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Hybrids
Just because I drive my lovely AMC Hornet, some people think that I'm anti-technology, that I'm a ludite. Well it's not true! I mean, I got a cell phone, I got a Sony Vio laptop computer, and I even have a digital camera. As the surfers would say: "I'm hanging ten on the edge of technology." But when it comes to automotive technology, I have to admit: I'm a bit skeptical.
Take the current Hybrid for example; gasoline/electric power-trains. I recently drove the Honda Civic Hybrid, as a piece of technology, it's great, and it works fine. Except for the electronic dashboard you'd never know you were in anything but a conventional Civic. If you don't tell your neighbor they'll never know. But this thing cost eight thousand dollars more than a regular Civic. And based on the fuel you'll save, it will pay for itself in 28 years. Now, Honda builds good cars, but 28 years? People say that the cost will drop as more people use it, but with a 28-year pay out, whom but a dedicated tree hugger is even going to try something like that?
But even from a technological perspective, there was a display at the Tokyo Motor Show a few years ago. On the Honda stand, which really put Hybrid in perspective, was a zero emission gasoline engine. Think about that, zero emissions from a regular gasoline engine, why are we worried about hybrid? Now, Honda doesn't have one in production yet but Nissan does, they have a Sentra for sale in California that actually pollutes less on a ten mile there-and-back commute than a conventional car does parked in the driveway. We can't get that car in Canada because the gasoline is so dirty that those advanced systems won't work and our government won't get up of it's butt and do something about it, but that's a subject for another rant.
Long term, the answer has to be hydrogen, whether we use it as fuel in a combustion engine, like BMW is working on, or whether we use it to power fuel cells like everyone else is working on that's still to be decided. Medium term, the answer is diesel. There are a few regulatory and legal issues to work over but almost over night we can improve the fuel consumption of our fleet by about 20 percent, by switching to diesel. Hybrids? Not going to happen. Electrics? They are not even in the frame, they didn't work in the 1950's and they don't work now. Ford has pulled the Think Car project because nobody wanted to buy it. So until we get hydrogen, I think I'll stick with my Hornet.
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