A Hybrid Car That Gets 250 MPG?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Environment, Technology, The War On TerrorismNice…
I posted about high gas prices yesterday and today I find a story that I can really sink my fuel-price-loathing teeth into.
If all of this is true (and I’m not holding my breath just yet), it could mean some serious benefits for our way of life and our dependence on foreign oil. Apparently, some hybrid car owners are hacking their cars to get amazing fuel effeciency.
It looks like a typical Toyota Prius hybrid, but in the trunk sits an 80-miles-per-gallon secret â€â€? a stack of 18 brick-sized batteries that boosts the car’s high mileage with an extra electrical charge so it can burn even less fuel.Gremban, an electrical engineer and committed environmentalist, spent several months and $3,000 tinkering with his car.
Like all hybrids, his Prius increases fuel efficiency by harnessing small amounts of electricity generated during braking and coasting. The extra batteries let him store extra power by plugging the car into a wall outlet at his home in this San Francisco suburb � all for about a quarter.
He’s part of a small but growing movement. “Plug-in” hybrids aren’t yet cost-efficient, but some of the dozen known experimental models have gotten up to 250 mpg.
They have support not only from environmentalists but also from conservative foreign policy hawks who insist Americans fuel terrorism through their gas guzzling.
However, before we get too terribly excited, the benefits seem to only be for those who drive 30 to 40 miles per day. This probably represents a good number of people, but perspective is needed.
The extra batteries let Gremban drive for 20 miles with a 50-50 mix of gas and electricity. Even after the car runs out of power from the batteries and switches to the standard hybrid mode, it gets the typical Prius fuel efficiency of around 45 mpg. As long as Gremban doesn’t drive too far in a day, he says, he gets 80 mpg.“The value of plug-in hybrids is they can dramatically reduce gasoline usage for the first few miles every day,” Gremban said. “The average for people’s usage of a car is somewhere around 30 to 40 miles per day. During that kind of driving, the plug-in hybrid can make a dramatic difference.”
Backers of plug-in hybrids acknowledge that the electricity to boost their cars generally comes from fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases, but they say that process still produces far less pollution than oil. They also note that electricity could be generated cleanly from solar power.
And by the way, some war hawks LOVE hybrids.
Nonetheless, plug-in hybrids are starting to get the backing of prominent hawks like former CIA director James Woolsey and Frank Gaffney, President Reagan’s undersecretary of defense. They have joined Set America Free, a group that wants the government to spend $12 billion over four years on plug-in hybrids, alternative fuels and other measures to reduce foreign oil dependence.Gaffney, who heads the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Security Policy, said Americans would embrace plug-ins if they understood arguments from him and others who say gasoline contributes to oil-rich Middle Eastern governments that support terrorism.
“The more we are consuming oil that either comes from places that are bent on our destruction or helping those who are … the more we are enabling those who are trying to kill us,” Gaffney said.
I want your thoughts on this. I stated in my original post that hybrids seem to provide the best hope for increased fuel efficiency, and thereby decreasing our dependency on foreign oil. I think this story helps bolster that theory, but I still want to hear more ideas from all of you. If we all start talking about this, I think we can create enough noise for the blogosphere to take note.
In other words, please comment, debate and help Donklephant spread the word.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 and is filed under Environment, Technology, The War On Terrorism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 16th, 2005 at 7:47 am
I drive 60 miles a day and would love to have the ability to “plug in” and boost the mpg of my car. True, I would pay more in electric bills but that energy tends to come from coal, NG or even wind, all of which does not need to come from the ME.
Someday…..
August 16th, 2005 at 8:43 am
Don’t forget hydrogen fuel cells.
But again, “Someday…”
August 16th, 2005 at 8:54 am
I think hybrid cars are the logical first step in our quest to decrease our dependency on oil. No doubt (and hopefully) they’ll eventually be replaced by even better, more efficient technology. But for now they’re a proven, affordable and accessible way for the average American to make a real difference.
My husband and I bought our first hybrid car, a Toyota Prius, several months ago. In just three tanks of gas, we already can’t imagine how we got by with the old gas guzzlers. We easily average between 53 and 57 mpg with each tank and can sometimes go as long as three weeks before having to re-fuel. Gas prices on the rise? We hardly notice.
August 16th, 2005 at 9:03 am
I agree that plug hybrids are the way to go…it will be a while till fuel cells are ready for prime time. It is important also to develop diesel electric hybrids instead of gas electric. Diesels are much more efficient in the type of running typical in a hybrid vehicle and could boost efficiency.
August 16th, 2005 at 9:11 am
The 250mpg number is a little misleading if it is interpreted as an efficiency index. Less gasoline is being used than a straight hybrid because the difference is coming from the power plants that charge the battery. True, the fuels used in power plants (coal, natural gas, nuclear, a bit of hydro) are not usually imported, but they are still energy. And natural gas, which is the power plant fuel of choice these days, is already in short supply.
August 16th, 2005 at 9:27 am
If I recall, the figure of 250mpg is definitely misleading. In the article I read, a UC-Davis researcher has built 7 such hybrids since 1972 in order to get to that theoretical figure. Each cost $150,000 – $250,000. That’s not something I can spend my money on any time soon. I’ll buy an old 67-72 Chevy truck with a 6-cylinder engine, rebuild the engine for about $500 and a couple of weekends, and get 18-20 mpg. Benefits: Near same mileage as a modern 6-cylinder small truck, I can tow almost anything, If I wreck, I’m not the one squished, I get to drive a cool-looking truck.
August 16th, 2005 at 10:00 am
Apparently, some hybrid car owners are hacking their cars to get amazing fuel effeciency. (Emphasis added.)
A minor quibble: “Hacking” (which has software connotations) probably isn’t the proper term for these hardware-based modifications. “Tricking out” seems to be the preferred colloquialism for this sort of thing. (I know, there’s also “pimping” – as in Pimp My Ride – but that refers only to superfluous additions like DVD players and such. Besides, it sounds ridiculous.)
Anyway, my first thought is, has this guy patented his idea?
My second thought is that there is one small drawback to this idea: You have to sacrifice trunk space in order to do it, meaning the car isn’t suitable for a lot of everyday stuff like shopping with the family (since you have no place to put all the stuff you buy). If this concept is incorporated into the next generation of hybrid vehicles, methinks they ought to put the extra batteries somewhere else.
It is important also to develop diesel electric hybrids instead of gas electric. Diesels are much more efficient in the type of running typical in a hybrid vehicle and could boost efficiency.
There is one problem with that idea. There is already a large and growing demand for diesel fuel (for heavy trucks, industrial power generators and any number of other vehicles and systems). Diesel hybrid cars would only add to the existing demand for diesel and drive up its price, which would defeat the purpose of having hybrid engines. (Gasoline engines have no such “competition” for fuel, at least not on anything close to that scale.)
August 16th, 2005 at 10:30 am
UPDATE: Although the original article isn’t linked in Justin’s post, I found it on MSNBC. There’s even a picture of the modification, and apparently the batteries are stored in a compartment beneath the trunk. So, I stand corrected about the car not being suitable for shopping and such.
August 16th, 2005 at 11:26 am
If that guy can fit 18 batteries in that little compartment, I wonder how many I can put in the bed of my Ford F150…. How much of my beloved horsepower would I lose?
Joshua,
Diesel is easier to refine than gasoline, and a barrel of oil will yield more diesel than gasoline. Even though the nation is running at close to capacity in terms of diesel and gas refining, wed still come out ahead if more non-commercial vehichles were switched to diesel.
August 16th, 2005 at 1:55 pm
Ford:
Not only is it easier to make diesel, but diesel engines themselves are roughly 40% more efficient. In other words, more of the energy contained in the fuel gets converted to motive force. And the engines themselves are far more durable and last longer.
I just got a new Corolla… and I didn’t know nearly as much about biodiesel in June as I do now. I would have made a different choice in vehicles otherwise.
August 16th, 2005 at 4:34 pm
Fixed. Thanks for the heads up Joshua. Details!
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:50 pm
As an educator I am always questioning claims of efficiency of this sort – the real test is Denver to Salt lake City – high altitude and high speed. We as a country need vehicles that perform in all conditions well and we need to appreciate our people haulers need to come in a variety of sizes all safe and efficient to meet the needs of a nation. It is still more fuel efficient to drive a full sized suv rather than take several compacts. i would hate to see us in the tiny European mode.
Future technology is interesting, ut as with the 70’s we need to avoid loosing capability. Perhaps mandating more AL as a product for trailers would also help with the toy haulers – or less toys.
August 8th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
There is a really simple solution to gas prices, and the major car companies are finally starting the ball rolling. The answer = Hydrogen on Demand. Ford, BMW, Honda, and More are already rolling these out, but wait who wants to spend another $21,000. I want to drive my hummer and my mustang. And now I can. I got a easy to install Hydrogen On Demand Fuel kit from PASS, check out their website, it installed in an hour, and was 1/3 the cost of other HHO hydrogen on demand systems. I now am getting 42% better gas mileage in my hummer, and 38% more MPG in my mustang. See thier website. http://www.passonfuel.com
August 26th, 2008 at 10:15 am
People are losing jobs and homes at an alarming rate due to the energy crisis. The price of fuel has driven everything up from the increased production and shipping costs. I have yet to hear more than a candy coated one liner from both candidates as to their plans to bring Americans relief. Does either candidate even have a plan other than to spout off some oneliner about off shore drilling that will pacify a majority?
a couple of sites to share if you should be interested…
http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
http://www.howmuchenergydoesmycaruse.com