>Now if we could get the same reduction in pollution from heavy equipment,
>you would have something. But I don't see anybody making, buying, selling
>or talking about hybrid Freightliners, Mack trucks or diesel locomotives.
>
>
GM hasn't made hybrid cars or light trucks (yet) because it's focusing
on the big pollution producers.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/inde...&sid=173&n=156
They delivered a fleet of 235 diesel-electric hybrid buses which will
save Seattle 750,000 gallons of fuel a year.
And the maintenance schedule is less expensive too.
>Saving a minute amount of oil by switching to a hybrid
>vehicle isn't going to make any difference in when we run out.
>
>
Um, changing to hybrid buses saves one city a lot of gallons. (a mere
drop multiplied by many cities)
If in 5-10 years the world auto market switched almost entirely to
hybrid (especially diesel powered ones) powertrains and saved a
conservative 25% in fuel economy, don't you think that will help
conserve the supply for a while?
>The problem I have with hybrid vehicles is that they still use gasoline and
>they have batteries, which IMHO are not a very efficient method for storing
>energy.
>
Depends what kind of efficiency. Batteries used on modern EVs are quite
efficient storing and giving back electrical power. However they are
very inefficient when compared to liquid fuels with an energy to weight
ratio.
>What about all the pollution generated and/or energy needed to dispose
>of or recycle the batteries in that hybrid at the end of their useful life?
>
Might be equivalent to reducing the number of tankers (sea and land)
needed to carry all that gasoline weight around the world.
>I see the true solution to the items you ask us to think about
>is by developing vehicles that operate on something other than oil.
>
I agree on that point, but fuel cell cars are probably decades away from
being produced economically. They exist now, but check out the
development costs. And don't forget to factor in the cost of replacing
or augmenting most every gas station in the world with a
hydrogen/whatever station. Hybrids will help bridge the gap. Plus,
what if the hydrogen needed to power fuel cells is most economically
derived from oil?
- Byron