-40 miles, it could reduce gasoline use by 50- 80%, and shift its motive energy to electricity from the Grid that can be produced by zero-carbon renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

In the alternative fuel division of the Monte Carlo-style Rally, Homeland Energy Resources Development drove a Honda GX that runs on compressed natural gas and has been cited as the “cleanest car on earth.” Gavin Watson captured first place with his 100% veggie-oil-powered 1973 Porsche that got 53 mpg and reduced climate change emissions by 87% compared to a conventional 27-mpg vehicle. Richard Shomo of the Hudson Valley Biodiesel Coop received a cash prize from the National Biodiesel Board for his biodiesel-powered Ford Escort. Eastern Biofuels, the largest biodiesel supplier in the Northeast, refueled the biodiesel-powered vehicles while Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems supplied the veggie oil.

“We were thrilled with these performances,” said Jim Dunn, CEO of the Center for Technology Commercialization, Monte Carlo-style Rally sponsor. “Over twenty teams entered conventional hybrid cars and demonstrated their ability to exceed the EPA mpg standards in every case - and the modified hybrids turned in spectacular results.”

Sixteen teams entered the Tour de Sol Championship this year. This competition challenges entrants to build one-of-a-kind highway-worthy vehicles that aim to reduce oil use and climate change emissions to zero. West Philadelphia High School took top honors in the student Hybrid and Alternative fuel division. Their purpose-built sports car that can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds achieved a fuel efficiency of 55 mpg. The Greasecar Mad Mini team carried the day in the independent division with Mini Cooper Clubman with Greasecar Vegetable Fuel System kit installed so that it could run on 100% vegetable oil.

In the battery electric division, EVermont, from Waterbury, VT demonstrated incredible fuel efficiency of electric vehicles with over 160 MPGe, while the Burlington Electecs of Lawrenceville, NJ took top honors with a student-built electric vehicle. In the Solar-Assisted electric division, the West Irondequoit took top honors in the one-person category, and St. Mark’s School, Southborough, MA, took top honors in the two-person category. St. Mark’s and the North Haven Community School from North Haven, ME tied for the “Renewablity Prize,” demonstrating zero climate change emissions. St. Marks purchased green electricity from their local utility to run their car, while North Haven added solar panels to their school to generate electricity to run their car.

Another unique team, which traveled from Delhi College in Delhi India to the Tour de Sol, showcased a one-person hybrid vehicle. Their vehicle demonstrated the importance of designing a vehicle to suit its use. This vehicle was designed to address the transportation needs of millions of people in India that presently use highly polluting motorcycles by presenting them with a practical, very efficient hybrid option.

“We saw lots of innovative ideas in these one-of-a-kind vehicles that students and independent teams brought this year,” said Dr. Robert Wills, technical director of the Tour de Sol Championship. “As in the past, we hope to see many of these technologies on the showroom floor in the near future – helping to clean the air we breathe and reduce carbon emission.”

The new Around Town Vehicle Competition grew to eleven entries this year. This competition challenges entrants to design motorized vehicles that could replace the conventional car in our communities with zero carbon emission vehicles.

In the production division both Optibike and RunAbout Cycles attracted much attention. Optibike, of Bolder, CO, demonstrated an amazing range of 104 miles in less than four hours on its electric bicycle, Optibike 400, which uses lithium batteries. In the student division the National Technical Institute took first place with a purpose-built bike using lithium batteries.

In the neighborhood electric vehicle category the competition was fierce with three GEMs entered - one from the Southern Berkshire Regional School, Sheffield, MA and two from the Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs, NY. All of the vehicles drove over 20 miles with conventional lead acid batteries and received a cash prize from the Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium for their achievements. The Berkshire school also brought an amazing educational trailer with wind and solar demonstrations. Lastly Newburgh Free Academy, New Windsor, NY, entered several interesting non-road vehicles.

“We were thrilled to see the Around Town Vehicle Competition grow this year,” said Paul O’Brien of the Southern Berkshire Regional School District, creator of the new NEV competition rules. “This kind of a project is affordable and a great teaching tool. It involves research, problem solving, teamwork, computer and hands-on experience, and it creates awareness about our energy and environmental challenges and possible solutions in the transportation sector.

Premier sponsors of the 2006 Tour de Sol were the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Center for Technology Commercialization. Additional key sponsors included the New York Power Authority, the Saratoga Automobile Museum, Stewart’s Shops, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Eastern Biofuels, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Toyota, the UK Trade & Investment, Honda, Kurkoski Solar Electric, Westboro Toyota, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CSRwire, E-The Environmental Magazine, EIN Publishing, and GreenBiz.com.

Source: http://www.earthvision.net/ColdFusion/News_Page1.cfm?NewsID=31116

Drivers Search For Hybrids to Test Drive

More and more hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are being requested by drivers, but not by your typical renter.

"People are contacting us because they try to go over to a dealership and find some of the hybrids to test drive, but the dealerships can't keep them on the lot," said Marie Romano of U.S. Rent-A-Car.

The high gas prices are making it hard to get your hands on a certain type of car at dealerships, and even rental agencies.

More and more hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are being requested by drivers, but not by your typical renter.

"People are contacting us because they try to go over to a dealership and find some of the hybrids to test drive, but the dealerships can't keep them on the lot," said Marie Romano of U.S. Rent-A-Car.

Romano says they are now seeing this trend here at her agency. "We run a fleet of about 45-percent to 50-percent hybrids. They keep utilized between 90-95-percent of the time."

"He told me he rented the vehicle because every time he went to a dealership, he couldn't get a chance to test drive one because they didn’t' have any on the lot because they sold them all," Romano said about one oh her customers.

Pat Ansom manages the rental agency and shares on of his customer’s reaction.

"Oh we love it, it was good on gas, a lot of customers get it who are going out of the area because of the gas mileage," Ansom said. And there's one driver who stands clear in his mind. "We had a customer. He brought it back to the other day and he was excited. That he didn't have to refill."

The benefit of Hybrids is that they run electrically, and use no gas when driving at slow speeds and at complete stops.

Source: http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4894070&nav=menu102_1

High gas prices prompt shift in car-buying strategy

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) - $3-a-gallon gas has a lot of people thinking about what they're driving and what they should be driving.

The latest Consumer Reports Auto Pulse Survey finds 37 percent of consumers say gasoline prices are so high they are looking at replacing their current vehicles with more fuel-efficient vehicles - mainly hybrid models.

Of those who say they may replace their vehicles, 50 percent are considering gasoline-electric hybrids. Another 38 percent say they're considering either flexible-fuel vehicles or diesel vehicles. Hybrids currently make up just one percent of total new-car sales.

Even if they are not considering a hybrid, many consumers are looking to downsize. More than half of those planning to replace their cars say they're thinking about a small car, compared with about 20 percent who are focusing on a family sedan or small SUV.

Source: http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx

US hybrid vehicle sales cooling despite high gasoline prices

by Mary Chapman

Hybrid sales are cooling off in the United States despite high gasoline prices, mostly because the fuel-saving vehicles are still too expensive, analysts say.

"Most people who wanted (a hybrid) already have one," said Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Edmunds.com.

"They bought one not to save money necessarily, but to make a statement. But that market is not unlimited. Consumers in the next market, the mass market, make decisions not so much on fashion but on bottom-line savings."

Buyers plunk down an average of 3,000 dollars more for hybrids, according to the Power Information Network, and it takes between three and five years for hybrid owners to see gains.

An April report by Consumer Reports found that only two hybrids in the US market offer savings at current gasoline (petrol) price levels over five years and 75,000 miles: the Honda Civic and the Toyota Prius. Even then, total savings after five years are only 400 dollars and 300 dollars, respectively.

There are other consumer perks. Some hybrids qualify for special carpool lanes in some states, for example, and several also offer federal and state tax incentives.

"There is a premium to be paid for hybrid engines, so until you can bring that price down and make it cost-effective for consumers, they will have a rational reason to buy other fuel-efficient vehicles," said Bob Schnorbus, chief economist at J.D. Power and Associates.

There are two hot-selling hybrids -- the Civic and the Prius. While other hybrids have remained on dealership lots for as long as three months, the Prius is selling after about eight days and the Civic is usually sold in 12 days, the Power Information Network said.

Still, Prius sales plummeted more than 24 percent in April, to 8,234 units, compared to the same month last year, though Toyota blamed limited manufacturing capacity for the drop-off, not easing consumer demand.

Ford Motor Co. last month resorted to costly incentives to help move its Escape Hybrids.

"I think the public is comfortable with the technology, these vehicles are very well-executed," said

David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan said that cost was the deciding factor for hybrids.

"The only issue at all is the cost. And that makes it a very uncertain situation," he said.

All told, hybrids currently account for only about one percent of all US light-vehicle sales, a share expected to grow to four percent in the next six years, said J.D. Power and Associates.

Yet there is no question that hybrids save gasoline, though likely not as much as some consumers originally thought.

"For some of these cars, it's the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) versus real-world mileage," said Edmunds.com's Toprak. "The Prius gets over 50 (miles per gallon) in the city but the overall combined mileage, city and highway, is actually about 40 miles per gallon."

According to the EPA's annual Fuel Economy Guide, the Honda Insight, which gets 60 miles per gallon in the city and 66 on the highway, is the most fuel-efficient car in the nation. In fact, the top 15 most fuel-efficient vehicles are either hybrids or diesels.

And automakers are counting on the broadening popularity of hybrids, which combine gasoline engines and electric motors.

Honda has announced plans to produce a dedicated hybrid vehicle by 2009, and General Motors Corp. is expected to soon build a hybrid version of the Saturn Vue.

Japanese carmaker Nissan is developing its own hybrid technology, and Ford will redesign its next-generation hybrid Escape to look different from its gasoline-powered model. Ford has launched a national advertising campaign featuring Sesame Street's Kermit the Frog and this refrain: "It is easy being green."

"We're committed to growing our hybrid interest ... and to raise awareness for the Escape," said Ford spokesman Monte Doran. "We feel like a hybrid is a step in the right direction."

Ford is planning to increase production of gasoline-electric vehicles tenfold to 250,000 by 2010. Toyota hopes to sell 400,000 hybrids this year, with a goal of selling one million hybrids a year in the early 2010s by expanding the hybrid lineup and lowering costs. The automaker sold 146,560 units in 2005.

Edmunds.com's Toprak said he expects hybrid dealership premiums to come down across the board over the next two years.

"Right now consumers may never be able to make up the difference on some premiums," he said. "The mass market will have to be convinced on paper."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060524/ts_alt_afp/usautosaleshybridoilprice_060524124259

Car Powered By Water A Reality

By Eric Flack

(LOUISVILLE) -- Along Florida's Gulf Coast, water is everywhere. From the bay to the beach to the town of Clearwater, that is where we found Denny Klein. A man driven by water, literally.

Klein has invented the world's first water powered car. It runs on what he calls "Aquygen." Aquygen is water or H2O, broken down and turned into HHO gas, something scientists once thought impossible.

"Any PhD or library, they say you can't mix hydrogen and oxygen. And still to this day we get a lot of people who don't believe us because that's what they were taught," Klein said.

But people are quickly learning Klein and his car are for real.

Klein says his design will retrofit any piston engine.

An economic development team from the county and local government TV got a demonstration while we were there.

Klein says he initially developed Aquygen to create a safer, less polluting blowtorch. Klein realized Aquygen would clean up car emissions as well. The only thing that would come out of the tailpipe was water.

Soon, his vision became a reality.

Like most alternative fuel cars, the prototype is actually a hybrid. It runs on a gas and Aquygen mixture. Whenever you're ready, you flip the switch and the Aquygen kicks in.

The result is up to a 50 percent jump in gas mileage. Klein's Ford Escort prototype gets 384 miles on a tank of gas. 576 miles with a little Aquygen mixed in.

Klein sees a totally Aquygen powered car sometime in the future. With that, he says you could drive 100 miles on 4 ounces of water. "You just drive it like a regular car. The infrastructure is already in place to get it serviced so we don't have to reinvent the wheel," Klein said.

For now, Denny Klein is content to perfect the hybrid version of the car. He says it could hit the market in as little as 2 years.

Aquygen units for industrial use are already for sale and Klein says other uses for it remain on the horizon. After all, with Aquygen, the possibilities are as endless as the supply.

If you're worried about losing power, don't. Unlike some other alternative fuel cars, Klein says he actually gets a couple extra horsepower when he uses Aquygen.

There are two hurdles to a car that runs totally on Aquygen. One: long-term impact on the engine. Will the water speed up rust or corrosion over time? Two: figuring out a process to tank the gas for distribution.

Source: http://www.wave3.com/global/story.asp?s=4934566

New Super-Efficient Plug-in Hybrid Unveiled

"Trinity," a highly fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid vehicle, was unveiled today by engineering students at the University of California, Davis. The vehicle is the team's entry in the national Challenge X competition, sponsored by General Motors Corp. and the U.S. Department of Energy. Field trials for the competition will take place in Phoenix next month.

Trinity is a 2006 model Chevy Equinox SUV powered by electric motors and a small internal combustion engine that can run on gasoline or ethanol. The electric motors and batteries provide power for driving at low speeds and for a range of up to 40 miles, and the gas engine supplies additional power for longer journeys and highway driving.

"This is a car that is completely sustainable with no oil at all," said Andy Frank, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at UC Davis, who advises the team. Trinity does all the things a conventional model of the vehicle can do with higher performance, Frank said.

Unlike hybrids currently on the market such as the Toyota Prius, Trinity's batteries can be recharged from a domestic power supply, allowing the vehicle to be powered by cheap off-peak electricity. This reduces fuel consumption and emissions and allows the vehicle to run exclusively on electric power for most short trips around town.

Computer models run by the team show that Trinity's average gas consumption in everyday use could reach about 200 miles per gallon, assuming an all-electric range of 40 miles, said graduate student Peter English, outreach coordinator for the team.

As part of the project, team members have been teaching classes on hybrids at Vaca Pena Middle School in Vacaville and Little Oak Rural School in Oregon House, east of Yuba City. The school students have been working on controls for electric motors and aim to move on to building hybrid go-karts and eventually a hybrid car, English said.

Frank sees plug-in hybrids as a way to integrate transportation energy use with stationary energy systems for homes and businesses. Solar panels on home rooftops could be used to charge vehicle batteries for driving. While parked and plugged in, vehicles could feed stored energy back to the home or to the electricity grid.

Trinity also carries a small on-board fuel cell to provide auxiliary power for air conditioning, entertainment systems and other services.

Trinity is the latest refinement in a series of award-winning plug-in hybrids built by Frank and his students. Others include "Sequoia," a Chevy Suburban, and "Yosemite," a Ford Explorer. The group has also built high mileage versions of the Mercury Sable and other cars.

The original unmodified vehicle was donated by General Motors and supplied locally by Hanlees Chevrolet of Davis for the competition.

Challenge X is a three-year national competition sponsored by General Motors, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other partners. Engineering students from 17 universities across North America are challenged to re-engineer a mid-size SUV to achieve better fuel economy and lower emissions. The program provides the opportunity for engineering schools to participate in real-world research and math-intensive development with leading-edge automotive propulsion, fuels, materials and emissions-control technologies.

In the first year (2004-5), teams worked on vehicle design using the same techniques and software as auto industry designers. Over the past year, they have worked on putting their designs together in an actual vehicle, which will compete in field tests this June. In the final year (2006-7), they will refine their vehicles leading up to the final competition.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060520000903.htm

Lexus Hybrid On Sale

Lexus has launched the GS 450h, the world's first rear-wheel drive petrol-electric hybrid saloon car. Power comes from a 292bhp 3.5-litre petrol V6 engine and a 197bhp permanent magnet electric motor, and although they don't operate at full blast at the same time their combined output can reach 341bhp.

That's enough to create a 0-62mph time of 5.9 seconds and a top speed limited to 155mph, but because not all the power comes from burning petrol the fuel economy is impressively low at 35.8mpg combined, with CO2 emissions of 186g/km.

There are three models - basic, SE and SE-L - and they cost £38,015, £43,920 and £46,765 respectively. Continuously variable transmission is standard for all three, while insurance is Group 17 except in the case of the SE-L, which is at Group 18.

Lexus expects to sell 700 GS 450h models this year, representing 30% of all sales in the GS range. The total for 2007 is expected to be 750 units.

Source: http://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/2006/may/22/10120.asp

Scientists Ask Congress to Fund Plug-In Hybrid Auto Research

By Ken Thomas - AP

"To think that you could pull into your garage at the end of the day and 'fill 'er up' just by plugging your car into a regular, 110-volt socket in the garage is very appealing," said Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., chair of the House Science subcommittee on energy.

A group of scientists urged Congress on Wednesday to fund research for plug-in hybrid vehicles, touting the technology as another way to reduce the nation's dependence on oil through the help of a simple electrical socket.

With high gas prices straining some Americans' budgets, advocates of the alternative vehicles told a House committee that plug-in hybrids could reduce gasoline consumption and reduce air emissions. While ethanol-fueled vehicles will require a better network of fueling pumps, a plug-in hybrid car could recharge at home.

Creating Prototypes
"To think that you could pull into your garage at the end of the day and 'fill 'er up' just by plugging your car into a regular, 110-volt socket in the garage is very appealing," said Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., chair of the House Science subcommittee on energy.

Plug-in hybrids combine hybrid technology -- which uses both gasoline and electric power -- with large batteries that can be plugged into a standard wall socket. To help learn more about the vehicles, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said he would introduce legislation to provide US$250 million in grants to research battery technology and develop a fleet of demonstration plug-in vehicles that could be further tested.

President Bush has called for more research to develop smaller, longer-lasting batteries for plug-in hybrids, noting that the technology could help motorists drive 40 miles on the battery without having to use any gasoline.

Dr. Andrew Frank, a mechanical and aeronautical engineering professor at the University of California, Davis, said researchers have developed preproduction vehicles but need funding to create a fleet of about 100 plug-ins that could be tested around the nation.

Assessing Obstacles
The auto industry has said the technology offers promise, but notes the current vehicles are not cost-effective and says it's too early in the development of advanced batteries and hydrogen vehicles to know whether they could be viable. Hybrids currently account for about 1 percent of the U.S. auto market.

The additional battery capacity can add up 500 pounds to the vehicle, reducing its performance, and the demands on the battery are greater, leading to faster deterioration of the battery.

John German of American Honda Motor told lawmakers the technology offered potential, but the larger battery pack "adds thousands of dollars to the initial price of the vehicle and detracts from the performance and interior space."

Others have worried that thousands of plug-in hybrids could overwhelm the electric grid. Paul Williamsen, a product education manager with Toyota, told reporters Tuesday that the automaker found from experience with electric vehicles that consumers often plugged in their vehicles during the day, leading to "increased total consumption on the electrical grid during those peak daylight hours."

However Roger Duncan, deputy general manager of Austin Energy in Texas, said the obstacles involving the batteries could be addressed. The main obstacle, he said, is "automotive industry inertia based on a perception that there is not a commercially viable market."

© 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© 2006 ECT News Network. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/50596.html

Hybrid harbinger

By Jon Newberry - Post staff reporter

Just as Toyota is starting to sell hybrid versions of its popular Camry sedan, U.S. sales trends of Toyota's groundbreaking Prius hybrid are slowing for the first time since consumer demand surged more than two years ago.

The timing isn't mere coincidence, nor is the cause a shortage of willing buyers for Toyota Motor Co.'s gasoline-and-electric-powered Prius, according to company officials. Rather, the problem is that there are even fewer Priuses available than there were last year, when waiting lists often stretched to six months.

"Production numbers are a little lower this year at the moment. We're basically selling all we can get," said Sam Butto, a Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. spokesman in Torrance, Calif. "It isn't from a lack of interest from the public. That's for sure."

The car that led a revolution away from gas-guzzlers was a novelty when it was introduced, its image instantly polished by movie stars commuting around Hollywood in theirs. Today, you're more likely than not to pass a Prius on your Interstate 75 commute. They've gone mainstream as gas prices have gone up and hybrid technology has proven itself. Given the public's embrace, automakers are responding by building more hybrids.

Ironically, production capacity for Priuses in Japan is constrained because Toyota recently began making Camry hybrids - which are just hitting West Coast showrooms - on the same assembly line. That should change later this year when Toyota's manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Ky., starts producing a hybrid version of the Camry. It will be the first Toyota hybrid made in North America. Until now, all the Toyota hybrids sold here have been imported from Japan.

Fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co., is also responding to American demands for more fuel-efficient cars. The company announced Thursday it will stop making the slow-selling Honda Insight hybrid in September and will introduce a new, more affordable hybrid to the North American market in 2009.

Earlier this week, Japan's No. 3 automaker confirmed reports it is planning to build a new plant in the United States - its sixth in North America - as part of its strategy to capture a larger share of the American market. Ohio, which already has two Honda plants, and Indiana are seeking the new plant.

For Toyota another factor contributing to slower sales of its Prius is that the monthly comparisons are a lot tougher, because U.S. sales of Priuses peaked last spring. The company sold 10,236 in March 2005 and 11,345 in April, the only times monthly sales have topped 10,000.

Monthly Prius sales had easily outpaced those of the prior-year period until three months ago, when February sales of 6,547 cars fell short of the 7,078 sold in February 2005. The gap widened in March, when Toyota sold 23 percent fewer Priuses than in March 2005, and again in April when sales were off 25 percent.

Year-to-date Prius sales through April were down 10 percent after doubling last year to 107,897 cars.

In addition to 8,234 Priuses, Toyota sold 3,768 Highlander hybrid SUVs and 2,247 Lexus RX400h hybrid SUVs in April. Those hybrid models, also made in Japan but at another plant, were introduced in North America last spring and summer. The all-new Lexus GS 450h hybrid sedan went on sale recently and posted early sales of 141 units in April.

When Georgetown begins producing hybrid Camrys later this year, it will initially source its hybrid components - including specialized electric motors, generators, transmissions, and batteries - from Japan. But Butto said the recent shortage of Priuses isn't tied to a scarcity of hybrid components. "I don't think that is the problem. It's basically a shortage of vehicles," he said.

Victor Vanov, a spokesman for Toyota's North American manufacturing headquarters in Erlanger, Ky., said start-up of Camry production in Georgetown should help alleviate the Prius shortage.

"The ultimate goal is that when Camrys are being produced in Georgetown, that will free up capacity for more Priuses in Japan," he said.

The Prius shortage isn't really evident in Northern Kentucky, where the wait for an ordered Prius at Kerry Toyota has declined from about 12 weeks a year ago to 8-to-12 weeks now, according to John Paolucci, sales manager at the Florence, Ky., car dealer.

The wait is about three months at Dry Ridge Toyota in Grant County, Ky., although it has two coming in this month that will be available for sale. A lot of the dealership's business comes from Toyota employees who work at the Georgetown plant, according to Mike Griese, general sales manager. So Toyota cuts it a little more slack when it allocates hard-to-get models, and Priuses are "very hard to get," he said.

He's sold cars to buyers from as far away as California, where Priuses are allowed to use less-congested, high-occupancy-vehicle lanes even if the driver is the only occupant. One recent West Coast buyer, who flew to Kentucky to pick up his Prius, told Griese the car was going to cut an hour-and-a-half off his daily commute. "I would've paid $40,000 for this car," the buyer said.

Even used Priuses are hard to find. At an auction last month, used 2005 Priuses were selling for as much as 2006 models, Griese said.

Paolucci said Kerry Toyota doesn't have any Priuses in stock at the moment - although they can become available if someone cancels an order - but does have 10 Highlander hybrid SUVs on the lot.

Griese said the market for hybrid Highlanders is different from that for Priuses and hybrid Camrys because the Highlanders are designed to deliver more horsepower rather than better fuel-economy. Hybrid Highlander are rated at only about 4 miles per gallon better than the regular models, but they deliver 40 percent more horsepower, he said. The hybrid Camry, by contrast, is rated at 42 mpg in city driving, which is 18 mpg, or 75 percent, more than a regular Camry comparably equipped.

Source: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS01/605190345/1010/RSS01

Honda to Stop Making Insight Hybrid

DETROIT - Honda Motor Co. will stop making the slow-selling Honda Insight hybrid in September and will introduce a new, more affordable hybrid to the North American market in 2009, a company spokesman said Thursday.

The Honda Insight was the first hybrid vehicle on sale in the United States in 1999, but it never achieved the popularity of the Toyota Prius, which went on sale a year later. Toyota sold 107,897 Priuses in 2005, while Honda sold 666 Insights. Still, Insight sales were up 15 percent in 2005 compared with the year before, and sales shot up another 83 percent in the first four months of this year as gas prices rose.

Honda spokesman David Iida said Honda plans to introduce a hybrid family car that is one class below the compact Honda Civic hybrid and more affordable than the Civic. The Honda Civic now starts at $14,760, while the Insight starts at $19,330.

Iida said the company is targeting U.S. and Canadian sales of 100,000 vehicles annually with the new hybrid. Honda said in 1999 it expected to sell around 5,000 Insights a year, but sales totaled just 13,374 from 1999 through March of this year.

The Insight may not be the only hybrid on Honda's chopping block. Honda Executive Vice President Dick Colliver said last month that the automaker may cut production of the Honda Accord hybrid because sales have been slow.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060518/ap_on_bi_ge/honda_hybrids_1

Honda Confirms North American Expansion, Announces New Hybrid Car

Honda announced plans to construct a new auto plant in the U.S. with an investment of approximately $400 million to begin production in 2008, and construction of a new engine plant in Canada to begin production of four-cylinder engines in 2008 with an investment of $140 million. Honda also announced the expansion of U.S. engine, transmission and powertrain component production in Ohio and Georgia, with an additional investment of $125 million.

The company also said it plans the introduction in the U.S. and Canada in 2009 of a new, more affordable, dedicated hybrid car as well as the introduction in the U.S. and Canada within the next three years of new diesel engine technology that meets U.S. EPA Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards.

As a result of this expansion, Honda's automobile production capacity in North America will increase from 1.4 million to 1.6 million units in 2008.

"We continue to experience record demand for Honda and Acura vehicles in North America," said Koichi Kondo, COO of Honda's North American region and president & CEO of American Honda in a news release. "To meet the needs of our customers and in accordance with our company's vision for the future, we will introduce new fuel efficient vehicles and deepen our commitment to production in North America and we will do this in an environmentally responsible way regarding our products and the operations that produce them."

Honda has decided to build a new plant in North America, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing individuals familiar with the move. Honda is running out of manufacturing capacity in part due to strong sales of the new Civic, the story said.

Where Honda may add new manufacturing capacity or what product it will build wasn't clear immediately, the story said. But one possibility is the recently launched Honda Fit mini car.

The Associated Press reported that Honda is considering Ohio as the location for its new automobile plant. Honda already employs about 16,000 workers in the state.

--------------------
Source: http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyautoinsider/11131/honda-confirms-north-american-expansion-announces-new-hybrid-car.html

Hyundai Delays Hybrid Car Sale

By Kim Yon-se - Staff Reporter

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have decided to delay the commercialization of hybrid cars powered by electricity and gasoline by more than 12 months than earlier scheduled.

The country¡¯s two major automakers originally planned to start massive production of the cars in late 2007, but Thursday said the eco-friendly cars _ the Verna and the Pride _ will be available from 2009.

Hyundai Motor said the delay reflects skepticism about commercial viability and possible violation of international laws.

``The cars are not marketable in their current form,¡¯¡¯ a company spokesman said. ``We have technologies. But how can we sell those by bearing the risk of operating losses?¡¯¡¯

Commenting on promised government aid, he said: ``Global competitors may file complaints with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against us if we lower consumer prices of the cars after receiving state funds.¡¯¡¯

It costs more to manufacture hybrid than gasoline cars. Expensive hand-making processes involved in producing hybrids are factors precluding a price reductions.

The high prices also reflect higher research and development costs. For carmakers, there is no choice but to bear the burden of losses by lowering prices if they want mass sales of the hybrid cars.

Hyundai and Kia have been supplying the hybrid-version of Verna and Pride to government ministries since 2004 as a pilot scheme ahead of commercialization.

A Kia official said, ``We planned to sell to consumers from late 2007 after mass sales to ministries by late 2006. But we have to delay the schedule,¡¯¡¯ adding that its revised plan is the same as its Hyundai affiliate.

Policymakers are expressing anxiety over the future of Korea¡¯s automobile industry as developed nations hurry to unveil as many hybrids as possible, amid growing regulations to protect the environment.

In an earlier interview with The Korea Times, Commerce-Industry-Energy Minister Chung Sye-kyun said, ``Hyundai Motor has fallen behind Toyota Motor in the research and development of hybrid cars.

--------------------
Source: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200605/kt2006051818183211870.htm

To hybrid or not to hybrid?

Car shoppers may get that 'green feeling' but not save much 'green'

REBECCA TOWNS / Press & Sun-Bulletin

Fuel economy was Pete Peterson's top priority when he went shopping for a new car last year. He wanted a car that would maximize his money at the pump and be safe and reliable.

In his research he came across the hybrid Toyota Prius and its claim of getting 50 miles to the gallon. He's so happy with his buy that he bought a second hybrid.

"I've got to watch the dollars, and this is one way to do that," said Peterson, 63, of Chenango Forks, who retired 10 years ago. "It's plain good business sense."

The surge in gas prices has made many new- car seekers seriously consider hybrid options that may have seemed like space-age technology just a few years ago. But the new technology may not be the best deal when you get down to figuring your savings over the next five years.

"Hybrid is the biggest name in the industry now, no matter what make or model," said Gary Corey, owner of Corey's Northgate Ford and Mazda in the Town of Chenango.

U.S. hybrid sales more than doubled last year to about 200,000, yet hybrids comprise only slightly more than 1 percent of domestic vehicle sales, according to R.L. Polk & Co., a Michigan-based firm that analyzes automotive industry data. In 2000, just 7,700 hybrids were sold in the United States.

In 2005, New York state was fourth in the nation in hybrid car registrations -- with 4.7 percent of the total hybrid fleet. California led the nation with 26.4 percent of the country's hybrids.

"The demand appears to be nearly endless," said Bradley Berman, editor of HybridCars.com, a site that tracks hybrid car market trends. "The marketplace is sending a clear message that they want more fuel-efficient cars."

Like several other Tier car dealers, Corey's Northgate Ford and Mazda has seen a large increase recently in the number of customers thinking hybrid. Although the dealership offers only one hybrid model - the Ford Escape SUV - Corey said many customers are coming in with every intention of buying that car.

But the hybrid Escape costs as much as $3,000 more than the gasoline-only model. When customers factor in that additional up-front cost versus the amount of money they'd save in gas over the lifetime of the car, most realize it may not be the best deal for them, he said.

"When they really look at it, hybrid seems to be mostly hype now," said Corey, who is also president of the Greater Binghamton New Car Dealers Association.

A recent analysis by Consumer Reports showed that most hybrids on the market now could cost drivers several thousand dollars more than their traditional counterparts. The nonprofit research organization calculated costs based on a motorist driving 15,000 miles a year for five years in a vehicle purchased this year in California and gasoline rising to $4 per gallon.

"To start saving money, you really have to hope the price of gas goes up, and you drive a lot of miles," said Jon Linkov, Consumer Reports' managing editor for auto. "Don't go in (to the dealer) thinking it's a hybrid, and you will be saving money."

Only two hybrid models - the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic - save owners a few hundred dollars more than comparable gas-only models, Consumer Reports' research found. Linkov said prospective buyers should do their research on their personal savings potential before committing to a hybrid.

Federal tax credits make hybrids more cost-competitive with their traditional counterparts, but those credits are limited to the first 60,000 hybrid vehicles made by each automobile manufacturer.

For some buyers, however, the feeling of knowing their automobile choice is ultimately doing something to improve the environment is worth the extra cost, Linkov said.

"You can't put a dollar value on that green feeling," he said.

Rich Russ, Honda sales manager at Miller Honda in Vestal, said he can anticipate, based on the price at the pumps, when customers will come in asking about the hybrid Honda Civic.

Unlike at other local dealerships, which receive casual inquiries about hybrid models, Russ said customers at Miller Honda have already made up their minds to go hybrid; it's just a matter of which car they want.

"Every time we see these peaks everyone comes in like crazy," he said. "It's all driven by their pocketbooks."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

--------------------
Source: http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060516/LIFESTYLE/605160302/1004

Green With Envy

By LINDSAY BROOKE New York Times Service

If the crossword puzzle clue is "hybrid car," the answer is probably "Prius." Since Toyota brought that model to the United States six years ago, the company has basked in a green public-relations glow - even though Honda was first with a modern gas-electric car (the Insight) and Ford sold the first hybrid SUV (the Escape).

But with a mix of creative engineering, clever promotion and fortunate timing, Toyota has set the de facto standard for the entire class of eco-friendly vehicles. It has licensed its software to Ford and is selling hybrid components to Nissan. Toyota has half a dozen hybrid models in showrooms or on the way - twice as many as any other automaker - ranging from the miserly Prius to the $100,000-plus Lexus LS600hL.

Yet the domination of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive is coming under assault from some of the auto industry's top engineers. For more than a year, in nondescript buildings in Troy, Mich., north of Detroit, a German-American consortium of BMW, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors has been working quietly to develop a distinctly different type of hybrid powertrain.

On Friday, the consortium's top executives formally unveiled that system, which they call a two-mode hybrid, at an industry conference in Vienna, Austria. Until then, most important details were kept under wraps by the joint development group, called the Global Hybrid Cooperation.

The two-mode system will be available in a wide range of cars, trucks and SUVs made by the three companies, starting with the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe that goes on sale in fall 2007. GM says that compared with conventional Tahoes, the hybrid version will achieve 25 percent better mileage in combined city and highway driving.

While the two-mode system takes a new approach to hybrid drive technology, there are some similarities. Like all hybrids, the two-mode combines the power of a gasoline engine with that of electric motors; it captures energy from braking that would otherwise be lost; and it shuts off the engine at a stop. Like most of today's hybrids, batteries alone can power the vehicle at low speeds.

But the new technology is different in some crucial respects. It has the potential to operate much more efficiently at highway speeds, with a greater boost from the electric motors. The components are lighter and more compact and can be readily adapted to different types of vehicles. It is particularly well suited to large trucks and SUVs - the biggest gas hogs in Americans' garages - where it will have the greatest impact on overall fuel consumption.

Larry Nitz, hybrid engineering director of GM and an executive in the consortium, noted that hybrid technology had not gained a foothold in these heavy vehicles. Big luxury cars from BMW, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz are also candidates for the system.

Existing hybrid systems have a single mode of operation, using a single planetary gear set to split the engine's power - routing it to drive the wheels or charge the battery - for both city and highway driving.

These systems are effective at low speeds because they can move the car without running the gas engine. But at higher speeds, when the engine is needed, using the electric motors has much less benefit; sending power through electric motors and a variable transmission is roughly 20 percent less efficient than driving the car through a purely mechanical power path, using gears.

Also, driving a single-mode vehicle at higher speeds by electric power requires larger, heavier, costlier electric motors, and is less than ideal for towing or hauling.

The two-mode system also has a variable transmission but adds two planetary gear sets (which multiply the torque from the power source). This arrangement provides two operating modes for the electric motors. The first is for accelerating from a standstill to second gear; another phase takes the car from second gear to overdrive.

The system adds two clutches, which can engage different gear combinations to provide an overlay of four fixed (not variable) gear ratios. To the driver, these feel and function like the stepped gear changes of an automatic transmission. Because the torque is multiplied by the gears, the electric motors can be much smaller - small enough, in fact, to fit in the same housing as the transmission. And because the whole package is so tidy and integrated, it can be manufactured in modules that each of the three companies can install on its own cars and trucks.

"Ours offers the mechanical power path that's more efficient than a one-mode's mostly electric path," Nitz, the GM engineer, said.

The two-mode system also makes better use of cylinder-deactivation systems - these shut down half the cylinders when not needed, improving gas mileage - of the GM and Chrysler V-8s that will power many of the hybrid trucks and SUVs.

Hybrid sales in the United States have roughly doubled in four of the last five years, a fact regularly cited by supporters of the technology. But the roughly 206,000 hybrid cars and trucks sold in the last year amounted to only 1.2 percent of the total auto market. The Prius accounted for slightly more than half of hybrids sold in 2005.

"There is still a lot of guessing about the hybrid customer," said Andreas Truckenbrodt, an executive director of the two-mode consortium who works for DaimlerChrysler. "And how long will he be willing to pay extra for hybrids?"

The consortium's two-mode system is a scaled-down evolution of a heavy-duty hybrid powertrain developed by Allison, a unit of GM's powertrain group, that is used in more than 400 hybrid-electric city buses. Development began in the 1990s as an outgrowth of GM's short-lived EV-1 electric car.

GM and DaimlerChrysler formed the consortium in 2005 after learning that they were working on similar approaches. BMW then signed on.

The two-mode system will be the first "full hybrid" from GM, DaimlerChrysler or BMW, finally giving them technology to counter Toyota, which is developing its third-generation hybrid. A full hybrid is capable of driving the vehicle on battery power alone at low speeds.

Because the two-mode design uses some off-the-shelf components and spreads costs across three companies, it should be less expensive. High costs have hindered mainstream acceptance of hybrids, said Wolfgang Epple, vice president for BMW's program and a consortium director.

Despite the common parts, the system will be calibrated to match each company's engines and brand character, Epple said. He promised that a two-mode installed in a BMW X5 sport wagon, for example, would feel and perform differently from one installed in a Cadillac Escalade or Dodge Durango.

The system is being configured for rear- and front-drive applications, and is designed to be easily scaled up or downsized, depending on a vehicle's type, size and power.

Having the automakers share a common design and manufacturing operation - the transmission will be produced at a GM plant in Baltimore next year - also helps to lower costs through economies of scale.

The plant is capable of building more than 300,000 transmissions a year. Whether they are two-mode hybrids or conventional six-speed automatics will depend on demand. According to a recent forecast by CSM Worldwide, an industry research company in Farmington Hills, Mich., the three automakers' two-mode production could reach 83,000 by 2010; well over half of those units will go into full-size GM trucks, CSM said.

Eric Fedewa, director of global powertrain forecasting at CSM, said the two-mode system would bring benefits beyond fuel efficiency to larger trucks and cars. "Smooth running on the battery alone at low speed gives added refinement to trucks in particular," he said.

--------------------
Source: http://www.tbo.com/news/money/MGBJWQW38NE.html

Demand lags gains in fuel, car technology

Politics, economics suppress market for gasoline substitutes
Mike Lafferty and Tim Doulin - THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

We have the technology right here, right now to move away from high-priced gasoline.

We can build a battery-powered car that can recharge overnight on household current. And we have the technology to begin to create enough alternative biofuels to significantly reduce oil imports.

So what’s standing in the way?

Economics and politics, experts say.

Bridging the gap

"What comes first, the chicken or the egg?" said Giorgio Rizzoni, the director of Ohio State University’s Center for Automotive Research. "Building a new auto plant costs $300 million to $600 million."

Still, rising fuel costs are pushing change — slowly. Carmakers are introducing hybrids that run on gas and electricity, ethanol is in the news again, and President Bush is talking up hydrogen fuel-cell technology.

Experts say that liquid fuel alternatives might bridge the next 20 years to when hightech, low-polluting electric and fuel-cell cars fill the roads.

Within a decade, scientists in labs at OSU and elsewhere plan to equip a vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell that could power a car and supply electricity to homes.

"Your car could become an emergency generator for your house," Rizzoni said.

Major automakers are slow to make the huge investments needed to build new plants for technology still considered to meet a niche demand, he said.

Still, DaimlerChrysler recently announced a test fleet of plug-in hybrid vans that it says can travel as far as 20 miles on one charge.

"Really, for the commuting public, the majority of trips are 10 to 15 miles. It makes a lot of sense for those types of trips," said David Abel, coordinator of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s air-quality program.

Far more advanced vehicles are approaching. An advanced lithium battery in Hybrid Technologies’ electric vehicle lasts for 300 miles on a fivehour charge, the company says.

But at $35,000, the price is steep.

Like a gas-powered engine, batteries in a standard electric hybrid may someday need to be replaced. But the vehicle may get 200,000 or more miles before that happens, said Sam Spofforth, executive director of Clean Fuels Ohio.

"If the battery life were that big of a concern, you would see the hybrids paying a penalty for the battery life," Spofforth said. "But you don’t see that, in terms of the resale value."

Proponents say plug-ins will be able to compete with gas or hybrids in five years.

"The biggest factor is going to be how aggressive the automakers and the U.S. government are willing to be in terms of research and development," Spofforth said.

Wondering about ethanol

The choice of the alternative fuel of the future is not obvious yet.

Ethanol is made from renewable resources such as corn and switch grass. In a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, called E85, it fits relatively easily into the existing refinery and transportation structure.

E85 burns cleaner, emits less and, proponents say, would reduce dependency on imported oil. On the downside, it contains less energy per gallon.

Last year, about 12 percent of the 11 billion bushels of corn produced in the United States went to ethanol production, with about 18 percent going unused.

"All that says is we can keep increasing the production of ethanol without any concern of us as a world running out of corn," said Tadd Nicholson, director of programs for the Ohio Corn Growers Association.

But critics say the current corn supply will not meet our fuel needs.

Mark Thomas, an Ohio farmer and drag racer, doesn’t have to be sold on the virtues of ethanol. The five-time International Hot Rod Association world champion uses it to fuel his drag-racing car.

"If you take 10 percent ethanol, it reduces pollution 25 percent," Thomas said. "Just imagine what that 85 percent does."

Just a few stations in Ohio sell E85. That could change if the governor approves legislation that would create incentives for retailers to convert existing pumps to E85 and blended biodiesel.

With or without the pumps, the cars are coming.

Since 2000, General Motors has built 1.5 million flexiblefuel vehicles, which can run on gas, E85 or other alternative fuels.

In 2006, it will build an additional 400,000, said Ed Cordon, regional commercial product trainer for GM in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.

Meijer Inc. recently announced that E85 will be available at 40 of its stores in Michigan and Indiana.

"If you could get a major retailer to come on board like that, suddenly you could have E85 in your neighborhood pretty darn quick," Cordon said.

Alternatives will have to battle competition from traditional gasoline and diesel engines, which will be made more efficient as the price of gasoline increases.

"We don’t really need hybrid electrics," said John Maples, an analyst for the federal Energy Information Administration.

Automakers already know how to produce more fuelefficient engines, but consumers don’t notice it because the technology is used to boost horsepower rather than fuel efficiency, he said.

"Someday, maybe zero to 60 won’t be quite so important," he said.

Upping the ante

All of this, however, will depend on oil prices, which could drop as production expands from tar sands, coal and other nontraditional sources, said Mike Griffin, executive director of the Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

A complete switch to biofuels would require not only a lot of land, but also a doubling of average fuel efficiency, he said.

Here’s the magnitude of the challenge: In 2004, Americans used 140 billion gallons of gasoline. Last year, about 4.3 billion gallons of ethanol were produced.

The economics for drivers also are not yet obvious. Even at $3 a gallon for gas, it would take five or six years of savings to make a gas-electric hybrid cost effective.

At $4 a gallon and up, however, hybrids really begin to make sense, said OSU’s Rizzoni.

Some are looking even further into the future.

At OSU’s Center for Automotive Research, scientists are trying to adapt vehicles to run on hydrogen fuel cells, which many believe will be the most pollution-free alternative.

A fuel cell combines hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, and oxygen to produce electricity to run a motor. Water and heat are byproducts.

Researchers say they are three times as efficient as internal combustion engines.

That means an electricity source could be as close as the car in the driveway in case of an emergency or blackout.

"When you get home at night, they would continue to run. Just plug them into the house," said Bradley Glenn, a fuel-cell scientist at Battelle.

--------------------
Source: http://www.dispatch.com/science/science.php?story=dispatch/2006/05/14/20060514-A1-03.html

Hybrids, Hype And Tax Breaks

Want to reduce the impact of higher prices for a gallon of gasoline? There's a way it can be done: Buy a vehicle with higher gas mileage. And when gas saving is an issue, nothing comes to mind faster than hybrid cars: those environmentally friendly fourwheelers that have both gasoline engines and electric motors.

Sales of hybrids more than doubled last year, reports automotive market-research firm R.L. Polk & Co.

Nearly 200,000 vehicles were registered in 2005. Last week, Ford Motor Co. said combined sales of its Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids in April rose 68 percent over March sales.

"There is a strong market for hybrids, provided they are attainable and affordable," a company spokesman said. "More and more consumers want to improve their fuel economy, both to save money at the pump and to limit the social and environmental impacts of oil consumption."

For 2005 hybrid sales, California was the biggest market, with 52,619 registered last year -about 25 percent of the market. Florida came in a distant second, with just more than 10,000.

Those two states, along with Texas, New York, Virginia, Illinois, Washington and Pennsylvania, accounted for more than half of U.S. hybird cars sold.

But even though sales more than doubled for hybrids in four out of the past five years, they still account for little more than 1 percent of all vehicles on the road.

One might think that Congress would be getting the idea about fuel-efficient hybrids. But the 2005 Energy Policy Act contains an odd provision: A tax credit of $3,400 is given to those who purchase the most fuel-efficient hybrid cars. One of those is the Toyota Prius, which comes close to doubling the gas mileage of a conventional car.

But the energy act contains a provision that once a company sells 60,000 hybrid cars in a year, its customers will no longer get the cost-saving tax credit. It will be quickly phased out once the 60,000 threshold is crossed.

Why? Because General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were far behind the curve on fuel-efficient cars. They continued to churn out lowmileage SUVs and were able to get Congress to pass a massive tax break for big SUVs in 2003 that allowed a deduction of up to $25,000 in the first year.

And U.S. automakers convinced Congress to put a 60,000-unit cap on hybrids so visionary car companies -- such as Honda and Toyota -- would lose a benefit for their customers just as the U.S. car companies were starting to crank up hybrid sales.

A Toyota spokesman said the company is expected to hit the 60,000 mark by the end of June. President George W. Bush last month called for the cap to be removed so all car companies would have the same incentives.

While hybrids have many advantages, not all hybrids are created equal -- something legislators must remember when crafting incentives. Jamie Lincoln Kitman, New York bureau chief for Automobile Magazine, recently likened the hybrid car to "fat-free desserts, which sound healthy but can still make you fat."

In an op-ed piece in The New York Times, Kitman said there are good and bad hybrids: "Lately, right-minded people have been calling me and telling me they're thinking about buying the Lexus 400H, a new hybrid SUV. When I tell them that they'd get better mileage in some conventional SUVs, and even better mileage with a passenger car, they protest, `But it's a hybrid!'

"I remind them that the 21 miles per gallon I saw while driving the Lexus is not particularly brilliant, efficiency-wise -- hybrid or not. Because the Lexus 400H is a relatively heavy car and because its electric motor is deployed to provide speed more than efficiency, it will never be a mileage champ."

The cars perform best in terms of gas mileage when driven in city traffic, where the electric motors do most of the work. Thus, taxis and buses that use the gas-electric combination "make enormous sense," said Kitman.

He went on to write that the real danger with hybrids is that "the automakers will co-opt the hybrids' green mantle, and with the help of government looking to bail out its troubled friends in Detroit, misguidedly encourage the sale of hybrids without reference to their actual effect on oil consumption."

There's no question that hybrids can squeeze more mileage out of a gallon of gas than conventional automobiles. But there's also no question that some SUV hybrids will get less gas mileage than some gasoline-powered ones.

Congress should set tax incentives accordingly -- based on proven efficiencies. And while members of Congress are at it, eliminate the phase-out provision that begins when a manufacturer sells 60,000 hybrids.

--------------------
Source: http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060512/NEWS/605120309/1036

Will You Stretch the Dollar for a Hybrid Car?

HAGERSTOWN, MD- As gasoline prices hover at $3 per gallon, hybrid vehicles are apparently becoming more appealing to drivers.

Honda claims their gasoline-electric insight can get 66 miles per gallon. Are drivers willing to make the switch to hybrids?

"Yes, I would if I could afford one. They're very expensive, so I don't know if I’d ever be able to afford one," said Tina Jackson, driver.

"If anyone has that car, really it's saving a lot of money, especially when it comes to gas money right now,” said Vinnie Dicola, driver.

We had thought about it. They're very expensive, but hopefully in a few years, they'll come down in price. But, I think it is beneficial for the economy; the way it is right now," said Tamara Hoffman, driver.

It's rare to find used Hybrids for sale, and when they do come in, managers at Hagerstown Honda said they don't stay for long. If you want a new model, you usually have to be patient.

"There is a waiting list on the Civic Hybrid since it has been re-designed for this model year, and gets better gas mileage and has more performance. We have a one to two month waiting list," said Jeff Knepper, Sales Consultant, Hagerstown Honda.

As far as safety, experts said there's no difference between the Hybrid and non-Hybrid. In fact, there is really no difference in appearance on some of them. You even fuel them just like you would any other car.

"Despite many rumors, you don't have to plug your hybrid in at night. You drive it just like you would drive any other car. You get in, put the key in the ignition and drive away. After the first week, you'll forget your driving a hybrid. As you can see, they look like a normal Accord and a normal Civic, and the only time you're reminded is when you're saving money at the gas pumps,” said Knepper.

You can also save some green on taxes. Right now, buyers will get a $2,100 tax credit if they buy a Civic Hybrid.

Several car makers do have Hybrid sports utility vehicles. Honda is considering making a Hybrid CRV starting next year.

Reported by Angela Bohon.

--------------------
Source: http://www.nbc25.com/main/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2409

Rating the Hybrids

by Mark Solheim - Kiplinger.com

See how seven of the most popular hybrids stack up in terms of value and environmental friendliness.

These are the most popular hybrid models. We left out the low-production Honda Insight and the Mercury Mariner, which is almost identical to the Ford Escape. Here are definitions of the factors we used to evaluate these cars:

The MPG numbers are the Environmental Protection Agency's, and therefore inflated, but they work for relative comparisons. You can get gas-mileage estimates from hybrid drivers at www.fueleconomy.gov.

Green scores are based on ratings from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a Washington, D.C., think tank. The 1 to 5 scale (5 is the most environmentally friendly) reflects fuel economy, as well as pollutants from vehicle tailpipes.

The five-year cost estimate includes car-loan payments, fees and taxes, fuel, insurance, maintenance, repairs and depreciation, plus the interest you'll lose on the extra money you pay for the hybrid. The federal 2006 tax credit is also reflected. This credit starts to phase out after a carmaker's 2006-or-later sales reach 60,000, so if you buy a Toyota or Lexus hybrid later this year, you might get a smaller credit. The numbers come from Vincentric, an automotive- research firm.

Finally, we say how much you would save (a negative number) or lose over five years versus a nonhybrid equivalent.

Toyota Prius
Sticker price: $22,885
MPG: 60 city/51 highway
Green score: 5/5
2006 tax credit: $3,150
Five-year cost: $28,650
Versus a nonhybrid: -$565

To many, the Prius is the epitome of the hybrid. It outshines the Honda Civic Hybrid in sales, and it scores slightly higher on the green quotient. Plus, its save-the-planet buzz is huge, helped by Hollywood heavies who drive the car.

Despite its four wheels and four doors, the Prius feels more like a spaceship than a car. You push the start button and you hear ... silence, thanks to the ultra-quiet electric motor. The shifter is a joystick-like knob on the dash that electronically shifts gears. Audio, climate and most other controls are accessible by touch screen.

Based on five-year ownership costs, the Prius is a slightly better value than the Toyota Corolla LE. It beats the Civic Hybrid, too, even though the sticker price is slightly higher, because five-year fuel costs are a few hundred dollars less, and Prius buyers are eligible for a $3,150 tax credit, compared with $2,100 for the Civic. Rear legroom in the Prius beats the Civic by 4 inches.

Honda Civic Hybrid
Sticker price: $22,400
MPG: 49 city/51 highway
Green score: 5/5
2006 tax credit: $2,100
Five-year cost: $29,900
Versus a nonhybrid: +$305

Honda redesigned the entire Civic line for 2006 and has won a gallery of awards, including Kiplinger's Best New Car in the lowest-price class. It has a bold new look and extra power. The hybrid powertrain has also been slightly reworked to get better city mileage. At idle, the gas engine shuts off with a reassuring thump.

The Civic Hybrid is one of the greenest vehicles on the road -- just behind the Prius. Ownership costs are $1,250 more over five years than for the Prius, but six airbags are standard (side and head-protection airbags on the Prius are a $650 option). Plus, the Civic won the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's top award for crash safety. And though it's slower than the gas-engine-only Civic, the Hybrid justifies its $4,500 premium with only slightly higher ownership costs over five years, thanks to lower fuel costs and the $2,100 tax credit.

Honda Accord Hybrid
Sticker price: $31,540
MPG: 25 city/34 highway
Green score: 3/5
2006 tax credit: $650
Five-year cost: $44,900
Versus a nonhybrid: +$3,350

The V6-plus-electric-motor Accord Hybrid's fuel-economy numbers won't impress your Greenpeace friends, but Honda isn't trying to win over the tree-hugging crowd. Instead, it promotes the car as a performance sedan that gets four-cylinder gas-engine mileage, thanks not only to the electric motor but also to technology that shuts down half the gas engine's cylinders when cruising.

With 253 horsepower, it accelerates from zero to 60 mph in an impressive 6.5 seconds, faster than the V6 Accord. The hybrid gets the same mileage as -- and a slightly lower green score than -- the four-cylinder Accord, at a $7,000 premium. That may be part of the reason that in its first year on the market, the hybrid had tepid sales. Or perhaps it was because the '05 was a $31,000 car that left out amenities such as a sunroof and a spare tire. Those perks have been added to the 2006 model, along with a better emissions rating.

Toyota Camry Hybrid
Sticker price: $29,500 (est.)
MPG: 43 city/37 highway
Green score: 4/5
2006 tax credit: $1,300
Five-year cost: NA
Versus a nonhybrid: NA

The Camry Hybrid takes a super-popular midsize family sedan and adds an environmentally friendly powertrain. The hybrid arrives at dealers in May or June, so final price and ownership costs aren't available yet. (The redesigned 2007 gasoline-engine Camrys are already at dealers, with a more contemporary, Lexus-inspired exterior, more power and more standard safety equipment.)

Equipped with a capable, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine plus an electric motor, the Camry Hybrid has decent acceleration (zero to 60 in about 9.4 seconds). The gas engine and electric motor produce a combined 192 hp -- well above the tepid 110 hp of the Prius and Civic Hybrid.

Although the gas-engine Camry and Accord are direct competitors, the two carmakers took different paths with their hybrids. The Camry Hybrid keeps the smaller gas engine and adds electric power to emphasize the green line more than the red line.

Ford Escape Hybrid
Sticker price: $28,060
MPG: 36 city/31 highway
Green score: 4/5
2006 tax credit: $2,600
Five-year cost: $40,600
Versus a nonhybrid: +$1,880

The Ford Escape has the distinction of being the first hybrid SUV and (with its new, nearly identical sister, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid) the only compact hybrid SUV so far. It's also available in four-wheel drive ($29,685; the Mariner with 4WD costs $30,455).

But there are problems. The $1,850 navigation system -- which is also the only means you have to track fuel economy and energy flow in real time -- is outdated. Plan to spend $600 for side- curtain airbags. Unlike the other hybrid SUVs, stability control isn't available. The hybrid's ownership costs are nearly $2,000 more than for the V6-engine Escape XLT, and a hefty $6,000 more than for the 153-hp, four-cylinder gas-engine Escape.

The whole Escape line is getting long in the tooth, and a freshening is planned for 2007. Buyers should probably wait another year to see if the new Escape hybrids have more going for them.

Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Sticker price: $33,635
MPG: 33 city/28 highway
Green score: 3/5
2006 tax credit: $2,600
Five-year cost: $42,800
Versus a nonhybrid: +$3,750

If you want a seven-passenger vehicle, this is as green as you're going to get. The Highlander Hybrid has a 268-hp, V6-packing powertrain good for zero-to-60 times of about seven seconds. Besides the third-row seat, standard equipment includes six airbags as well as a system that anticipates instability and makes corrections.

Like the other hybrids from Toyota, the electric motor can operate solo at speeds under 25 mph, making stop-and-go rush-hour driving the most fuel-efficient way to drive. The Highlander Hybrid is also available in a four-wheel-drive model ($35,035) and in a Limited trim level (starting at $38,495), which offers a moonroof, heated leather seats and alarm system.

If quick acceleration isn't your top priority, consider the four-cylinder gas-engine Highlander, which costs about five grand less to own over five years. Its green score is not as good as the hybrid's but is still above average for midsize SUVs.

Lexus RX 400h
Sticker price: $45,355
MPG: 33 city/28 highway
Green score: 3/5
2006 tax credit: $2,600
Five-year cost: $54,300
Versus a nonhybrid: +$3,360

The first midsize luxury hybrid SUV is essentially a less-spacious Toyota Highlander Limited with a heftier price tag and a few extras. But if you prefer the prestige of owning a Lexus, which confers a four-year warranty and Lexus's legendary customer pampering, then you'll want to compare the $37,065 gas-engine Lexus RX 330 with the $45,355 400h.

Lexus claims that about $6,000 of the extra cost of the hybrid is due to standard features that are options on the RX 330 -- leather seats, navigation system, a moonroof, rain-sensing wipers, rear parking aid, even cruise control. Oh, yeah, the hybrid is also faster than its conventional sibling.

Lexus only recently added this front-wheel-drive model to the lineup. If you feel the need for all-wheel drive, prepare to pony up another $1,500. All in all, you'll pay more for the hybrid -- but not that much more considering you're saving the planet and riding in style.

--------------------
Source: http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinance/magazine/archives/2006/05/greenrate.html?

Honda Fit Hybrid Expected in 2007

By Bradley Berman - HybridCars.com

The Emergence of the Economy Hybrid
In an exclusive interview with HybridCars.com, an industry insider has confirmed that Honda will release a hybrid version of the Honda Fit subcompact. The vehicle is schedule for release in mid-2007. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said:

"If you take the measurement from the wheel hub to the wheel hub of the Fit and the Insight, they are the same to the millimeter. The Fit is going to get the Insight engine. It's already a proven powertrain. It will probably get fuel economy in the low to mid-50s."

The source speculated that Honda would continue to make the Insight—which sells less than 100 units per month—in order to reserve bragging rights as the most fuel-efficient vehicle manufactured for American roads. The manual drive version of the two-door Honda Insight carries an estimated EPA highway rating of 65 mpg.

In the interview, HybridCars.com learned that Honda would also release a hybrid version of its CR-V mini-SUV in late 2006. Honda has not publicly confirmed its plans for hybrid versions of the Fit or CR-V.

The Rumor Mill
Rumors about a hybrid Fit began in February when the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbum reported that the new hybrid was on its way. Honda introduced the conventional Fit subcompact hatchback to the U.S. market in April 2006. The Fit is one of Honda’s hottest selling models in Asia and Europe, where it is sold as the Jazz.

More excitement was stirred when Edmunds's Inside Line suggested that the Honda Fit Hybrid could mean an 80-mpg car selling for under $12,000. Hyperbole and gossip notwithstanding, the prospect of an affordable subcompact hybrid could restore Honda to its hybrid glory days when the company introduced the Honda Insight as the first hybrid on American roads in 1999. If Hyundai delivers on its own plans later this year for a subcompact hybrid in the form of an Accent/Rio, then a new chapter in the hybrid saga will begin: the entry-level or economy hybrid. This will create a dilemma for journalists who have criticized the recent "muscle hybrids" as not worth the price of admission: Will they need to dig out their dusty old criticism of hybrids as silly econoboxes?

The emergence of subcompact hybrids might also encourage environmentalists who have criticized the same high-performance and SUV hybrids as a misuse of hybrid technology. They say that advances in automotive technology (including hybrid technology) over the past decades have been misplaced on larger and faster vehicles not well suited to increasingly crowded roadways—all with a big environmental cost.

A More Practical Insight
The debate will be settled by the marketplace. If gas prices continue to climb, will mainstream consumers give up a few feet of legroom for maximum fuel economy? The Nihon Keizai Shumbum report said that Honda is targeting fuel economy for the Fit hybrid in the 60-mpg range. As a subcompact, the Fit is cute and small—but has over 90 cubic feet of passenger volume (only slightly less than the midsize Accord) and 21.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity, nearly as much room as a Honda Element. The 60/40-split folding rear seats even allow the Fit to do some minor hauling. In that light, the Honda Fit hybrid could be viewed as a more practical four-door version of the Honda Insight.

It's unlikely that a Fit hybrid would sell anywhere near $12,000. The new conventional Fit subcompact is priced starting between $13,000 and $14,000. Commonly, the hybrid version of vehicle sells for a couple of thousand dollars more than its conventional sibling. Even with the Fit's hybrid premium, its price will beat out the Civic Hybrid by approximately $5,000 and a Prius by $7,000 or more. The gas-only Fit is powered by a 109-horsepower 1.5-liter, four-cylinder VTEC engine. The hybrid version. according to the HybridCars.com interview, will utilize a 1.0-liter engine.

--------------------
Source: http://www.hybridcars.com/honda-fit-hybrid.html

Road Test: Mariner SUV goes hybrid

But only about 4,000 vehicles will be built this year

By G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

The Mercury Mariner has now joined the fleet of hybrid vehicles available to U.S. car buyers, and along with the Ford Escape, gives consumers a choice of compact SUVs with a gasoline-saving hybrid drive train.

Production of the two models, which are essentially the same vehicle, is limited to just a few thousand a year, and in the case of the Mariner, orders must be placed through the Internet. The vehicles aren't sent to dealer lots to just wait for customers to show up. You can order an Escape hybrid at a Ford dealership, but don't expect to see one of those just sitting around either. With the recent spikes in gasoline prices, all of the hybrid vehicles offered are in short supply, and waiting lists are long.

SUVs are particularly in demand because of the fuel savings they can offer over conventional gasoline-powered sport utilities.

Ford expects to build about 20,000 of the Escapes this year and about 4,000 of the Mariners. One reason for the limited production is the availability of the nickel-metal-hydride battery packs that power the vehicles' electric motors. But the other reason is that Ford doesn't make much money on the sale of a hybrid and would like to keep their numbers to a minimum.

For now, hybrids such as these are meant more as a public-relations statement than a serious attempt at saving fuel and helping the environment. Despite the dearth of hybrids for consumers to get their hands on, we were able to give the 2006 Mariner hybrid an extensive test recently.

We found it quite capable of handling a family's vacation travel needs the way a good SUV should, while giving nearly 30 miles to the gallon in combined city/highway use. That's more than a 50 percent improvement over the mileage I've gotten with my own midsize, gas-powered sport utilities. Over a couple of long highway drives, the Mariner's thriftiness was quite evident.

A virtual clone of the Escape hybrid, this new Mercury model gives Ford its second hybrid vehicle and consumers a fourth hybrid SUV to choose among, as well as a seventh true hybrid vehicle overall.

Underneath, the Escape and Mariner are identical, sharing a hybrid drive train as well as chassis components.

List price of the Mariner is $29,840, including freight, which puts it slightly above the Escape, which begins at $26,830 and ranges as high as $28,455. Our test car came with a premium package ($3,795) that raised the sticker price to $33,635, including freight. But the package added such amenities as heated power mirrors, navigation system with under-seat six-disc CD changer, safety canopy and side air bags, and leather interior.

Even with the extras, our Mariner was well below the price of a similarly equipped Toyota Highlander hybrid, which can run $40,000, and way below the $50,000 of the Toyota Lexus RX 400h.

That puts the current crop of hybrid SUVs in a price range from $27,000 to $50,000, while the three hybrid sedans on the market -- the Honda Civic and Accord and the Toyota Prius -- range from about $21,000 to just over $32,000.

Like the Escape's system, the Mariner's combination of four-cylinder gasoline engine and electric motor give it a combined 155 horsepower and 50 percent better fuel economy in city driving than a V-6-powered Escape or Mariner. Yet acceleration is comparable to that of a V-6, the company says.

I'm not sure that's entirely true, however. I found the Mariner to have adequate power for most of my driving needs, but it felt more like a four-cylinder car than a V-6 most of the time. I could live with that for the extra fuel economy, but there were times when I pulled out to pass on some two-lane roads that I would have appreciated a bit more zip.

With two-wheel drive, the Escape's EPA ratings are 36 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway; with the four-wheel-drive models, the figures are 33 city/29 highway. The Mariner is offered only in the four-wheel-drive configuration.

Because our driving was a mix of city and highway, we never came close to the 33-mpg rating. But we did average about 28.7 mpg over a week, running nearly three tanks of fuel during that time.

The mileage for city driving is higher than for highway cruising because the vehicle is designed to shut off its gasoline engine during stops and to start up only on electric power until reaching a certain speed, which can be up to 25 mph.

That not only improves fuel economy significantly during stop-and-go city driving, but also lowers tailpipe emissions by keeping the gasoline engine off when the vehicle is stopped, such as at traffic signals or in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Idling engines are a large source of pollution in large cities where traffic is heavy.

The Mariner's battery pack, which is separate from the 12-volt battery that is used to start the gasoline engine, is recharged automatically whenever the gasoline engine is running, when the car is braking, or when the car is coasting.

As with other hybrids, the car never has to be "plugged in" to an external power source for recharging of the batteries, which is the biggest problem with pure electric-powered vehicles.

The biggest questions many consumers have about the hybrids are how long will the battery packs last and how much will it cost to replace them. Now, it costs about $5,000 for a replacement battery pack for most hybrids, but the ones that come with the cars generally are guaranteed to last for 10 years.

By that time, the manufacturers say, the prices for replacement batteries probably will have dropped significantly.

Ford developed its own hybrid system and did not copy any of Toyota's processes, but the final Ford system was so similar in many ways to Toyota's that Ford licensed 20 hybrid-drive patents from Toyota to avoid potential patent-infringement claims.

But Toyota acknowledges that the Escape and Mariner do not use any Toyota hybrid-drive components. Ford's are made by the Japanese automotive supplier Aisin.

Standard on the Mariner hybrid, besides four-wheel drive, are all familiar: power four-wheel disc anti-lock brakes; power windows/mirrors/door locks with remote control and so on.

As with the regular Mariner and Escape, the hybrid seats five people quite comfortably, and we had plenty of room for our luggage in the rear cargo area.

The cargo compartment has a lift gate that opens all in one piece, or the rear window can be opened by itself to load small items without opening the entire door.

We found that to be handy when we had the entire cargo area packed; opening the entire door might have let some things to fall out.

The vehicle rides smoothly on the highway, but is a bit noisy.

The engine seems to be revving higher than it would with a conventional automatic, and the high revolutions make the engine quite buzzy.

You do get used to it, and you will appreciate the Mariner's fuel economy each time you have to refill the tank.

2006 MERCURY MARINER HYBRID
BASE PRICE $29,225
TYPE Front-engine, four-wheel-drive, five-passenger, compact, hybrid sport utility vehicle
ENGINE 2.3-liter, double-overhead-cam Atkinson cycle four-cylinder mated to a 70-kilowatt electric motor
MILEAGE 33 mpg (city), 29 mpg (highway)
LENGTH 174.3 inches
WHEELBASE 103.2 inches
CURB WT. 3,787 pounds
BUILT IN Kansas City, Mo.
DESTINATION CHARGE $615
OPTIONS Premium package (includes premium leather seat trim, heated and power outside mirrors, retractable cargo cover, navigation system, side air bags and curtain air bags), $3,795

© 1998-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

--------------------
Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/wheels/269754_road12.html?source=rss

Nissan to Sell Hybrid Altima in Only 8 U.S. States

Bloomberg -- Nissan Motor Co., the last of Japan's biggest carmakers to sell a hybrid vehicle in the U.S., will offer its gasoline-electric Altima model only in the northeastern U.S. and California.

The 2007 model will be available early next year in California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and New Jersey, Nissan said in a statement. Sales are being limited to states that have adopted versions of California's so-called zero-emissions vehicle mandate, which requires the largest automakers to offer hybrids, spokesman Kurt Von Zumwalt said.

``We have capacity to make up to 50,000 hybrids, which is more than we expect to sell in those states,'' said Von Zumwalt, who is based at Nissan's North American unit in Gardena, California. ``If there's more demand, we'll have capacity to do more.''

Nissan, Japan's second-largest automaker, follows Japanese rivals Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. in selling hybrids in the U.S. Honda has sold the fuel-saving cars since 1999, and Toyota brought the Prius to the U.S. in 2000.

Carlos Ghosn, Tokyo-based Nissan's chief executive officer, has said the fuel savings of gasoline-electric autos, which cost at least $3,000 more than equivalent gasoline-engine only models, aren't compelling enough for most consumers.

Hybrids conserve fuel and reduce tailpipe emissions by combining a gasoline engine with an electric motor powered by battery packs and brakes that capture energy from stopping.

Honda, Toyota and Ford Motor Co. offer hybrids nationwide. General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, is adding a gas-electric version of its Saturn Vue sport-utility vehicle this year.

Slower Sales Growth

Hybrid sales in the U.S. more than doubled last year to a record 207,021, led by the Prius and Honda's Civic. Sales have been rising at a slower pace this year, with declines for Honda's Accord Hybrid and Ford's hybrid Escape and Mariner SUVs.

Nissan's decision to limit sales to a few states may reflect the cooling in demand for hybrids, said Wes Brown, an analyst at Iceology, a consumer research company in Los Angeles.

``This lets them launch it with much more modest goals and if it exceeds the goals, you can easily increase it,'' Brown said. ``Unless the vehicle screams `I'm driving a hybrid,' like Prius, it's become a tougher proposition.''

California Agreement

California, which has authority to set auto-pollution rules that exceed federal standards, in 2003 reached an agreement with the six biggest automakers in the U.S. requiring them to sell hybrids in the state.

Nissan didn't provide horsepower, fuel-economy or pricing data for the Altima Hybrid, which will have a 2.5-liter, four- cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission. Nissan is using a hybrid system supplied by Toyota, Japan's largest automaker and the world's biggest seller of gas-electric autos.

Ghosn's decision to sell hybrids in only eight U.S. states follows his statement during an April 12 interview in New York that it wasn't feasible to offer such vehicles in only parts of the U.S.

``I think when you offer a product, you have to offer it globally,'' he said in that interview.

Nissan's U.S. shares rose 37 cents to $24.30 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading at 5:20 p.m. in New York. They have gained 19 percent this year.

--------------------
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=aLS4Rpy7SAMU

Hybrid cars fly off the lots

By KEITH PARADISE - Staff writer

The hardest vehicle to keep on the lot at Adam Labar's car dealership is not the flashiest or the fastest.

It's the one that gets the best mileage: the gas and electric hybrid car Toyota Prius.

"They're all sold before they come in," said Labar, sales manager at Fitzgerald's Auto Mall on Lincoln Way East.

It's a similar situation at Antrim Way Honda in Greencastle, where sales representative Johnathan Matthews said he has one client from Hagerstown, Md., who has been waiting for a couple of months for a hybrid Civic.

"It's next to impossible to get a hybrid in for a client," Matthews said.

As the gas prices remain high and the summer vacation season nears, the interest in more fuel-efficient vehicles and hybrid cars increases as well. The result is hybrids going off the lot just as quickly as they are unloaded off the carrier.

Matthews said the wait for a hybrid Civic is about three months and Labar said the wait is similar for Toyota's popular Prius.

"The market is very soft for any vehicle that gets anything under 20 miles per gallon," Labar said.

While most vehicles run on strictly an engine, hybrids such as the Prius and new Camry run on an electric motor with a large rechargeable battery and a gasoline engine. When the vehicle is slowing down or accelerating, the battery is being charged by the car. When the vehicle reaches a speed that is maintained by light pressure on the accelerator, the electric motor is running. With Honda's hybrid system, certain cylinders will turn off when not in use.

Toyota recently announced its monthly sales figures for April and hybrids accounted for 10 percent of the brand's 114,670 vehicles sold. The Prius sold 8,234 nationwide and the mid-size sport-utility vehicle Highlander sold 3,768.

"The market for lower-priced, higher-mileage vehicles is showing strength, as are hybrids," said Jim Press, Toyota Motor Sales president and chief operating officer in a press release about the sales figures. "Record oil prices have a way of reminding us how close to the cliff we're living."

For the year, Prius has sold 30,357 units and the Highlander 11,649. Although the hybrid Camry did not make its debut until late April, the company reported 86 were sold last month. Labar said Toyota is opening a new Camry plant in the fall in Kentucky and 25 percent of the cars will be hybrid.

Bill Kwong, spokesman for Toyota in Terrance, Calif., said that the popularity of the vehicles in America prompted the company to double the number available from 50,000 to 100,000.

It is a similar situation at Honda, where the hybrid Civic was named the World Car of the Year and the World Green Car for 2006 by a panel of 46 international automotive journalists. The Civic hybrid can deactivate all four of its cylinders and operate using only the electric motor in certain situations, which can increase fuel economy by 63 percent in the city.

According to Sage Marie, spokesman for Honda, 12,913 hybrid vehicles sold so far in 2006, with the hybrid Civic accounting for 10,264 of those.

Honda and Toyota have unveiled cars recently that pack as much power as they do fuel efficiency. The hybrid Camry comes with a four-cylinder, 192-horsepower engine that has a 0-to-60 time of less than nine seconds. The six-cylinder hybrid Accord debuted at the end of January and can outperform its regular six-cylinder counterpart.

Everyone who talked about the vehicles said driving habits factor greatly into how well a hybrid performs. The vehicles are built to be accelerated up to a certain speed and maintained at that speed, which cuts down on engine work.

Quick starts in a hybrid usually will not help fuel economy, although Labar said the new Camry is built to be brought up to speed quickly rather than gradually.

Although higher gas prices have made the vehicles more sought after, Matthews said most people are looking for a car that will stretch gas money.

"Any time anyone is looking at a new car, they always say 'I'm looking for fuel economy,'" Matthews said.

--------------------
Source: http://www.publicopiniononline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060511/NEWS01/605110310/1002

How Green is My Hybrid?

by Mark Solheim

For the planet and your pocket, benefits of the latest models are iffy.

Give this to hybrid cars: Their timing is impeccable.

The first half of the decade saw the few available hybrids hugged mainly by the green crowd. But now, just as gas prices mount and concern grows over the automobile's impact on global warming, the number of hybrid models is really ramping up. Hybrids on the market, and their sales, both doubled last year over the previous year.

So are you ready for the bad news? The benefits, economic and environmental, of owning some hybrids aren't so hot. You can't question the fleet cred of the oldest, smallest hybrids, which were designed to use the electric motor to save gas and run clean. However, some newer hybrid sedans and SUVs use an electric motor mainly to boost performance without sacrificing gas mileage, meaning they're more celery green than forest green, environmentally speaking. And when it comes to green as in the color of money, most new hybrids pale when compared with older rivals.

Whether the aim is to save money or save the planet, it's no surprise that many potential buyers sit on the fence when considering hybrids. In a recent Kiplinger.com poll, 40% of respondents said they were considering a hybrid as their next car (2% of respondents already own one), but 58% said they believed hybrids were not worth the extra cost. As our reviews of seven hybrid sedans and SUVs reveal, there are few black-and-white answers on the benefits of going green, although some models stand above the pack.

By the numbers
The numbers can get complicated, but here's one simple truth: Unless gasoline prices triple, you're not likely to earn back the premium you'd pay for a hybrid car with savings at the pump. When you compare the cost of a hybrid with its gas-engine doppelgänger, hybrids typically cost at least $5,000 more.

However, this year Uncle Sam began offering more-generous tax breaks to hybrid buyers. Based on fuel economy, they range from a one-time credit of $250 for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra -- light-green hybrids that improve gas mileage only 10% to 15% -- to $3,150 for the Toyota Prius. Some states and local governments also offer incentives. Add savings on gas to the credit, and a couple of hybrid models do indeed pay back their premium.

The Prius, for example, is one of the best values. It isn't the greenest hybrid -- that distinction belongs to the two-seater Honda Insight. But the Prius is selling 100,000 models a year precisely because it combines high gas mileage and ultra-clean emissions in an affordable, roomy hatchback.

That's what sold Ashwani Gupta of Beaverton, Ore., on the Prius about a year ago. Besides needing a family car large enough for his wife, Monica, and his son, Aryan, he wanted an economical car to make the 170-mile round trip to his job as a U.S. Forest Services programmer in Corvallis (fortunately, he can work at home most days). Also, he says, he and his family are "environmentally friendly and support hybrids in a big way."

The Prius is also a better value than the Toyota Corolla LE, its closest gas-engine match, even though it's priced $5,500 higher. Here's how costs break down: Assume you drive away from the dealership with a 15%-down auto loan and drive 15,000 miles a year. For each car, add up the five-year costs for interest on the loan, insurance, maintenance and repairs, fees and taxes, and fuel. Finally, add estimated depreciation as a cost -- the Prius is expected to depreciate 56% over five years, meaning it will still be worth 44% of the purchase price at that point.

After totaling up the costs for both cars, the Prius is cheaper to own than the Corolla by $565. The only other hybrid that comes close to paying for itself is the Honda Civic. Other hybrids' additional ownership costs range from $1,880 to $3,750. Our slideshow reveals the results of our side-by-side cost comparisons. The numbers on costs come from Vincentric, an automotive-research firm.

Not easy being green
Hybrids' environmental benefits aren't always so cut and dried. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a slew of four-cylinder-engine compacts earn better "green scores" than all but three hybrids being sold today (for an explanation of green scores, see our rankings of the seven most popular hybrids). That's because these fuel-efficient conventional cars offer superior gas mileage. On the other hand, a hybrid always produces lower emissions than its gasoline-engine equivalent. If you want a compact SUV, you're not going to find a greener model than the hybrid Ford Escape. Need a third row of seats? The Toyota Highlander Hybrid is the most environmentally friendly seven-seater. Want a performance car? The Honda Accord Hybrid bests the V6 Accord's zero-to-60 time by half a second.

There are two ways to look at this, says Bradley Berman, editor of HybridCars.com: "One way is that any improvements you get in fuel efficiency while still giving people what they want in terms of performance is a good thing." On the other hand, performance hybrids are not as environmentally friendly as they could be.

Muddying the waters of just how much money you save on gas is inflation in the gas-mileage numbers. It's nearly impossible to replicate the EPA-certified fuel-economy numbers in any car because the tests were designed before ubiquitous air conditioning and widespread traffic jams. But the EPA ratings for hybrids are way off. For example, the Prius is rated 60 miles per gallon for city driving and 51 mpg on the highway. Yet even the most careful drivers -- like Gupta -- find it tough to top the mid forties in the city. "I drive to maximize mileage," he says. "I haven't used the air conditioning." Toyota acknowledges that many Prius drivers get the same gas mileage as Gupta.

With production ramping up and 13 models -- up from the current ten -- expected to be available by the end of the year, you won't have to work as hard to find a hybrid. (Preview the upcoming models.) In another year, at least five more models should be out, including the Chevy Tahoe SUV and Toyota Sienna minivan.

Some dealers are still charging higher-than-sticker prices for hybrids, but shopping several dealerships should give you a negotiating edge. Gupta found the Prius in stock at most of the dealers he visited in Beaverton and Portland. The car he wanted had a $2,000 markup, but he haggled his way to the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Before you hit the open market, check out HybridCars.com's Price Pulse, where shoppers from around the U.S. can compare prices, waiting lists and deposit information.

--------------------
Source: http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinance/magazine/archives/2006/05/green.html

Hybrid-car sales more than doubled last year

Dee - Ann Durbin - ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT — U.S. hybridvehicle sales last year totaled more than twice the number logged in 2004, according to new data released today, although they still only represent about 1 percent of U.S. vehicle sales.

Registrations for new hybrids rose to 199,148 in 2005, a 139 percent increase from the year before, as more models came on the market, according to R.L. Polk & Co., a Southfield, Mich.-based firm that collects and interprets automotive data. The Lexus RX400h and hybrid versions of the Toyota Highlander and Mercury Mariner were among the new models offered to consumers.

The U.S. hybrid market has grown exponentially since 2000, when 7,781 were sold.

R.L. Polk analyst Lonnie Miller predicted last year that hybrids would make up 30 percent to 35 percent of the U.S. market by 2015. But he now says that forecast was aggressive.

Miller said gas-electric hybrids, which combine gas engines with electric batteries, still are a technology in their infancy and aren’t fully understood by mainstream consumers.

When gas prices rise, Miller said, as many as 80 percent of buyers say they’ll consider hybrids, but many bypass them because they cost more than their gas-powered counterparts.

He said the hybrid Toyota Camry, which will come out in the summer, could be the vehicle that finally shows whether hybrids will join the mainstream. The gas-powered version of the Camry is a perennial U.S. bestseller.

But popular gas-powered vehicles don’t always become best-selling hybrids. Honda said last month that it might cut production of the Honda Accord hybrid because sales have been slow.

Toyota Motor Corp. and its Lexus luxury division accounted for seven out of 10 hybrid sales in 2005, between the top-selling Toyota Prius, at 53 percent of all U.S. hybrid sales, and the Lexus RX400h crossover, at 9.7 percent.

--------------------
Source: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/

Fill your tank with vegetable oil

By Jim Washburn

Diesel engines can run on just about anything, including used cooking oil. An entire industry is emerging to provide brave 'biodiesel' pioneers with the ingredients for petroleum-free motoring.

One day last year, my musician friend Jonathan drove up in a Mercedes. This was odd, since Jonathan is so resolutely counterculture that he once tried recording an album in the woods, without electricity.

His car's exhaust smelled faintly of french fries, and therein lay the explanation: The new Jonathan Richman tour vehicle -- an '84 300D Turbo -- was running on vegetable oil-derived biodiesel fuel as he and his drummer crisscrossed the nation in it, a deep fryer on wheels.

I was intrigued: Biodiesel comes from renewable resources. It's made from soybeans, corn or other oil crops, saving America's farmers. Or it comes from recycled kitchen grease, saving America's sewers. It pollutes remarkably less than petroleum fuel, and could potentially make the U.S. energy self-sufficient, freed from bargaining with dictators and terror-sponsor states.

And did I mention it smells like french fries?
But I was also suspicious. If it works so well, why isn't everyone already using it? I've fallen prey to New Age wishful thinking before, and that pyramid never did sharpen my razor. Even after cruising the Pacific Coast Highway in Jonathan's car, something about it didn't seem real. If a car runs on vegetable oil, does that mean I can run my TV on sauerkraut?

Endorsed by Rudolf Diesel himself
It turns out biodiesel is not a new idea. When Rudolf Diesel introduced his signature engine at the 1900 Paris Exposition, he said two words as he started it: "Peanut oil." He'd designed his engine so farmers could grow their own fuel. Most diesel engines were indeed run on vegetable oil until the 1920s, when the petroleum industry promoted a gasoline byproduct as diesel fuel.

Environmental concerns, the Iraq war and rising gas prices have spurred a renewed interest in biodiesel, and people have discovered that a diesel automobile can run on it with little or no alteration. (Cars more than a decade old should have fuel lines checked, because the highly solvent fuel eats some rubber compounds. It cleans engines so effectively that fuel filters also bear watching.) It can be used interchangeably with standard diesel fuel, and it's had well over a million miles of road-testing.

I started seriously thinking about joining the biodiesel generation when a butterscotch Mercedes 240D turned up for sale around the corner for $3,500. Saving the environment is nice, but I really like butterscotch. Test-driving the car, however, I found that friends' concerns about the model's 67-horsepower engine proved true. The 240D has a reputation for running forever, but that's also apparently how long it takes to get anywhere in it.

The biggest hurdle: where to tank up
Even if this wasn't the diesel steed for our experiment in vehicular unction, I was now set on getting one. My wife expressed doubts about the biodiesel lifestyle, though, when I suggested we could store the 55-gallon drum in the bushes near the garage.

"Over my particularly dead body. What 55-gallon drum?"

"The one from which we hand-pump the goop into our car, unless we want to drive an hour each way to Cudahy to refuel."

"Why don't you buy a nuclear submarine instead? Then you can go looking for fuel rods."

Infrastructure, it turns out, does not abound for biodiesel, particularly where we live in Orange County, Calif. One can either expend gallons of fuel driving to the sole station in the greater L.A. basin that carries biodiesel, at $3.50 a gallon, or have it delivered to one's home for $4 a gallon, which is more what we're accustomed to paying for wine in this household. If there's ever a wine-based fuel, maybe they'll call it "Vindiesel."

What is biodiesel, anyway?
Despite biodiesel's evident advantages, the fuel's stuck in a regulatory tar pit in some states. In California, for example, the government classifies B100 fuel (a mix of 80% vege-oil and 20% alcohol, favored by environmentalists and petrophobes) as a "blend stock" rather than a fuel onto itself, leaving retailers unsure of the legality of selling it. New federal tax credits for biodiesel also appear to exclude B100. (The more readily available B20 is 80% petro-diesel, runs somewhat cleaner than standard diesel and retails for around $2.65 a gallon.)

If your car is under warranty, Volkswagen (which dominates the U.S. diesel passenger car market) regards any blend above B5 (5% vegetable oil) as voiding that warranty -- though several drivers report dealers have honored their warranty anyway. What about regular
old diesel?

While biodiesel has a tiny toehold on the fuel market, standard-issue petro-diesel is changing as well, which could make diesel passenger cars more environmentally friendly in general. Federal regulations to be phased in beginning in September 2006 set the cap on diesel's sulfur content at 15 ppm, down significantly from the current 500 ppm. (Sulfate emissions from biodiesel are essentially zero.)

Because diesel engines are more efficient than gasoline engines, overall fuel efficiency is higher. EPA projections show that if diesels accounted for a third of all vehicle-miles traveled in the country by 2020, the nation could save a million barrels of fuel a day and consumers could save more than $20 billion per year.

But emissions standards vary, and most models of diesel passenger vehicles are not sold in California and the four other states that follow its toughest-in-the-nation clean-air guidelines -- New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont. In Europe, where tax breaks make diesel fuel much cheaper than gasoline, more than 40% of all new vehicles are diesel-powered -- more than double the amount of just five years ago.

BioFuel Oasis is a Berkeley, Calif., co-op that is going by the book, having dealt with state agencies to get a variance to sell B100. Customers are required to sign up as “fleet” members, and to report regularly on their vehicles' performance. It's probably less hassle to join one of Berkeley's cannabis clubs, but the fleet has some 460 members. By collecting data and jumping through the regulatory hoops, the co-op is helping the fuel gain mainstream acceptance, says SaraHope Smith, one of BioFuel Oasis' five worker-owners. To her, it's worth the effort.

"Biodiesel struck me as a great and right thing to do," she said. "It's renewable. It's clean. It's grown by our farmers. It fits all the models of a culture that's taking care of itself in the long term."

And then there's Willie Nelson
A few dozen miles away, Les Gripkey fills up on B100 at a San Jose truck stop, no questions asked. The station is a 10-mile detour from Gripkey's usual work commute between Boulder Creek and Redwood City.

A co-worker had loaned him a book about biodiesel, Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank". "That was right when the push for the war with Iraq was going on, which made me decide to take this one step away from contributing to the geopolitics of oil consumption," Gripkey said. He found a 1984 Volvo wagon for $1,650 on Craig's List, had the hoses checked and has been getting 30 miles per gallon on B100 ever since.

Gripkey's "one step" also had a more far-reaching effect: He gave a copy of the Tickell book to his friend Jonathan Richman, who passed it on to Neil Young, who started running his tour vehicles on biodiesel. Young's example influenced his friend Willie Nelson's decision to become a partner in an enterprise that's now promoting and distributing BioWillie biodiesel (a B20 blend) at truck stops.

Be your own oil company
Harking to the diesel engine's early days, some people are concocting their own fuel. "It's trivially easy to make, frankly," said one adherent I spoke with, Dan Redig, a Carlsbad, Calif., computer consultant. His litany of the chemical formulas, calculations, processes, washings and dash of lye involved in producing homebrew B100 left me thinking that it might be easier to extract maple syrup from a dinette set.

Redig, however, has produced several batches of the stuff that have gone into his 2004 Jetta TDI. He drives the car some 600 miles a week, all of them more smoothly traversed than with conventional diesel, he says. "It's a little zippier. It lubricates better. You have fewer oil changes. You get better mileage. And it's a greener fuel any way you look at it."

Instead of converting the oil, another approach is to convert your vehicle. A friend put me in touch with Matt Gurney, director of business operations for Seattle's Fare Start restaurants, which train homeless persons for careers in the restaurant industry. It's not just the employees finding a second life there. The old oil from the deep-fat fryer is heated and run through a filter, and then it's down the hatch into Gurney's '84 Peugeot diesel wagon to a second fuel tank installed in the spare tire well.

He paid $400 for the car ("I went for a junker, since I wasn't sure this would work," he said) and $800 for a conversion kit to run on straight vegetable oil. A hose from the radiator runs to a copper coil in the tank, heating the oil to a more combustible and viscous state before it heads to the engine. While the oil heats, Gurney runs on commercial B100 (carried by several Seattle stations) from his main tank, then flips a switch.

It took him two weekends to install the kit and work out the bugs, and now he essentially drives for free, getting sufficient fuel for his around-town jaunts from Fare Start's sole deep fryer. FYI, he says, "The exhaust doesn't always smell like french fries. It can smell like fish or whatever we cooked the most of that week."

All this information wasn't bringing me much closer to boarding the bandwagon: The nearest BioWillie station is four states away; I don't see myself making bathtub biodiesel; and neither do I relish telling my wife that, as we drive into a better tomorrow, we might be reeking of fish sticks.

Fortunately, a doctor visit and some unforeseen medical expenses will forestall any vegemobile purchases for a while. By the time we're solvent again, maybe biodiesel will be more accepted and available. Then, for the few thousand dollars an old-but-solid diesel car costs -- plus what will doubtless still be some added inconvenience -- we'll be proudly motoring into the future alongside our Prius-driving friends.

--------------------
Source: http://moneycentral.msn.com/

As gas prices rise, so do hybrid car sales

By PETE TOBEY

Sales of hybrid cars, not surprisingly, are increasing in this climate of skyrocketing gas prices.

Hybrid cars -- cars that feature both a gasoline engine and an electric motor -- are becoming a popular alternative to the traditional gas-powered vehicles.

Most hybrids are equipped with a four-cylinder engine and a battery that operates while cruising, and recharges whenever the brake is applied, making it ideal for the stop-start driving in the city. That gives hybrids a higher fuel efficiency in the city than on the highway, some listed as high as 50-60 miles per gallon in the city, and in the 40s on the highway.

Currently, the six most popular hybrid vehicles are the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid, according to Hybridcars.com.

All automobile manufacturers are expected to offer a hybrid vehicle within the next few years.

Paul Wilkins, sales manager at Glens Falls Toyota, said his sales of hybrids have increased in the last six months.

"They've picked up since we approached $3 a gallon," Wilkins said. "Six months ago, I had one or two on the ground all the time. Now they're sold before they get here."

Likewise, D'Ella Auto Group in Queensbury sells out of Honda Civic and Accord hybrids faster than they get them, said general manager Michael Della Bella Jr.

"(Sales) have increased dramatically," he said. "The minute they come in, they're sold. We've gone and bought used ones, and we can't even keep them in the lot. We get about three a month, and with the used cars, we're selling five or six hybrids a month. The waiting list for the Accord and Civic hybrids is about two or three months."

Wilkins said Glens Falls Toyota earns, or is allocated, six to eight Toyota Priuses a month.

"With our Prius, we're sold out," he said. "We had four or five on the ground, but they're gone. We have a Camry Hybrid on the way, but that'll be sold before it even gets here. The availability is still tight. With the Prius, you're looking at about a 4-6 week wait."

Eric Burch, sales and leasing consultant at New County Auto Plaza in Saratoga Springs, said the waiting list for the Prius is shorter than it was.

"Toyota has upped production of the Prius, so the waiting list is down to about three weeks to three months," Burch said. "It used to be over a year. We're selling them quicker than we're getting them."

The waiting list is caused by the fact that many hybrids are produced overseas and have to be shipped over.

"It's not an American technology," Della Bella said. "When we get allocated a car, it's still a month away because it has to come over from Japan. But I'm sure Honda will ramp up hybrid technology and bring it to the States."

Prices of hybrid vehicles are fairly comparable to similar-sized conventional vehicles. The Toyota Prius is listed to start at about $22,000, up to nearly $30,000 fully loaded. The Honda Civic hybrid starts around $20,000 and the Accord around $30,000.

"There's added cost at the beginning for the technology," Della Bella said. "But you save on gas, there's no maintenance to them -- the battery is supposed to last nine or 10 years, and they send you a new battery pack -- plus you get a tax credit for buying a hybrid."

Many of the new hybrids are as roomy as their conventional counterparts. While sport-utility hybrids are selling as quickly, the sales of mid-size cars are very good.

"People love the cars -- they love the reliability and fuel efficiency," Wilkins said.

The three local dealers said the demographics of people buying the hybrid cars range from middle age on up, and from people looking for fuel efficiency to those who want to preserve the environment.

"We have people coming in to trade in a big truck and looking for a Civic," Della Bella said. "Our average hybrid buyer is probably around 40. We have business professionals who want a fuel-efficient car, young people out of college, older people looking for their last car, people on a fixed budget. It's not only the 'save-the-whales' people -- people want to save money."

Said Wilkins: "The people who get the (Prius) are usually environmentally conscious, in the middle-age to upper demographic, 40-plus. It's not your kids' car -- it's for the educated consumer who wants to save money."

The future also seems bright for hybrid cars and alternate energy source vehicles.

"Overall, I think hybrid sales will continue to grow," Della Bella said. "I don't know if gas will ever go back to the $1-a-gallon range."

--------------------
Source: http://www.poststar.com/

Prius sales down almost 25% in April

By T.O. Whenham

It won't take a genius to figure out that since the price of gas keeps going up, and the Toyota Prius hybrid saves on gas quite notably compared to other cars, then the demand for the Prius should be going up. It's also completely wrong, even with all the attention and incentives being showered on hybrids these days.

Sales of the Prius actually fell by 24.6% in April. Toyota says that the problem is due to supply being outpaced by demand. If that's right, though, then there has to be some reason that the supply fell in April by such a large amount. This is where the speculation begins.

It could be that there is excess demand for hybrid parts because Ford and others are seeing their hybrid sales grow. The Honda Fit has hit the market recently, and it's lower price and bigger size compared to the Prius could be a contributing factor. Or maybe Toyota is scaling down Prius production a bit and redirecting it to Lexus hybrids instead. Whatever the reason is, it's an interesting an unexpected result. One thing remains certain though, gas prices will never go down.

--------------------
Source: http://www.mobilemag.com/

Hybrids Stuck In Neutral

Marc E. Babej and Tim Pollak

New York - This should be the best of times for hybrids: Gas prices are at all-time highs; the summer driving season is going to cost consumers a bundle; and America's dependence on oil from unstable regions such as the Middle East and Venezuela has become a hot-button issue. So it may come as a surprising to find that the new and growing crop of fuel-efficient hybrid cars is languishing on dealer lots. But there are good reasons why consumers aren't buying in droves--yet.

It's a classic case of the difference between consumer attitudes and their actual behavior. Just as consumers might view the overall economy as being in bad shape while still considering their own prospects more positively, they might now think it's a good thing for people to drive fuel-efficient cars, while drawing the line at buying one with their own money. What's more, they still have plenty of excuses not to go hybrid.

First, mainstream consumers have an aversion to early adoption, especially when it comes to big-ticket items. Granted, Ford Motor's (nyse: F - news - people ) hybrid sales more than doubled from March to April, but at 3,420 units--up from 1,590 units--they’re still very much a niche product. The fact of the matter is that people have known only gasoline-powered cars all their lives.

Second, the economics aren't convincing yet. Only two hybrids currently on the market pay off over five years (the Prius from Toyota Motor (nyse: TM - news - people ) and the Civic from Honda Motor (nyse: HMC - news - people ), if you want to know)--and only to the tune of $300 and $400, respectively.

Third, buy now-pay later is the American way. Apparently, consumers prefer to pay more over time in fuel costs than pay a higher price initially.

Finally, government officials and energy experts have inadvertently spread a fair amount of confusion about which alternative to the gasoline-powered automobile will become the new standard: hybrid, ethanol or hydrogen.

But look a bit deeper and you find that the question of buying hybrids also amounts to a case of glass half-full versus half-empty. On the one hand, people don't save much money by going hybrid. But viewed another way, hybrids carry only a slight premium when fuel costs and tax incentives are factored in, and they provide relevant benefits in other areas.

For example, hybrid owners go to the gas station less often because their cars consume less fuel. Hybrids also require less of a leap of faith than other fuel alternatives, for the simple reason that they don't depend on an alternative fuel--meaning that hybrid buyers won't be dependent on the ramp up of any new fuel infrastructure.

For automobile marketers, however, hybrids present a conundrum. They are premium-priced cars offering a low-end benefit. Their raison d'être is fuel efficiency. But the marketplace knows fuel-efficient cars as stripped-down, low-performance vehicles. Meanwhile. high performance is a cost-of-entry expectation in high-end cars.

Some marketers have trumpeted environmental consciousness to motivate switching to hybrids. Think Ford's "Kermit the Frog" campaign. But environmentalism as an end in itself is a red herring in car-sales pitches to the American mainstream. In theory, everyone would like to do something for the environment, but in actuality, most Americans aren't willing to pay thousands of extra dollars upfront just to be green. The environmental angle is best reserved for relatively narrow segments of the market.

The real selling point for hybrids is "patriotism," with lower fuel dependency rather than dollar savings as the main support point. Hybrids are in sync with the most important geopolitical issues on the minds of most people today because they allow average Americans to do their part for energy independence. Calling hybrids the patriotic alternative is not just flag-waving patriotic; it's a fact.

At the same time, product designers should make hybrids stand out from the crowd and try to make the people who buy them feel special. This is the flip side of the coin: People might fear new technology, but, on a fundamental level, they appreciate innovation and distinctiveness. The initial Toyota Prius wasn't exactly a beauty, but it succeeded in part because of its distinctive look. Meanwhile, hybrid Honda Accords are lingering on lots for, on average, 90 days this year, in part because they are indistinguishable from the regular (and cheaper) version.

A half-century ago, General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) CEO Charles Wilson boasted, "What's good for General Motors is good for America." The bloom is off that rose, and lately GM has been grasping for straws, promoting its conventional Chevrolet lineup as "An American Revolution." With all due respect, a real "American Revolution" in the car business would be to move the country to hybrids.

Marc E. Babej and Tim Pollak are partners at Reason Inc., a marketing-strategy consulting firm that works with clients in a range of categories including media and entertainment, financial and professional services, packaged goods and the public sector.

--------------------
Source: http://www.forbes.com/

Ford expects record month in hybrid sales

High gas prices boost April figures

BY SARAH A. WEBSTER - FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Kermit the Frog is appearing in Ford commercials promoting hybrids. The commercials have been airing since February.

When Ford Motor Co. reports today how many cars and trucks it sold in April, the Dearborn-based automaker is expected to post its best-ever sales month for hybrids -- thanks, in part, to rising gas prices.

Auto-industry experts say rising gas prices last month probably dampened overall auto sales, including those at Ford, but they seem to have given a boost to some fuel-efficient models like hybrids.

Ford sells gas-electric versions of the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner. The small SUVs get about 35 miles per gallon in the city, making them about 80% more efficient than a regular, gasoline-powered V-6 Escape.

April sales of Ford hybrid vehicles are expected to be up more than 50% compared with April 2005, before the Mariner hybrid went on sale, according to preliminary sales results Ford released on Monday. That would represent a 74% increase from March.

Ford said it sold nearly 2,800 hybrids for the year through April, bringing the automaker one small step closer to meeting its goal of selling 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010.

Aside from rising gas prices, Ford also credits the boost in hybrid sales to government incentives on hybrids and increasing consumer awareness of fuel-efficient vehicles, which Ford has been featuring in corporate advertisements since October and in a marketing campaign with Kermit the Frog since February.

The vehicles also had help from a new discount program. On April 4, after a pilot program in Washington, D.C., and California, Ford introduced no-interest financing for up to 60 months on the Escape and Mariner hybrids, which are priced between $26,900 and $29,225.

"We had such a positive, strong reaction to that," Mark Kaufman, Ford's SUV marketing manager, said. "It essentially equalized out the two versions of the Escape. ... Both the Escape and Escape hybrid had a good sales month for the month of April."

Despite the sales increase, Ford still has plenty of hybrid Escapes and Mariners -- about 3,900 -- left in stock.

--------------------
Source: http://www.freep.com/

New hybrids sacrifice fuel-efficiency

Some carmakers seem to believe a practical vehicle is just not practical

By SCOTT BURNS - Universal Press Syndicate

This morning, I looked at the gauges on our 2003 Prius and smiled. They showed that the last 215 miles had been driven at an average of 47.3 miles per gallon.

The average actually rose slightly on the 14-mile round trip to the supermarket.

That's representative of what my wife and I have experienced in the 40,200 miles since we bought the car in March 2003.

It took a few months to get the velvet touch, but since then the car has seldom gone below 42 mpg (long-distance driving, high speed, wind and rain).

And, try as we might, it seldom betters 49 mpg for any distance.

We're not complaining.

A typical refill for the Prius is about 8 gallons, less than $24. A typical refill on our SUV, a 1998 Toyota 4Runner, is about 20 gallons and nearly $60. Both vehicles go about the same distance between refills.

Today, with oil above $70 a barrel and gasoline back near $3 a gallon, the gas pump gets my attention.

Worse, more people are expecting a future price of $100 a barrel than $50 a barrel. So my only wish is that we could find some way to increase the miles driven on battery power and decrease the miles driven on gasoline.

Why a sales slump?
Just as this is happening, the media are filled with stories about a slump in hybrid vehicle sales.

Ford is offering zero percent financing for the hybrid version of its Escape SUV because the hybrid version isn't selling.

Honda is about to cut back production of the Accord Hybrid, because it isn't moving either.

How can this be? There is a simple answer.

With the exception of the Prius, the second wave of hybrids has tended to goose low-end performance at the expense of fuel economy. The second generation of hybrids actually offers lower average fuel economy than the first.

Doing that is stupid because it destroys the economic benefit of owning a hybrid. Why pay extra if there is no payoff in higher gas mileage?

Cost of the battery
In fact, readers of my earlier columns on the Prius started their e-mail notes with a single question: "Will the cost of the battery replacement be greater than your fuel savings?"

My answer: If gasoline remains at $3 a gallon or less, it's likely to be a push, but I'd prefer to spend the money on a battery. As gasoline rises over $3 a gallon, the extra cost of the hybrid in general, and its battery in particular, starts to look like a really good investment.

In fact, I think Toyota has undersold some of the qualities of both the 2001-2003 Prius and the wildly successful remake that replaced it in 2004.

•Both models have a continuous variable transmission. This makes them incredibly smooth to drive.
•Both models have temperature-control air conditioning, a seldom-found extra on cars costing less than $30,000.
•Both models are incredibly quiet, a quality associated with luxury cars, not econo-boxes. They are absolutely quiet at stoplights because the engine isn't running.
These, not fuel economy, are the reasons my wife loves this car so much. It also explains why I seldom get to drive it.

Power and style
Sadly, the gear heads are still conspiring to find ways to make 500-horsepower cars for 25-mph neighborhoods. And the status freaks are still flogging designers to push automotive luxury to the next level, whatever the cost. Yet millions of people are looking for comfortable, practical transportation.

All-battery wanted
Personally, I'm on a buyer's strike. I'm not buying another car until someone sells a plug-in hybrid. Toyota did it with the Prius: A button on the Japanese version makes it all-battery. Sadly, the button didn't survive the trip to America.

A California company is designing a retrofit that would make short trips — like my trip to the supermarket — a no-gas/all-battery experience.

Think what that — multiplied by millions — would do to oil imports. Think what it would do to clear the air in our cities.

--------------------
Source: http://www.chron.com/

Competition for Toyota's hybrids

By Lindsay Brooke The New York Times

If the crossword puzzle clue is "hybrid car," the answer is probably "Prius." Since Toyota brought that model to the United States six years ago, the company has basked in a green public-relations glow - even though Honda Motor was first with a modern gas-electric car (the Insight) and Ford sold the first hybrid sport utility vehicle (the Escape).

But with a mix of creative engineering, clever promotion and fortunate timing, Toyota Motor has set the de facto standard for the entire class of eco-friendly vehicles. It has licensed its software to Ford Motor and is selling hybrid components to Nissan Motor.

Toyota has half a dozen hybrid models in showrooms or on the way - twice as many as any other automaker - ranging from the Prius to the Lexus LS600hL.

The domination of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive, however, is coming under assault from some of the industry's top engineers. For more than a year, in nondescript buildings in Troy, Michigan, a German-American consortium of BMW, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors has been working quietly to develop a distinctly different type of hybrid powertrain.

On Friday, the consortium's top executives formally introduced that system, which they call a two-mode hybrid, at an industry conference in Vienna. Most important details of the project had previously been shielded by the group, called Global Hybrid Cooperation.

The two-mode system will be available in a wide range of cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles made by the three companies, starting with the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, which is to go on sale in the autumn of 2007. GM says that compared with conventional Tahoes, the hybrid version will achieve 25 percent better mileage in combined city and highway driving.

While the two-mode system takes a new approach to hybrid drive technology, there are some similarities. Like all hybrids, the two-mode combines the power of a gasoline engine with that of electric motors; it captures energy from braking that would otherwise be lost; and it shuts off the engine at a stop. As in most of today's hybrids, batteries alone can power the vehicle at low speeds.

But the new technology is different in some crucial respects. It has the potential to operate much more efficiently at highway speeds, with a greater boost from the electric motors. The components are lighter and more compact and can be readily adapted to different types of vehicles. It is particularly well suited to large trucks and sport utility vehicles, where it will have the greatest impact on overall fuel consumption.

Existing hybrid systems have a single mode of operation, using a single planetary gear set to split the engine's power - routing it to drive the wheels or charge the battery - for both city and highway driving.

These systems are effective at low speeds because they can move the car without running the gasoline engine. But at higher speeds, when the engine is needed, using the electric motor offers much less of a benefit.

Sending power through electric motors and a variable transmission is roughly 20 percent less efficient than driving the car through a purely mechanical power path, using gears. Also, driving a single-mode vehicle at higher speeds on electric power requires larger, heavier, costlier electric motors and is less than ideal for towing or hauling.

The two-mode system also has a variable transmission but adds two planetary gear sets (which multiply the torque from the power source). This arrangement provides two operating modes for the electric motors. The first is for accelerating from a standstill to second gear; another phase takes the car from second gear to overdrive.

The two-mode system makes better use of cylinder-deactivation systems of the GM and Chrysler V-8s that will power many of the hybrid trucks and sport utility vehicles. Their systems shut down half the cylinders when not needed, improving gasoline mileage.

Hybrid sales in the United States have roughly doubled in four of the past five years, a fact regularly cited by supporters of the technology. But the roughly 206,000 hybrid cars and trucks sold in the past year amounted to only 1.2 percent of the total auto market. The Prius accounted for slightly more than half of hybrids sold in 2005.

"There is still a lot of guessing about the hybrid customer," said Andreas Truckenbrodt, an executive director of the two-mode consortium who works for DaimlerChrysler. "And how long will he be willing to pay extra for hybrids?"

The consortium's two-mode system is a scaled-down evolution of a heavy- duty hybrid powertrain developed by Allison, a unit of GM's powertrain group, that is used in more than 400 hybrid-electric city buses. Development began in the 1990s as an outgrowth of GM's short-lived EV-1 electric car.

GM and DaimlerChrysler formed the consortium in 2005 after learning that they were working on similar approaches. BMW then signed on.

Because the two-mode design uses some off-the-shelf components and spreads costs across three companies, it should be less expensive. High costs have hindered mainstream acceptance of hybrids, said Wolfgang Epple, vice president for BMW's program and a consortium director.

Despite the common parts, the system will be calibrated to match each company's engines and brand character, Epple said.

He promised that a two-mode installed in a BMW X5 sport wagon, for example, would feel and perform differently from one installed in a Cadillac Escalade or Dodge Durango.

The system is being configured for rear- and front-drive applications and is designed to be easily scaled up or downsized, depending on a vehicle's type, size and power.

Eric Fedewa, director of global powertrain forecasting at CSM, said the two-mode system would bring benef if(window.yzq_p==null)document.write(""); if(window.yzq_p)yzq_p('P=Y4b1U9htfYLsMLb58ZlMawXoRUicqUatcpYAA1YD&T=13ushi5gl%2fX%3d1185772183%2fE%3d96062901%2fR%3dyahoosrch%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d1.1%2fW%3dJ%2fY%3dYAHOO%2fF%3d2704863977%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d0C7D6DD8'); if(window.yzq_s)yzq_s();