Autoblog

What a joke! Talk about a giveaway. We think the prize will go to a lone tinkerer in a garage somewhere, or maybe a team of caffeinated grad students, when really it will go towards Lockheed or General Dynamics. The only solution to our climate and energy crises is to get used to driving your cars a lot less. Hybrids aren't the solution. Getting 150 mpg in a next gen hybrid isn't much of a savings vs. an efficient diesel or a Civic getting close to 40 mpg. Do the math: 100 miles in a Civic uses 2.5 gallons of fuel vs. 0.7 gallons in a 150 mpg hybrid, saving 1.8 gallons of fuel per 100 miles driven. At current prices that's about $7.20 per 100 miles driven. Does anyone here really think a next-gen hybrid will be cheap? Let's assume a $10000 premium vs. a conventional car. In order to break even, you'll need to drive 138,000 miles in your next-gen hybrid. 138,000 miles in a Civic at 40 mpg will use 3450 gallons of gas costing $13,800 at today's prices. 138,000 miles in a next-gen hybrid at 150 mpg will use 920 gallons of gas costing $3680 at today's prices. The numbers aren't exact, but the idea is clear: even a next-gen hybrid won't save drivers money until it approaches 200,000 miles of use. Don't forget about the massive energy inputs needed to build the batteries. If it's a plug-in model, don't forget about the electricity coming from fossil fuels to charge the car. Hybrids aren't doing the planet any favors - they're just deluding their owners into thinking they're doing a good thing by driving down Highway 1 in a Prius. The only way out of this mess is to improve public transport to make it appealing for the masses and re-arrange ourselves to reduce car dependency. The auto party is over, and hybrids or talk of a next-gen super hybrid is a mix of denial and fantasy.

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