Toyota is NOT fucking around when it comes to hybrids. (so much for the passing fad-theory. should prove well for my sense of accomplishment and sense of wallet)
Likewise, I'd even more prefer to work on something like this highly unlikely and fully toted Fuel cell car. I'll pee a little if it actually drops in '08.
6 comments:
hmm... say didn't GM have some electric car a few years ago... I wonder what happend to those... hmm...
Anyways... I guess I'll be toyota shopping in ten years when these things hit the used market in force.
Not trying to play devil's advocate, but it'd be nice to get some opinion from someone I actually know on this:
http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188
I'm all for using less gas, but I'm also for trying to help out the environment a bit. It seems like doing both is still impossible?
What?! But those commercials implied that the prius was going to save the world!
Counterpoint:
There is a guy from Michigan that got a job as a forcaster for that plant. He forcasts when the wind will blow all the shit from the smokestacks onto the government sensors... that way that company can decrease thier output to seem like they arn't polluting as much!
This is for me the most intriguing and annoying part of the alternative energy scene: there is no “absolute good/bad,” and there will never exist a “silver-bullet-solution.” Pounding yourself in the face with this idea. Short answer to your question: Yes, the author points out some ideas that the public generally never considers, but he also leaves some others that argue FOR the use of gasoline-electric hybrids.
In the grander vision and longer version: Unfortunately, for the most part, no one will get rich or gain notoriety by writing a fair, balanced, two-sides-of-the-coin explanation explaining that complicated problems require multiple-approach solutions. Figure every true-scientist needs funding and toting his/her research as an end-all solution will land them in the journals and get their name out there. On the other hand, writing a scathing shock-article about America’s favorite hybrid is a great way to go against the grain of a society that’s actually starting to embrace environmentalism, causing concerned people to email it back and forth and say things like “I had no idea, I just peed a little.” I suspect this approach polarizes stupid people.
Now specific to the article: Yes NiMh batteries use a lot of nickel. But it’s not Toyota’s fault the plant is run poorly and no local or regional governing body is interjecting to force better practices. Also, consider a lead acid battery- the technology that currently goes into EVERY VEHICLE IN THE WORLD. Consider the components: Lead and Acid. Lead. Acid. These are bad things. I’ve been in the plants that make these. They dissolve the threads that hold your shoes together and make your lungs feel like burning. Stick around long enough and you might as well be eating paint chips in a museum. This one plant puked out ~10 million batteries a year and no one ever mentions it… but this could be because the plant only kills the people on the inside and emits very little. I’m not sure. One thing I can say for sure about the American auto industry is it and it’s suppliers don’t fall under the radar for long and chances are this nickel plant will fall inline the paint plants and lead acid battery plants and emissions & pollution will be capped. (Did you know paint quality of a domestic car can never compete with the paint of a foreign-made car because of the limitation on solvents used in the U.S.? That’s why a Jeep Grand Cherokee has “Orange peel” paint and a lexus is shiny as all hell.) Regardless- Nickel is even more expensive than lead these days and considering ~99.9999infinity% of lead acid batteries are recycled, NiMh batteries should provide their own monetary motivation to recycle them.
http://www.carlist.com/autonews/2005/autonews_94.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KWH/is_1_43/ai_n8707486
Finally, the most glaringly obvious kick to the crotch of logic (that you’ll probably miss because you’ve not read this far down) is the idea that a Hummer will last 300,000 miles with same emissions level it had leaving the factory. Have you SEEN American cars after 200,000miles? Also, hybrid manufactures are starting to warranty their battery packs to 150,000miles, not to mention, just try finding a used hybrid on Ebay that needs a new battery pack… These bastards are lasting forever in the real world. And where’s the math to back this all up? (anger growing) Did the author consider the energy used to transport the parts of this enormous hummer from all over the world, opposed to the 1/3 size hybrid? Or the efficiencies of the American assembly plant vs. the Asian? Japan uses a TON of solar power but we like coal. 300,000miles / 12 miles/gal = 25,000 gallons of gas compared to 3600 gallons for 200,000 miles (@ 55mpg) in a hybrid. Did they consider the energy required to refine those vastly different amounts of fuel? What about the oil that goes into a hummer tire, one of which would equal 4 hybrid-sized tires? Hummer engine holds 6 quarts of oil per change vs. 4 for a hybrid engine… 60 oil changes a lifetime…
Shut up, shut up! It doesn’t matter any more!
Where am i?
In the end… I would always choose simplicity over complexity. A small, cheap gasoline car (I can name about 10 of them that get ~50 miles per gallon on the highway) would be my choice. But for the less-stupid reasons.
Thanks, that's exactly the diatribe I was looking for. It definitely seemed like the type of article that needed a lot more explanation behind it to be taken seriously.
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