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The Prius has had this for at least one year...and I believe it's closer to 3 years.

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2004/prius/key_feat ures/smart_entry.html

Since HSW is grinding to a halt and no longer serving up images, you can see pics of the rolling coffin and more info from Toyota here.

It would be more ironic, and not to mention tragically funny, if were a Toyota Sequoia instead of an Excursion.

Well, I never said every SUV is horrible on gas but MOST are, and on top of that, My (soon to be; *shakes fists at parents*) Car is cheaper in just about any way you want to look at it (yes, even maintainance is cheap around here.). Until I see an SUV-gas/electric hybrid, I doubt you'll be trouncing my fuel economy ;).

SUVs the way most people drive and purchase them is the problem. They're expensive enough to where people will want them, they're practically invencible on the road *I feel sorry for anyone in a collision with a full-sized one*, and some are even outside of the normal gas economy brackets the government uses to tax cars (Hummer, Ford Excursion aka House on Wheels). These are gross abombinations. I can justify someone having an SUV hauling a boat and a family for a trip to the lake/ocean, I can justify having a small SUV for a soccor mom *note: forrester is GREAT for this*, but come on.. how many people really need those grizzly gas eaters they drive around? Everyone should own a nice car, and everyone should get to splurge a little.. but as their every day driving vehichle, this is absurd. And I can't believe they haven't felt the gas prices at over 2$ a gallon.

What about the Sparrow you ask? There's a good reason why the Sparrow failed. Because it sucked. Sparrows very easily turned over, they broke left and right, and they were deathtraps.

But I hear your pain. So if you're going to have to bite it and buy a car (which you will), the car for you is clear as day: the Toyota Echo in 5-speed Manual. 35 City, 43 Highway. Which is, btw, better than the hybrids (if you've been following lately, the hybrids have way-off MPG estimates due to poor EPA estimation techniques). Unlike most of its competition, the Echo has extraordinarily high reliability, about the best of almost any car. It also is very well designed internally, with a high roof that gives it a much roomier feeling than would be expected. It's got four stars on its crash tests, which for an ultracompact is pretty good. It's LEV. Best of all, it's $11K with side airbags.

Either that, or you're going to have to wait until 2006 for a Smart.

for example, the Toyota RAV4 (SUV):
spec page - click MPG tab

The lowest highway rating (automatic transmission and 4wd) is 26, the highest is 30 (manual transmission, 2wd). The lowest street mileage is still 21mpg.

(i'm sorry, it just really bothers me how misinformed people seem to be when it comes to mileage and SUVs)

Actually, the Prius (and others) use both regenerative braking and the gasoline engine to drive the generator that charges the batteries. FYI

Hybrids ARE great for city driving, when the maximum power output of the drive line is almost never required. The batteries can happily slog through traffic for quite some time without needing to run the IC engine. However, high speed highway driving, merging, and passing will often require 100% of available drive line power, this is where hybrids fall down.

Running both the engine and the electrics drains the batteries, requiring the engine to continue to run even after 100% power is not required, the engine has to run fairly hard to charge the batteries back up, and of course there is a loss of efficiency in the conversion from mechanical to electric energy. If you drive like grandma, your hybrid *might* reach the claimed highway efficiency, but at the cost of speed, merging and passing.

Just for comparison my 1992 Alfa Romeo 164s has a 220hp fuel-injected 3 litre V6, asside from the BOSCH Motronic 5.1-ML injection, it is a decidedly low-tech engine. Single overhead cams, 12 valves, 60 degree, the valve train and geometry of this engine date from the mid 60s. The 164s weighs 3650 lbs, roughy TWICE what a Honda Insight weighs. The Alfa also features leather interior, kickin' sound system, very good aerodynamics, and a top speed in excess of 155 mph. If I take this beast on long highway drives, I can manage 31 mpg. The reason? Most the time the engine is using only a small fraction of it's possible power output.

When a hybrid, or for that matter, any underpowered vehicle gets out on the highway the conditions often require the drive line to run at maximum output. No mater how lean burning or smart a fuel injection system is, it has to deliver more fuel to produce more power. But if a 3650 lb luxury/sport sedan can get 30+ Mpg why can't an 1800 lb econo car get 60+? The answer is it CAN. And without the added weight, cost and expense of hybrid systems. Hybrids are *a* solution, they are not however in my oppinion the *best* solution.

What we need are high effiency small-ish engines in the 1.2 to 1.8 litre range put into light weight, aerodynamic bodies. The results would be affordable, reasonably fun to drive and just as efficient as hybrids for most American drivers. Those living in cities may want to consider a full electric solution, or *gasp* public transportation (which is, unfortuneately not really up to snuff in most American cities). In addition, a displacement on demand system could improve the efficiency of small cars in city driving as well. Who says only a V8 would bennefit from this technology? A small 4 cyl car could conceivably be set up to idle on only one cylinder at stop lights.

Hybrids may actualy be better suited to high performance applications than high efficiency applications. Witness the Toyota Volta. The Volta is efficient because it rarely uses 100% of it's available power, and since about 50% of that power is provided by electrics, it's IC engine is similar in efficiency to that of a vehicle with 1/2 the total drive-line power of the Volta. The result is a vehicle that rarely taps it's full potential, and operates at maximum efficiency most of the time rather than maximum output.

Personally, I'm interested in hybrids but not for fuel efficiency reasons. I'd like to see auto makers combine the output from different energy sources into all-wheel acceleration of a normal car. I remember seeing something on the news a few years ago about Ford experimenting with that on an Explorer, trying to jazz up the acceleration of a bigger vehicle. I don't know what became of that testing, if anything. But it would be extremely cool to see that technology in a small, sporty car.

That's usually referred to as "regenerative braking." A bunch of hybrid vehicles have this feature, including the Prius.

Honda's Civic Hybrid is rated by the EPA to get 47 miles per gallon in the city, and 48 MPG on the highway. After nearly 1,000 miles of mostly city driving, Blackshaw was getting 31.4 MPG. ~ who claims that after 4,000 miles his car has never gotten more than 33 MPG on any trip.

I can't speak for the Honda, as I have the Toyota Prius, but I get consistently 48-9 city MPG, (the '02 P is rated at 47 city).

If you don't know how to drive a hybrid, then you will get poor MPG. Period. Here's how to get high MPG in a hybrid:

1. Make sure the tires are properly inflated (Toyota recommends 33-35 psi, but most Prius owners keep it at 40 psi for better mileage and traction).
2. When the light turns green, floor it until you get to your target speed (i.e., the speed limit).
3. Turn on cruise control ASAP.
4. Do not accelerate when you know you will have to stop.
5. Avoid tapping on the brake unnecessarily, anticipate the conditions ahead and lower your speed appropriately; when you see the light turn red or heavy traffic ahead, turn off the cruise control and coast. Obviously, if you have to hit the brake because someone darts in front of you, that takes precedence over MPG.
6. Run the AC only when necessary.

It is absolutely understandable why people try to drive the way they are taught: smooth acceleration, hit the brakes often, etc., but that is the antithesis of getting good gas mileage in a hybrid.

Finally, the main goal of the hybrid is reduced emissions; increased MPG is a byproduct.

Yes.

Toyota isn't taking this one sitting down.

Toyota Press Release

Toyota Prius Engine Safety in the Event of an Accident
For Immediate Release

(05/04/2004) Torrance, CA

The Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid vehicle has many safeguards to help ensure safe operation for drivers and protection of emergency response professionals in the event of an accident. The high voltage batteries are contained in an extremely strong protective case located in a portion of the vehicle very unlikely to be penetrated in a collision. Drivetrain management computers continuously monitor all system functions performing hundreds of tests each minute. In the event an abnormal condition is detected, all high voltage circuits are disabled and high voltage is contained inside the protective case.

Further, two safety mechanisms are in place that shut off the engine and disconnect high voltage if an airbag is deployed or if there is a sudden deceleration indicative of an accident. High voltage cables and components are heavily insulated, shielded, isolated and the cables are painted bright orange for easy identification. The controller box is a sealed unit and has warning labels.

To reassure emergency response professionals when the Prius was introduced in 2000, Toyota placed advertisements in trade publications and sent letters to industry organizations announcing the availability and dissemination of Emergency Response Guides. Today, all Emergency Response Guides for Toyota's alternative fuel vehicles, including Prius, RAV 4 EV, CNG Camry and Highlander Fuel Cell Hybrid are available at Toyota's technical information web site and Toyota continues to advertise in appropriate professional publications.

Electrically driven Toyota vehicles like the Prius, RAV 4 EV and e.com have been available in the U.S. since 1998. Like all vehicles, they can be involved in emergency situations. They have established a good track record for electrical safety and we are not aware of a battery case breach or any personal injury in the U.S. related to hybrid or EV electrical systems.

# # #
Contact:
Toyota Product News


Apparently Toyota is pretty protective of it's technology.

Judging from http://techinfo.toyota.com's 2004 Prius responder guide, Toyota has been quite responsible in routing the cables under the floor pan, where emergency responders are unlikely to need to go. The system is also designed with a relay powered by the 12 volt auxiliary battery that the car's computer has to enable in order for the high voltage lines to be energized. If the car deploys its air bags, that relay is designed to open, disconnecting the high voltage pack from the rest of the car.

In other words, it doesn't sound as though Toyota are being morons about the whole thing.

THIS LINK provides a description of how the Prius' drivetrain uses the gas and electric motors in tandem.

What if the Toyota was actually made in America?

On the outrage meter, where should I be on this one? 1? 10? .... 11?

Now please,

"watching TV?", I don't see a TV in his setup. I do see an LCD in the headrest so ppl in the rear sear can watch DVDs, etc. Perhaps you should perform a bit of research before you simply complain? If you are really interested in how technology and Telematics are affecting drivers, then _think_, and perform a little research (Watch Discovery || TLC).

Telematics is the future for vehicles. Ford, GM, Toyota, Fiat, etc are investing quite a bit on the research and development of telematics to improve driver awareness, and information, and balancing the distractions caused by other consumer devices people typically carry (Phone, PDA, etc.). For example, wonder over to AMI-C. Are all of the major automotive manufacturers, ISO, and NIST "Idiots" as well? What about Toyota Prius and Infiniti G35 owners (and too many others to list here)?

This question brings me to an interesting point of this discussion. Many automakers publish these codes under copyright in a service manual (extra price). This is still proprietary - but accessible.

For instace, I found these sites:

• Toyota MDC
• DaimlerChrysler Tech Authority

Unless you are made of money, it could be quite expensive to buy these for every model year of every vehicle type known to US dealerships.

And - yes - it's still proprietary (via copyright), but these have all the stuff that Chilton and Hayes can't publish about a car.

As much info as I have gathered, I couldn't find anybody who actually talks about full disclosure of ODBII system diagnostic codes. Only the several sources for common error codes. And this book. So, I can't answer your exact question (which bothers me). I can only continue on the line of my original suggestion. Instead of taking it to the dealership, have your local mechanic seek an alternative fix.

might as well have been made by TOYota.

Yeah, except that it'd be called Tundra.

The U.S. will get there, especially with Bluetooth showing up in some new Toyotas to link your phone to built-in handsfree systems when you get into the car.

Actually a very smart company figured out last year that in some countries in Europe people where chipping their cars anyway so they started to sell their own chips-upgrades.
A friend of mine bought one of these kits for his one year old Toyota RAV4. It increased the effect of the engine with about 40 hp. And it does not conflict with the guaranty. For Toyota this is much better since they know that the kit won't be to powerful and it reduces the repair cost if something goes wrong.

Toyota has plants all over the US, just not in Detroit: toyota us plants. I know Honda has at least a few plants in the US (and Canada) probably many more than that as do most other Japanese Auto manufacturers. I think the parent post was referring to Japanese companies building in the US not US companies getting business back from the Japanese companies.

Actually, most rear wheel drive cars sold in the US are no longer available because manufacturers want to make more huge rediculous gas guzzeling SUVs. Also Mustangs outsold BOTH GM F-bodies combined, despite Camaros and Firebirds being a few thousand $ cheaper didn't help them much either. I'd be very happy if the insurance companies could kill SUVs, but they simply don't have enough influence.

Go out and test drive a prius before making such comments. I work with a guy who just bought one and after taking a short drive I am seriously considering one as my next vehicle. Very slick with a good amount of power and decent passenger/cargo room. Oh and excellent gas mileage of course!

I'd just hop in the car, slide the ipod into a socket and press a button to play it.

Or, with a Bluetooth-enabled iPod, just hop in the car, browse your music library via the car's LCD screen, and push to play.

The Toyota Prius does something like this with Bluetooth enabled cell-phones as a hands-free solution. The whole idea makes me randy.

My PREVIOUS car got 35MPG on the highway and had plenty of power. They don't make cars like that anymore..

Actually now they make cars that do better than that.

But NOT my Prius

By introducing a small but steadily rising tax on petrol, America would do far more to encourage innovation and improve energy security than all the drilling in Alaska's wilderness. Crucially, this need not be, and should not be, a matter of raising taxes in the aggregate. The proceeds from a gasoline tax ought to be used to finance cuts in other taxes--this, surely, is the way to present them to a sceptical electorate.

Check it out. The 2004 Prius comes with Bluetooth to connect to mobile phones with Bluetooth. This will come in very handy with my Sony Ericsson T68i. I currently use a Jabra BT200 wireless headset while driving, but BT built into a car sounds way cooler.

Agreed, I hate flash. Had to jump out of MozillaFirebird (configured to ingore Flash) and into IE (yuck!). However, one of the links from the Flash gives some real meat. One thing: apparently the 2k4 Prius comes with a bluetooth handsfree cellphone integration as an optional package... nice!

Joe Consumer doesn't want a car that looks and feels like it's from 50 years in the future. Joe Consumer doesn't want an Enterprise shuttle craft. That is not going to turn on most people except for geeks and early adopters.

Hey, there's this new thing in economics called "niche market"... and guess what, most of /. is definitely not Joe Consumer.

I think the Prius is a great car. Sure it's not sporty but you can travel for ever and it has a good matinence record.

The new Prius has a 150,000 mile rating on the battery. It'll probably be really expensive to replace. On the bright side, I'll bet a recycler will give you something for the old one. Lots of recoverable material there.

The power is the only real complaint I have. But I get my SCCA racing fix on the weekends to take care of that!

• better looking than the '03 (futuristic & stuff)
  
• MSRP of $20k
  
• over 50MPG average expected, both city & freeway
  
• expected tax discount like previous models
  

2000-current Honda Insight, 2-seater:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Insight

2003-current Honda Civic Hybrid 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Civic+Hybrid

2001-2003 Toyota Prius 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.toyota.com/prius

2004 Toyota Prius 5-passenger midsize liftback:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/index.html
(for those who dislike Flash, info here:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/html/printabl e.html and here http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/specs/specs_b ody.html )

if you live in Japan there is also the hybrid
Estima (7-8 passenger minivan similar to the Previa),
and the mild-hybrid Crown large sedan.

if you can wait a year or so, Ford should have out
their hybrid Escape (info: http://www.hybridford.com (Flash only),
a "small" SUV/CUV that actually has towing capacity.
Lexus should also have their RX330 hybrid (the
RX400H) small SUV/CUV out (see http://www.lexus.com/about/hybrid/index.html
with Toyota shortly following with the hybrid
Highlander cousin.

I've also heard of the GM/Saturn Vue, the Nissan
Altima (I think that's the model), and the Toyota
Sienna, as next on the block with hybrid powertrains
(i.e. full/assist hybrids).

2000-current Honda Insight, 2-seater:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Insight

2003-current Honda Civic Hybrid 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Civic+Hybrid

2001-2003 Toyota Prius 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.toyota.com/prius

2004 Toyota Prius 5-passenger midsize liftback:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/index.html
(for those who dislike Flash, info here:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/html/printabl e.html and here http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/specs/specs_b ody.html )

if you live in Japan there is also the hybrid
Estima (7-8 passenger minivan similar to the Previa),
and the mild-hybrid Crown large sedan.

if you can wait a year or so, Ford should have out
their hybrid Escape (info: http://www.hybridford.com (Flash only),
a "small" SUV/CUV that actually has towing capacity.
Lexus should also have their RX330 hybrid (the
RX400H) small SUV/CUV out (see http://www.lexus.com/about/hybrid/index.html
with Toyota shortly following with the hybrid
Highlander cousin.

I've also heard of the GM/Saturn Vue, the Nissan
Altima (I think that's the model), and the Toyota
Sienna, as next on the block with hybrid powertrains
(i.e. full/assist hybrids).

2000-current Honda Insight, 2-seater:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Insight

2003-current Honda Civic Hybrid 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Civic+Hybrid

2001-2003 Toyota Prius 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.toyota.com/prius

2004 Toyota Prius 5-passenger midsize liftback:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/index.html
(for those who dislike Flash, info here:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/html/printabl e.html and here http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/specs/specs_b ody.html )

if you live in Japan there is also the hybrid
Estima (7-8 passenger minivan similar to the Previa),
and the mild-hybrid Crown large sedan.

if you can wait a year or so, Ford should have out
their hybrid Escape (info: http://www.hybridford.com (Flash only),
a "small" SUV/CUV that actually has towing capacity.
Lexus should also have their RX330 hybrid (the
RX400H) small SUV/CUV out (see http://www.lexus.com/about/hybrid/index.html
with Toyota shortly following with the hybrid
Highlander cousin.

I've also heard of the GM/Saturn Vue, the Nissan
Altima (I think that's the model), and the Toyota
Sienna, as next on the block with hybrid powertrains
(i.e. full/assist hybrids).

2000-current Honda Insight, 2-seater:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Insight

2003-current Honda Civic Hybrid 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp ?ModelName=Civic+Hybrid

2001-2003 Toyota Prius 5-passenger compact sedan:
http://www.toyota.com/prius

2004 Toyota Prius 5-passenger midsize liftback:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/index.html
(for those who dislike Flash, info here:
http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/html/printabl e.html and here http://www.toyota.com/prius/minisite/specs/specs_b ody.html )

if you live in Japan there is also the hybrid
Estima (7-8 passenger minivan similar to the Previa),
and the mild-hybrid Crown large sedan.

if you can wait a year or so, Ford should have out
their hybrid Escape (info: http://www.hybridford.com (Flash only),
a "small" SUV/CUV that actually has towing capacity.
Lexus should also have their RX330 hybrid (the
RX400H) small SUV/CUV out (see http://www.lexus.com/about/hybrid/index.html
with Toyota shortly following with the hybrid
Highlander cousin.

I've also heard of the GM/Saturn Vue, the Nissan
Altima (I think that's the model), and the Toyota
Sienna, as next on the block with hybrid powertrains
(i.e. full/assist hybrids).

It's a very spatious, full-sized sedan.

A Civic is a full-sized sedan. Uh-huh.

Oh, and we also looked at the Toyota Prius. Those things suck ass. They are very rough to drive. The computer screen is always full of motion and it's very distracting without lending much usefulness. Furthermore, it's cramped inside and the vehcile controls are just... bizarre. The engine compartment is also very cramped. Doing work on that vehicle would require taking a lot of shit apart, ergo it may be very expensive to service. Handling sucked. Overall, the Toyota Prius is just as shitty as its Echo counterpart.

But you didn't look at the new Prius. When it comes out, it will raise the bar when it comes to hybrids. It's much bigger (it is a true mid-size car) and has more horsepower, yet still gets 50 mpg.

Corporate propoganda here and a positive review in the New York Times here.

What, do you drive it only downhill? (Maybe the reverse of the route I took to school when I was a kid, which was uphill, both ways . . . )

If not I call bullshit. According to Toyota themselves, the V6 Camrys max out at 33MPG (highway), 23 (city):

Manual transmission 23/33 [6] 23/33 NA
Automatic transmission 23/32 23/32 23/32

I can't even squeeze 50MPG out of my V6 Jetta (which is several hundred pounds lighter than a Camry), even if I drive like a grandma afraid of acelleration. I usually get 20-30 in real life, according to the Jetta's computer thing, but I love to acellerate. My wife gets a litter better, but not 50.

From what I've read in their sitethe prius consumes only a fraction of the amount of fuel a normal car would need to cover the same distance. This is done by running the motor at optimal rates (I gather there is no transmission) and feed the electic motors. When you brake, the motor not only does the motor stop automaticaly, but your kinetic energy is being transformed back into electricity.
So, even if it is more expensive than a normal car, you could get your money back out of fuel economy in 3-4 years depending on how much distance you cover every year.

I'm sorry, I just can't agree with the folks who argue that Indian software engineers with doctorate degrees making minimum wage working on outdated equipment in code sweatshops will somehow put me out of a job. I'll do it by fiddling with my 401k, IM-ing, kazooming, and playing Civ-III all day long.

Toyota Matrix.

Establishment science is a byproduct of dominant political and economic interests. (Some people don't like to hear that.) So, what kind of energy systems will emerge under a political and economic order that has been controlled, at least for the last 100 years, by corrupt oil money? Wide adoption of viable alternative energy systems would completely subvert the dominant paradigm (the U.S. imposed global economic and political order) and depose long established elites.

The only way that any paradigm breaking technologies will emerge is if we (average people) build them ourselves. This work must be carried out by the non experts among us, the laymen and the backyard tinkerers because the alleged "scientists" are too busy maintaining the status quo on the road to oblivion.

To wit:

I recently came up with an idea that might allow for the creation of a vehicle that burns no non renewable hydrocarbons (gasoline) and in fact runs on solar power and water.

"Whuuuh?" you ask. Forget about what "CAN'T" happen for a few minutes and keep reading!

!WARNING! I have done NO research on actually building this prototype. In fact, I have no experience at all with high voltage electrical systems, generators, explosive gasses or internal combustion engines. Actually attempting to execute the following ideas may be very dangerous.

And if I had the money, I'd be out right now trying to do this. ;)

Let's get down to it:

Hybrid gasoline-electric cars use both conventional gas burning and electrical engines. If you want to know more about how hybrid cars work, see howstuffworks.com for an excellent summary. Hopefully, someone out there has a pioneering spirit, a full workshop and access to, and ability to modify, a Toyota Prius or Honda Insight.

In my opinion, the primary problem with hybrid gas-electric cars is that THEY STILL BURN GASOLINE. My idea is primarily concerned with eliminating the need to use any gasoline at all (or any other filthy, proprietary fuel) in a vehicle that is, for all intents and purposes, extremely well engineered and efficient.

The question then becomes: What type of fuel would the vehicle's internal combustion engine burn?

Behold, JL Naudin's Bingo Fuel Reactor.

Passing current through carbon electrodes immersed in ORDINARY TAP WATER produces gas that can power conventional internal combustion engines. See Naudin's incredible demonstration in which he powers a 5 kilowatt Honda generator directly with the gas from his BingoFuel Reactor. Ok, class, pay attention: Look at the specification for the type of fuel required to run that Honda generator. It's supposed to run on automotive unleaded gasoline (minimum 86 pump octane). Yep, that's the same automotive unleaded gasoline that you put in your car, or in those Honda and Toyota hybrids.

Obviously, to get that gas out of the water, current must be passed through the carbon electrical array.

To all of you people out there shaking your heads, mumbling, "This is 11th grade chemistry class electrolysis, this takes too much power," stick with me.

Look at what Naudin says about the BingoFuel system vs. electrolysis:

It is interesting to notice that in this test of a 1 cell BingoFuel Reactor, the current used is 81.6 Amperes (see Test#1). With a same value of current used in a 1 cell electrolyser the volume of the of H2 is 36 liters per hour (at 20C). There is 46% of H2 in the synthetic gas genera

The key to fuel economy with internal intermittant combustion engines (like reciprocating gas engines found in cars) is to use them at their maximum power setting with as few combustion events per unit time as possible. In other words, wide open throttle and low RPMs (high manifold pressures). This car gets 128 miles per gallon at 35 MPH, and it's just a pure diesel engine.

Hydrogen is a losing proposition because there isn't any lying around free. It has to be made, and that takes energy. In fact, it takes more energy to make it than could ever be returned by burning it (Thermodynamics... increaing entropy...).

Currently I think that the gas/electric hybrid is the best touring vehicle (as opposed to a commuting vehicle) platform, but I have yet to see one that I like. The Toyota Prius I got to look at closely a few weeks ago was very disappointing. A 1989 Honda Civic CRX gets better milage! The Toyota drive system is overly complicated with a gearbox that allows the wheels to be driven by either the electric motor and/or the gas engine. The added complexity and weight of the gearbox offset any efficiency gains of the electric system.

Lucky for us all that the Japanese auto makers are working on hydrogen fuel cell engines and have been for quite some time. Check out the Toyota FCHV.

Have you seen the S2000.
Or maybe the 350Z
Or maye a quad cab pickup with a V8
Are they the worlds fastest, most powerfull cars? No.
Do we settle for less than the absolute fastest (PC|Car|whatever). Mostly.
Would you like to own any of these 3 vehicles? I bet yes.

We are barely moving towards environmentally safe cars. Think of the horrible traffic accidents in the air!

Looking at the available technologies (fuel cells,battery electric, and hybrids to name a few), there isn't a lot of choices right now on the market. One of the more interesting ones I saw were the bi-fueled vehicles, takes ethanol or gas and runs the same. Don't forget to check out GM's alternative vehicles in addition to Ford's. You can easily grab a Toyota Prius or Honda Civic Hybrid like I did.

Whoops - looks like you spoke too soon. The RAV4 is being discontinued. Meanwhile, Honda rejects Mozilla, suggesting I 'upgrade' to IE or Netscape 4.x...

Unfortunately, all the green vehicles in the world won't do a bit of good if nobody buys them. Actual average fuel economy of all cars bought in the U.S. is currently as low as it was in 1980. [epa.gov] To turn this around we either have to mandate better economy by raising the CAFE standards, or push it economically by raising the cost of gasoline with taxes, and then offset them by giving tax breaks to people who buy more fuel-efficient, less-polluting vehicles.

Or, rather than trying to force people to buy cars which - by definition - they don't want (otherwise, why do you need to force them?), try persuading them. Make an attractive hybrid car (the RAV4 looks nice, apart from the small detail of being discontinued...) and I'll buy it. Hopefully, my next car will be an SUV - probably gasoline-burning despite the fuel consumption/pollution, because fuel-cell or hybrid versions aren't there yet.

Instead of trying to modify the public to fit your preferred car, modify the car to fit the public: it'll be much more popular that way. I actually WANT a 'clean' car - but I won't drive a Honda Civic, however clean it might be.

Get one of these, or one of these, both of which get over 50 MPG and have a hell of a lot more power than a Metro and its pipsqueak lawnmower engine. Plus, you get the added bonus of being an early adopter. Every geek should be driving one.