So this was very interesting. I learned today that people are very ignorant about hybrid vehicles.

I was working and two of my former high school social studies teachers came in. I had both for AP classes and one has his doctorate in international studies. Anyway, the topic of hybrid cars came up so I mentioned that my mom had just gotten one. The Dr. thought you had to fill it with special fuel, perhaps he was mixed up with hydrogen or natural gas cars. He was then corrected by his colleague who told him that you had to plug them into an outlet in order to charge the battery and once the battery was dead you are out of luck until you find the next power outlet.

I corrected them both and was surprised that they both really had no clue at all how hybrids work. ...and I can remember for both of their classes I was combing the newspaper and magazines for current events.

So Im wondering how many people out there really have no clue what a hybrid does. I mean, there are alot of people who don't know that diesels offer a MPG advantage over gasoline. I just thought it was common knowledge the hybrids make their own power. And then how does a company like Toyota educate their consumers that you don't have to plug it in or that you don't just run out of juice?

 

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evZ-C8fVrP4

 

during braking the electric motor actually turns into a generator using the cars momentum to spin it, and it charges the battery during this time

 

Unless they're shopping for a car I would expect most folks don't know what hybrids are on the market. Your teachers however are not completely wrong.

Current hybrids on the market use electric motors to aid the gasoline motor. While an improvement on gasoline alone, they are not the greenest alternative.

Other hybrids include plug-in hybrids. These are driven by the electric motor and the gasoline engine turns on only to charge the battery. Theoretically these can get 100s of miles to the gallon because if you can get to another electric source in time, the gas engine will never turn on. These type of vehicles are as green as the electricity you use to charge them. So while this might be a great vehicle for California (which produces relatively clean electricity) it wouldn't be great for states that use Coal to create electricity.

Fuel cell driven vehicles use hydrogen to create electricity which propel the vehicle. This can be used in a hybrid application as well, but the ones I've seen are use electric only.

 

There are no plug in hybrids on the market. Sure people retro fit their Priui, but it is not sold that way from Toyota. The Chevy Volt is still at least 3 years away. My point was that these two individuals had no clue that the a Prius was capable of generating its own charge for the battery, be it via braking or the gasoline engine.

Technically the BMW hydrogen 7 series is a hybrid. It can run on gasoline or hydrogen.

 

I never meant that plug-in hybrids were available on the market. Like most new car technologies, they will end up as speciality items and fleet cars before filtering to the public


The term hybrid indicates that the vehicle uses two forms of propulsion. Since the BWM uses one combustion engine for propulsion it's not a hybrid. The definition of hybrid vehicle will continue to change as the market sees more variations. However I do stand corrected as I thought most hydrogen powered cars used fuel cells not combustion.

And hence my 1st impression. Most people don't know much about cars now, so I don't find it surprising that 2 intelligent people don't know much about hybrid cars.

 

It shows Toyota could probably sell more if people knew you don't have to use special fuel or plug it in!

 

I find it hilarious when I see a Prius smashing 80 on the freeway. My friend once did 100 back from L.A. to the bay area and he had like 5mpg, lol. Hybrids are worthless at highway speeds which gets me to wonder why they are allowed the carpool sticker, it is just because they have clean emissions because I know the mpg can't be the reason.

 

Al Gores son did 100+ in his prius with drugs in the car lol.

I thought hybrids had bunch of small elves under the car running like a hamster...I guess I was wrong.

 

The Prius is still very efficient on the highway. Yes, it doesn't use any electric power at those high speeds, but the Prius has an efficient gas engine that is EPA highway rated at 51 MPG. Real world mileage will probably be lower but is still very good.

 

GM has no clue apparently as well, witness the Saturn Aura Green Line

 

You'll be surprised... then people get wowed by the fancy display and the arrows lol.

okok. .wait. so now the engine's powering the car?? oh oh... now it's green.. so you're recharging right?


haha.

Julez.. meh. I can go full out and still get better mileage than a Camry V6.

 

That's the '07 or earlier EPA rating. Wait 'til the '08 - it won't even be close.

 

My sister has a Highlander Hybrid. A few cool things about it
1. Driving around in the parking lot with no engine noise...stealth
1a. Absolutely no engine noise/vibration at stop lights
2. The displays!! Those are so awesome (also distracting). It really changes your driving habits as you try to recharge/use the battery as much as possible
3. Flooring it. When the electric engine kicks in full it's like having a turbocharger.

 

You probably mean that in a good way

I get 40 hwy mpg on my EPA 38 hwy rated Camry Hybrid