Alternative-Fuel Vehicle Recommendations?

Ellen Spertus asks: "My husband and I lease a pure electric GM EV-1, which we love, and need to replace our second car, a conventional Honda Accord, which recently died. We'd get a second EV-1, but GM has stopped making them. I haven't been able to find any available all-eletric car with the range (>=50 miles roundtrip) and speed (>=65 mph) that I need. Does the Slashdot community have any experience, wisdom, or advice on choosing an alternative fuel car?"

"I'm currently considering:

• Toyota Prius, a hybrid sedan
• Honda Insight, a hybrid two-seater
• Honda Civic GX, a compressed natural gas (CNG) powered sedan

We test drove a Toyota Prius today, and it seems like a nice car. It's said to provide a quieter and more comfortable ride than the Honda Insight, and it uses pure electric power at low speeds. The Honda Insight, on the other hand, has better gas mileage. I could refuel either at regular gas stations. The Honda Civic GX would need to be refueled at special stations, but there are many where I live and work, the San Francisco Bay Area. The GX is the lowest in emissions, which would qualify me to drive alone in the carpool lane. All of the cars are about the same price, around $20,000 new. Used cars are also available."

Comments

So you feel better about yourself....

[talks_to_birds]

by burning coal in a powerplant in somebody else's backyard than burning a very modest amount of gasoline on the street you live on?

Goody for you!

We're just so-so eco-logical!

feh..

t_t_b

Re:Ethanol is no solution, it's part of the proble

[Jodka]

"77,000 BTU of energy requires inputs totalling about 131,000 BTU (if memory serves)."

I store this factoid in a more compact form, that the fuel consumed in the production of ethanol contains 1.7 times the enery as the ethanol. Which fits with the figures you give.

By the way, those who can not obtain ethanol fuel at the pump can simulate the experience of driving on a gallon of ethanol using regular fossil fuel:
1- Purchase 1.7 gallons of gasoline.
2- Poor 1 gallon into your tank.
3- Poor the remaining 0.7 gallons into nearby ditch. Ignite.

Those after a more realistic experience can also send ADM a check, cut down trees and dump topsoil into a river. If anyone questions you, denounce them as a corporate whore of the fossil fuel industry then move to Nebraska and vote for Tom Daschle.

Problem for USA... No automatic diesels

[wackybrit]

The Americans are smart and like driving cars with automatic transmission, whereas their European counterparts like wrestling with sticks and drive like retards.

There are no popular automatic diesel cars, and in fact, I've never even heard of an automatic diesel car. This may be why they are extremely unpopular in the US. If they made an automatic diesel that was cost effective, I'd get one.

Re:BIODIESEL

[sopwath]

See the above post. Find some info on what ethanol did to engines when it was first put into gasoline.

There's also a pretty dramatic drop in engine performance. In fact the drop is more than enough to make BioDiesel less environmentally friendly than using regular petroleum based norm.