Well considering GM had a fully functional electric car in the 90s
that was viable , then forget hybrid and go full electric. With todays highly efficient batteries i’d guess that 500 miles range per charge would be quite possible. considering they where getting 200 miles per charge on the old style batteries.If recall correctly the car was called something like the EV5 but not sure. The strange thing was you could not purchase it only lease it . Then the powers to be recalled them and scrapped them to the disgust of those who had been using them.
My guess no money to be made in servicing ,spare parts and the gas pumps.

Well… if OPEC were actually to kick up the production and gas prices fell for us then that would be incredible news for everyone, ESPECIALLY the ones with hybrid vehicles. If it’s aleady cheaper for people with hybrid vehicles than for everyone else then if gas price were to, hypothetically (I say this because I doubt it will happen), fall then they would be spending even less to fill up their high gas mileage vehicles than they already are.

But that is an obvious observation that anyone should be able to notice… Isn’t it? Besides, hybrids won’t disappear because there will STILL be that risk that OPEC will try to throttle us with high gas prices in the future so you’re making a long-term investment by getting a vehicle that gets such good gas mileage.

The GM EV-1 never got more then 150 miles on an eight hour charge, and it depended entirely on lead acid batteries to do that, which are severely hazardous to the environment and need replaced often.

The program was a failure, and GM has never been an innovator, nor has any American car company in decades, they’ve been pushing gas guzzlers, and are directly responsible for the high gas prices we are suffering from today (so soccer mom’s everywhere can get 8 mpg in their Hummer’s).

The technologies to watch as far as cars go, is all coming from Japan.

Thanks for the comments.

Jeff - I hope you are correct. For 30 years we have not done a thing to ween ourselves off of oil.

Hope for the best, plan forthe worst.

I just want to put in my $.02 worth.

First, if gas prices were to fall (and according to one very well article I read recently, they will come back down some in the next year of so), the public would be stupid to repeat it’s pas history of going back to gas guzzlers again, like the surge in big and bigger SUVs made and sold over the past 10-15 years. We NEED to expand out alternate fuel research to wean ourselves off using fossil fuels as much as possible.

The problem now is the higher cost of hybrids and alternate fuel research. What would lower the cost and increse sales of alternate fuel vehicles? Lower price. What will lower the cost? More sales. Catch 22? Yes it is. So, how do we resolve this puzzle?

It’s really simple…at least I think it is. What lowers costs of new products? Larger production volumes and sales to recoup the research costs and lower manufacturing costs.

It’s my humble opinion that if our Government spent a fraction of the billions (trillions?) of dollars it throws away to hundreds of other countries to get them to like us more were spent on subsidizing alternate fuel research and vehicles. This could lower the consumer price on these vehicles to the level of comparable sizeed all-gas vehicles and I think we’d see more of them sold. That would result in more profit for the manufacturers. But, more importantly, the manufacturing costs, and therefore, consumer prices, would come down through higher production numbers and the Government subsidies could be reduced or eliminated entirely.

Am i wrong in my thinking this way?

Personally, I cannot see investing in a new hybrid as I need my pickup truck (6 cyl engine w/man trans) and I don’t usually drive more than 120-150 miles each month. But, for people who drive 12,000 or miles per year, buying a hybrid might be a good choice.

My truck is paid for and I spend maybe $35-$45 a month on gas. I just can’t see going back to paying over $300 a month for 5 or 6 years to lower my fuel costs to $15 per month. Maybe in another 10 years, if my truck wears out (and it probably won’t with my low mileage), or, I am still driving (I’m 69 now), I might consider a hybrid pickup if one is available.

Jeff-actually the cost/benefit of a hybrid partly depends on high fuel prices. If gas was $1 a gallon, would it make sense for the average person to spend an extra $6k on a Prius which gets maybe 10 mpg better than a Corolla? You’d have to drive several hundred thousand miles to make up the difference in initial cost through fuel savings, and then the battery would need to be swapped out before then.

But with the price at $4 a gallon, it takes far fewer trips to the pump to recover that initial $6k. 1500 gallons of gas would need to be saved over something like the Corolla ( I use that as it’s a similar Toyota model that can be had for about $6k less ), and the Corolla gets about 10mpg less.

So for every 100,000 miles, the 45mpg Prius uses 2222 gallons of fuel, and the Corolla uses 2857 gallons, 635 gallons more. At $4 a gallon, it costs you $2540 more for every 100k miles you drive. So at $4 a gallon it will take about 250k miles to make back the additional cost of the Prius.

If you’re driving a gas guzzling car, switching to either of the above or another efficient car can save you a bunch on gas, but a hybrid purchase is as much a “moral” purchase as it is a financial one. Even at $4 a gallon, you’ll have to replace the Prius battery before you’ve recovered the initial cost, but you also get the good feelings of knowing you’re emitting fewer pollutants. I haven’t heard whether those batteries in the Prius are recyclable or what the pollution costs of making one are, but we hope it’s less than the pollution it saves in fuel costs.

I bought a new Aveo for 9k ,,,, it would take on heck of a long to pay for the added cost of a Hybrid with about a 10mpg difference!

Not to mention the fact that you have an uber experience battery pack to worry about after warranty runs out, and how are they on the environment when they die?

Lastly they are very dangerous for emergency workers if/when you get in an accident and mebbe have to be extricated from the vehicle.

my .02

Once again, thanks for all of the great comments and for sharing your thoughts.

I agree that batteries are going to be an issue down the road.

How Brazil solves the gas price problem already
in 2005
http://www.h-robot.com/003/6722800.htm

Hi Don,
There was an interesting story on the History Channel last year about Brazil and their ethanol/gas fueled vehicles. What was the real eye open was that they showed the cars coming down the assembly line, showed the dual tanks, dual fuel lines and computer which controls the use of either fuel. I was wondering. Who is building these cars for the Brazilians?

They showed the end of the assembly line and there on the front grill was the familiar Chevy emblem. GM has been building these cars for over 20 years.

Hi Ron

Your are right. The same GM, Volks etc and even Hyundai have multiple $B size plants. (import tax is very high so they build the cars in Brazil).

I know that Brazil has been working on this technology solution for over 12 years.

FYI - I am in the medical diagnostic equipment and Brazil is very much ahead of us there also.

Re the cars - Brazil would like to supply the US with low cost ethanol - why we don’t just go that route beats me.