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Hybrid Cars to Get New Mileage Ratings
Skidge writes "Wired is running a piece showing the drastically reduced mileage ratings for hybrids after the upcoming changes in gas mileage calculations by the EPA. While the cars themselves aren't changing, plugging these new numbers in to the equation makes a hybrid much less cost effective: "The two top-selling hybrid vehicles, the Prius and Honda's Civic Hybrid, will lose 12 and 11 miles per gallon respectively from their city driving estimates." The new values come from more realistic testing; the old, over-inflated ratings were higher in part because the cars idled a lot, allowing the hybrids to completely turn off their engines. The new ratings should be more in line with what hybrid drivers are actually seeing."
#1 The best milage comes from the most conservative driving.
True. But the biggest mileage improvement happens for people who drive aggressively. Only a hybrid or a pure electric car can recover some of the energy wasted in hard acceleration when you brake.
#2 The batteries are more toxic than those in a normal car- and with each hybrid carrying between 5 and 7 of those batteries, they are not better for the environment.
I don't know where you got 5-7 batteries. They have one pack. It's about 3x the weight of a normal car battery in the Prius. And who cares if it's toxic when they're all being recycled completely? Were you planning on eating it?
#3 The total energy used to manufacter a hybrid vehicle is higher than what it is for a regular vehilce of same size.
This is also true, but it takes only a few months to reach the break-even point again-- after which, it's all net energy saved.
#4 The depreciation rate is held up by popular opinion. This is true in all vehicles, but the steep cliff at year 6 is going to make most people unhappy, and the battery replacement at year 8 will be a very large cost to shoulder and may drive many people out of this market all togeather.
Depending on who you ask, the battery pack should never need replacing. Of course, some will break-- just like some cars need replacement engines or transmissions. Do you expect them all to fail immediately at the end of the 100k mile warranty?
#5 There is currently no plan for the recycling of these batteries.
This one is complete and utter bullshit. Toyota, for example, recycles ALL of their hybrid battery packs, right down to the plastic case and wiring. To ensure that they are returned for recycling, there's a 1-800 number printed on the pack and there's $200 bounty for each battery returned. This program has been in place since the RAV-4 EV in 1998. How you could even begin to think "there's no recycling plan" when there is, in fact, an extremely comprehensive plan is beyond me. Did you actually check?