Hybrid Vehicles - a car buff seeking automotive redemption

With the number of hybrid cars and vehicles on American roads increasing, the chances of accidents increase proportionately.

This creates additional challenges for fire and rescue safety crews due to the presence of high voltage electricity. With every manufacturer adopting different safety standards - dealing with a vehicle in emergency situations can be intimidating.

Recent testing has dispelled a number of myths:

• There is no risk of electrocution if a hybrid vehicle is driven into water
• Emergency crews using axes or mechanical equipment to cut open vehicles after an accident do not face the risk of electrocution
• Spraying water on a hybrid car that has caught on fire will not put you at risk of electrocution.

This is not to say that there are not some risks - however the current mistrust and fear is more symptomatic of services grappling with unfamiliar technology than any real underlying danger.

It is also good news for hybrid car drivers - some of who have questioned there safety during an accident.

Forbes has compiled a list of the top 12 most environmentally friendly vehicles for 2007 - and the greatest news for people interested in purchasing hybrid cars or vehicles is that the cost for your purchase is dropping.

Of the vehicles who made the list - all clocked in under $35,000. The average price was $20,000 (which is down more than $1000 from the previous year) Frugal buyers can purchase a low-emission vehicle for under $13,000.

Not surprisingly the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid tied for first place with perfect 10 scores for greenhouse emissions from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. That’s fantastic considering your average SUV is likely to take out a score of zero (they don’t give zeroes)

The cost-price is great news for people interested in hybrid vehicles as it reflects a growing downward trend. With price seen as one of the biggest barriers against people making the move - it can only get better.

A new incentive scheme offered by GM to dealers highlights the downward trend in light-truck purchases over the last 12 months.

GM is assisting dealers to discount purchase prices by up to $1000 after sales slumped more than 22% in July. Slower sales have also meant that production has been slowed down at more than 6 light truck plants across North America.

While nobody wants the families involved in the production of light trucks to lose their jobs - it is an interesting trend. Heavy vehicle usage (including SUV) has been trending down slightly over the last couple of years. We are yet to see this result in an appreciable uptake of more fuel-efficient vehicles - but the potential is still definitely there.

GM has big opportunities going forward to look at the fuel efficiency of its vehicles. Making small changes could have a big impact, and lead the way for other US retailers.

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

An Australian newspaper recently released the results of a survey suggesting that hybrid cars are more expensive to run than similarly sized conventional vehicles.

On the fact of it, this seems to run counter to one of the fundamentals of the hybrid car movement. We’re all about saving on gas aren’t we?

In explaining the results - the Royal Automobile Association suggests that the higher purchase price of a hybrid vehicle means that fuel savings aren’t recouped over a five year period.

It’s an incredibly interesting set of statistics but there are a couple of additional things worth noting:

1. Australia doesn’t currently have a system for purchase rebates like the United States (see my previous post on rebates for hybrid vehicles)

2. The example car in question (the Honda Civic hybrid) saves 930 kg of emissions every year.  This kind of ecological impact is hard to measure in dollar terms.

I know its something that I’ve been repeating consistently over the last coupl;e of days - but affordability for hybrid vehicles will come from economies of scale. Creating and fostering the demand will help to balance out some of these figures.

Anyway - check out the full article here:

Hybrid cars ‘more costly to run’ - Breaking News - National - Breaking News

technorati tags:hybrid, vehicle, automobile, car, honda, petrol, environment, cost

Was recently browsing through the Grand Prix site and saw an interesting article about Toyota’s plan to enter one of its hybrid Lexus models in the Tokachi 24 Hour endurance race in Japan.

A sucessful showing could provide an important psychological boost to the hybrid movement. Convincing arguments have already been made about the environmental and financial benefits of hybrid technologies. How good would it be if we could point to a winning race against the grunt, muscle and petrol-chewing might of the racing industry!

Heh…I’m a self-confessed petrol buff - buts its worth checking out the article.

F1 News > Toyota and Le Mans - Grandprix.com

technorati tags:endurance, racing, hybrid, car, automobile, technology, vehicle

Last week the Ford Motor Company abandoned its pledge to make 250,000 petrol-electric hybrid cars by 2010 .

This promise lasted a “whole” 9 months, and its failure has been blamed on “greater internal candour about the level of customer demand.”

This isn’t the first time Ford has reneged on its promises to improve its environmental credentials. 5 years ago a similar promise to improve the fuel efficiency of sports utility vehicles was abandoned.

Many people in the environmental movement are angry about the move - but its important to see the broader context.

The announcement coincided with Standard & Poor further dropping the credit rating of Ford. It also occurs in the context of GM statements that its own range of hybrid vehicles are barely profitable.

What does it mean for us?

1. Recognise that industry support for hybrid cars and technologies will always reflect hard-nosed pragmatism.

2. Advocacy is important but is always going to take second place to the commercial dollar.

Everyone of us has a responsibility to make hybrid technologies viable? What do you drive now? What about your next car? Do you feel strongly enough to make it a hybrid?

What about your local area? What do the city council fleets use? Can you start action within the community to get them to adopt hybrid vehicles?

Ford’s decision is a somewhat sobering reminder of the need to keep the momentum of our movement up. We must become agents of change if we are going to achieve the fundamental culture shift needed in America.

technorati tags:ford, hybrid, vehicle, car, automobile, industry, environment, action

The San Antonio City Council recently announced that owners of hybrid vehicles could register for free parking at any of the city’s 2010 parking meters.

They aren’t alone, many city councils across America are taking action while the Federal Government is dragging its feet.

I wasn’t able to find any statistics on hybrid car usage in San Antonio - but would be interesting to see what affect this has on the percentages in the city.

San Antonion joins a range of other city councils who have joined the push including:

• Charlotte, North Carolina purchased 2 dozen alternative fuel vehicles for their city fleet.
• Houston, Texas committed to making up to 80% of the 3500 vehicles in their city fleet hybrid by 2010
• Los Angeles offers free parking at designated meters throughout the city. This is expected to last until at least 2007
• Other councils across America who have lowered taxes and registration costs for hybrid vehicle purchases

technorati tags:san, antonio, hybrid, vehicle, car, automobile, council, parking

In yesterday’s Los Angele’s Time a small article caught my eye.

According to the writer - the Bank of America is piloting a hybrid vehicle purchase plan for almost 21 000 employees in Los Angeles, Boston and Charlotte.

Workers who purchase one of the Federal-Government tax-credit eligible hybrid cars will also receive a $3000 rebate from the Bank.

Hopefully, this is an initiative that is likely to be watched with great interest by other corporations.

Bank of America is not the first corporation to debut this kind of scheme. Google has been offerring a $5000 rebate for some time - and St Paul Travellers Inc. Insurance company offers its employees discounts on Insurance for hybrid purchases.

However, the initiative from Bank America is important because of its potential size - and also arguably the mainstream status of the corporation. The fact that traditional business-focussed corporations will support this kind of scheme shows the increasing penetration of hybrid car awareness.

technorati tags:hybrid, rebate, automobile, car, vehicle, environment