113 mpg Prius

[beet1e]

Hmm, this hybrid business is getting much more coverage over on your side of the pond. As it says, the popularity of diesels in Europe (tried and trusted technology and 70mpg or more if you want it) is keeping hybrids in the shade.

How do ethanol engines work? Is the fuel simply burned? Do they use spark ignition or compression ignition?

[mora]

It will change when the French get their diesel hybrids out. Ethanol is used as a gasoline substitute. I don't believe it will have much future though, as biodiesel is a much better solution. The biofuels are not going to be a petroleum substitute in a large scale though.

[wasq]

Saab Biopower is an example of European multifuel vehicle. It can use either regular petrol, E85 or a mixture of these.

[moot]

http://wrightspeed.com/x1.html

[Krusher]

Originally posted by ROC
Hurry up and buy those hybrids so Demand goes down and my full size conversion van can have cheap gas again

And California will tax the heck out of it to punish you evil SUV drivers

[Krusher]

Originally posted by moot
http://wrightspeed.com/x1.html

yow !

The X1 prototype is just the beginning. It meets its design specs of 0-60 in 3 seconds, 170 mpg equivalent.

[lazs2]

let the rich guys who need the tax rebate drive and R&D the hybrids.   They have some serious problems for a car that you don't use to commute in stop and go traffic in.

Once we get the price of electricity down to allmost nothing then electric cars will enjoy a lot more research and you will see more of em..

Diesel, hydrogen, electric, ethanol.... biodiesel... Things not even on the horizon....lot's of ways to go... lots of things that will make us change direction as time goes by.

Interesting times.   Meanwhile... we are getting more and more HP out of conventional 4 stroke engines...

life is good.

lazs

[indy007]

Hybrids are made for stop & go traffic. That's when the electric motor is engaged, as it's the time your engine is using the most fuel. I took a Prius overnight to check it out once. Got caught in very heavy Houston traffic the next morning. Not once did the gas engine take over. During fast highway cruising is when the gas motor comes on. I don't think I actually used any gas at all once I got on the freeway.

Displacement on demand has been around for a long time. There are vehicles that use it right now. Those new Dodge "hemi's" (hemi label, made by Mercedes) use it. The Dodge Magnum R/T (the reincarnation of the station wagon) uses on. Cruise on 4 cylinders, floor it & all 8 come up. The costs of the engine will outweigh the gas savings until your 1000th or so fill up.

I remember watching a news report in the 70's where a guy patented a new carburator. He took a '74 Ford LTD with 1 gallon of gas in an external tank and drove it from Dallas to St. Louis. You never heard about him again, some oil or car company bought the rights to it and buried it. The technology is out there, the big companies are just not ready to let you have access to it.

I gotta call shennanigans. It sounds an awful lot like the rhetoric that comes from people who believe in Free Energy Supression. I do however, love reading about garage inventors violating the laws of phsyics, just to be silenced by "the man".

[Mickey1992]

Originally posted by Krusher
When a hybrid hits 100+ mpg I may have to trade in the Civic for one. This one looks promising and quick.

Wait until the new federal MPG rules kick in in 2008.  I bet the MPG will drop to 60.  

[ROC]

And California will tax the heck out of it to punish you evil SUV drivers

LOL Probably so, but then again, half a soccer team and equipment into a prius just isn't practical

Lib friends of mine just hate when I show them how cheap my van is to drive compared to their 3 mini cars to get the same amount of people and equipment to the same location lol

Oddly enough, on longer road trips when the kids are on a bus, you'd be suprised how many parents Want to ride in my captains chairs instead of crammed into a mini.  Pure Hypocrites but I enjoy the captive audience as I tease them the whole drive  hehe

[J_A_B]

That Prius in the initial post looks like a total piece of crap.   It's not much bigger than a shopping cart.


113 MPG using euro gallons = a little under 100 MPG using US gallons.  If they can build a 100 MPG shopping cart, why can't the automakers build something people actually want, like a REAL car that makes 60 MPG.  



I don't think hybrid cars are the answer.  All that extra junk just adds complexity and will likely result in a mechanic's dream, not to mention it'll probably inflate automobile prices even higher than the disgusting levels they've already reached (likely why the automakers are salivating over that tech).


J_A_B