Hybrid Vehicles - a car buff seeking automotive redemption

One of my readers pointed out that Bankrate.com has an online script/quiz set up to help you decide how appropriate hybrid car ownership is for your particular information

Is a hybrid car right for you?

My first thought was - great! - it’s something I’ve been looking at for some time. An easy, accessible way to help people work through the same mental steps I’d taken before finally making my own decision.

I would love your feedback on how you perceive the page (its a little buggy - so some of the scripts seem to be loading quite slow.

I was fairly disappointed with both the way it was put together and the justification they provided for the final answer. I think it doesn’t take into account the full economic and environmental implications of hybrid car technologies.

I won’t spoil the fun - but feel free to make a comment.

technorati tags:quiz, hybrid, car, vehicle, automobile, decision, economics, environment

How about an easy maths question to mark the end of a day?

How many pounds of carbon dioxide is produced as a result of your car using a gallon (approx weight 6.25 pounts) of gas?

What would you guess? 3 pounds? 6 pounds?

Would you believe 20 pounds?

That’s right - according to the American Council for Efficient Energy the amount of carbon dioxide produced as as a result of obtaining, processing, shipping and using a gallon of gas is 20 pounds!

Lets take those figures and use them in a hypothetical scenario. Joe Average is driving his Hummer blissfully along the boulevard. Your average Hummer gets about 8-10 miles per gallon. So - for every 10 miles he drives he is responssible for 20 pounds of carbon being injected into the atmosphere.

Duplicating that figure across the million of vehicles world-wide produces some very scary images. We are talking about an ocean of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere every year.

Is it any wonder we’re scared? Is it any wodner we are looking towards hybrid technologies.

technorati tags:hummer, carbon, dioxide, hybrid, car, vehicle, automobile, environment

The news is a little bit old - but I thought it was worth adding to my continuing series on the innovative ways that local government authorities are rewarding hybrid car owners.

Drivers of hybrid vehicles along the New Jersey Turnpike are allowed to use the high occupancy vehicle (more than 3 people) lanes even when they are the only people driving in the car.

This is interesting - primarily because it represents a subtly different way for government organisation to encourage hybrid vehicle uptake. Instead of immediate tax credits, or lower fuel costs - this is an attempt to make vehicle ownership attractive as part of offering lifestyle benefits.

If you have ever driven on the Turnpike during peak hour you should be definitely able to emphathise with the attractiveness of this kind of offer!

Hopefully this will not be the last such move by American authorities.

technorati tags:new, jersey, hybrid, environment, car, automobile, vehicle, politics, turnpike