Don't be Anti, be Pro

On May 27, 2:49 pm, Tony Raven wrote:
Simon Proven wrote on 27/05/2007 13:53 +0100:

On May 26, 5:56 pm, Ben C wrote:
On 2007-05-26, Simon Proven wrote:
Not much point in a hybrid unless you drive in towns a lot where the
regenerative braking does save some fuel. But who wants to drive around
in towns.

Contrary to this earlier post of yours, hybrids do have benefits on the
motorway as well because the engine can run on a more efficient fuel
cycle using the electric motors to buffer power compromises that incurs.
I get between 55 and 65 mpg from mine on the motorway, depending on
how heavy the traffic is, for a family sized petrol car. The next
generation is expected to get over 100mpg.

Wasn't me who said that, was Ben C. The Prius of course doesn't
just gain from being a hybrid - a number of other steps have been
taken in the design. I notice that the Camry hybrid gets nothing
like as good ratings in the new EPA tests in the USA. I don't know
if I am willing to wait until late 2008 to replace my car, but I think
the second hand value of Prius III (I think it's third gen now) cars
will take a hit if the new model makes a substantial improvement.

There is the question of whether my mileage/year justifies a hybrid.


Which, in terms of CO2 emissions, due to the higher carbon
content, *not* as good as doing 45-50mpg in a petrol car.

It's more complex than that. Diesel is about 15% denser than petrol so
gives better mpg figures and diesel engines are more efficient than
petrol ones. OTOH diesel emits more carbon per litre consumed and takes
25% more oil and creates 17% more CO2 to refine. So overall despite
apparent greater fuel efficiency diesel in overall terms it is no better
than petrol.http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles...diesel-dilemma....

Interesting - I wasn't aware of the additional manufacturing input.
It does
seem like the "advantage" of diesels is a myth. And even modern ones
I find less pleasant to follow on my bike.