Toyota Develops New Plant Species

oznigot writes "Yes, that's Toyota, the car company. In what appears to be a publicity stunt to promote their hybrid vehicle technology Toyota has developed a new species of plant. Of the Cherry Sage shrub family, the new plant absorbs nitrogen oxide and other substances from the air better than the original Cherry Sage." Update: 10/16 00:01 GMT by Z : Original link removed.

Comments

Hybrids shifting attention

[Y-Crate]

This is somewhat on topic, so if you disagree with me posting it, just leave it un-modded in +2 semi-obscurity

With the rise of larger and larger vehicles, and the questions that have arisen regarding their impact, most of the attention has been focused squarely on the fuel economy issues. Now, I will be the first one to admit that the matter of gas consumption needs to be taken seriously and many vehicles out there are a simply irresponsible purchase with gas prices being what they are, even if the people buying them can afford to fill them. The rise in demand is increasing prices for everyone.

So, hybrids are being rushed onto the scene as fast as possible. Great, eh?

Not quite.

By addressing the fuel economy problem and thinking that it is the end of the concerns with the larger vechicles on the road, we are ignoring the most important of them all, which is the danger they pose on the road to other drivers.

Link

Federal information shows that although light trucks account for one-third of all registered vehicles, traffic crashes between a light truck and any other vehicle now account for the majority of fatalities in vehicle-to-vehicle collisions. Of the 5,259 fatalities caused when light trucks struck cars in 1996, 81 percent of the fatally injured were occupants of the car.(9) In multiple-vehicle crashes, the occupants of the car are four times more likely to be killed than the occupants of the SUV.(10) In a side-impact collision with an SUV, car occupants are 27 times more likely to die.(11)

This study was very important because it examined how many car occupants killed in accidents with SUVs might have survived had the accidents involved passenger cars weighing the same as SUVs. This is in important finding, because auto manufacturers have maintained that the weight of SUVs make them dangerous to smaller cars, not the design. The NHTSA study concludes that 2,000 people would have survived if their vehicles had been hit by a heavy car instead of a heavy SUV. Two thousand is five percent of the nation's annual traffic fatalities. The study declares that light trucks and SUVs are twice as likely to cause a fatality in the struck car than a passenger car of comparable weight.(13)

In response to studies like this, automakers have begun saying they will make changes to make SUVs more compatible with other cars. When Ford Motor Company introduced it's new monster, the Excursion (19 feet long, 6 1/2 feet wide, and weighing in at 8,500 pounds), Ford added a front beam and a rear tow hitch to prevent other vehicles from sliding under the Excursion during an accident. The Excursion will be the largest SUV on the market and could be extremely dangerous in an accident with a smaller vehicle since almost every vehicle on the road is smaller. Ford has not added the safety beam to its other SUVs.

The compatibility issue is not confined to crashes. The size and design of SUVs raises other safety issues. For instance, placement of headlights is a serious nuisance and a potential safety problem. On large SUVs, the headlights are mounted higher than on cars. Large SUVs have headlights mounted 36 to 39 inches above the ground - the same height as the side mirror on a small car. The glare from SUVs' headlights can appear to other drivers as bright as high beams. Glare can be 10 to 20 times worse than recommended levels when headlights are at the height of a driver's eyes or side mirror, according to a study by the Society of Automotive Engineers. (14)

Yes, the site is biased, but their sources are another matter.

It's ironic to think that with the introduction of more hybrids, we will see more SUVs on the road, which will increase the death rate for drivers all across the U.S.

Re:Hybrids shifting attention

[procon]

Your point about light trucks remaining the same weight is a good one, but it ignores the current elephant in the living room, SUVs. Light trucks served a different purpose 35 years ago; chiefly they were trucks. They were driven by experienced drivers, mostly for work, and nationwide they were far less common then cars.

High & Mighty, a great book on the subject, painstakingly shows how American car companies shoe horned SUVs into the light truck category to avoid safety and environmental requirements. Free of these requirements, SUVs evolved to become as dangerous to fellow drivers as possible. They were built high, with bumpers that rode over other cars, and stiff under bodies that did impaled its victims. The government looked the other way, protecting American Motors, and then Chrysler, until it was too late.

And your other point about the physics of big cars being fundamentally safer ignores all the improvements in car design that has occurred over the past 35 years. Cars are now built with air bags, crumple zones, and unibody construction. I'll let others who are more knowledgeable than me weigh in, but I think a modern Camry is actually safer for its occupants than a 1972 mid-sized car.

In closing, nobody's evil here, I have close family who drive SUVs, and calling them names doesn't go over well at reunions. That being said, Randy Cohen, the New York Times' Ethicist eloquently concluded that it is selfish to drive a vehicle that puts others at mortal risk for style or comfort. Food for thought when deciding what our next vehicle should be.

Goatse link

[shird]

Nice.... the main article now links to the goatse man. Some guy playing with his redirecting no doubt. Mind you, it does kinda look like some flesh eating virus/plant thing. Great for work.