Hybrid Cars No Better than 'Intelligent' Cars

eldavojohn writes "There's no doubt been a lot of analysis done recently on energy consumption, especially on the road. Now, a study released today reveals that cars with traffic flow sensors built into them can perform just as efficiently as hybrids. The concept of an 'intelligent' car that communicates with the highway or other cars is an old idea, but the idea of them using sensors to anticipate braking could vastly reduce fossil fuel consumption. From the article, 'Under the US and European cycles, hybrid-matching fuel economy was reached with a look-ahead predictability of less than 60 seconds. If the predictability was boosted to 180 seconds, the newly-intelligent car was 33 percent more fuel-efficient than when it was unconverted.' Now, the real question will be whether or not you can convince consumers that the three minutes of coasting up to a red light or halted traffic is worth the 33 percent less gas and replacing your brake pads/cylinders less often."

Comments

NO concept of 'relevancy' in article

[unity100]

The issue is not "economy". The issue is getting out of the slavery to petroleum derivative fuels.

"economic" "intelligent" cars dont matter shit in that regard. its same slavery, but a little bit less.

whereas a hybrid is a TRANSITIONARY phase from breaking free of the polluting and non renewable fuel slavery. Its worth gold as in that today's hybrids are tomorrows full electric/alternative cars.

get your facts straight, at least your logic straight before making a comparison and posting an article dammit.

Re:You can do it without sensors, too.

[Volante3192]

For instance, I will haul ass up to a light if it will let me get in front of the one dipshit who I know is going to slow me down.

And so you reach the red light, and by the time the dipshit reaches it, the light turns green. Who saves on gas and brake pads there? The dipshit. What did you get? Line position at a red light. Bra-vo. /golfclap

Re:can't you just do this now?

[vought]

Concrete feedback on the dash and I'd probably pay more attention.

And it'd make you a traffic hazard for all the people who _don't_ have feedback.

This kind of feedback has to be in every car, coordinated to some degree, or else it will cause a traffic nightmare as people pay attention to their dashboard feedback rather than what's going on a half-mile up the freeway.

I see this every day as smug-spreading hybrid owners around the Bay Area creep their way into wide-open freeways at all of 50 m.p.h, eyes focussed tightly on the center-mounted dashpod. They're sacrificing the car's drivability for ultimate economy, and it's having an effect on the flow of traffic, especially since so many of these hybrids are permitted to use the carpool lane - making their pokey progress affect several lanes of traffic.

Hybrids are actually quite quick, but I've found that this feedback causes problems for other drivers. Coordinated systems would work better for all concerned.