Thaler
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| reply to pnh102
Re: What about that marketing scheme???
said by pnh102  :Hybrid vehicles generally cost so much more than gasoline powered equivalents that any savings from gas use is minimal at best. Possibly true. However, if I had a choice on wether to use my money to fund further further fuel consumption (from dubious countries overseas), or spend it on an innovative product, I'd personally rather not fund that whole region as much as possible. |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| said by Thaler :I'd personally rather not fund that whole region as much as possible. I agree completely... I just think that hybrids are not the best solution to that problem. I would suggest opening up more US territory to oil production, opening more refineries in the USA, pushing for significantly higher fuel economy standards for all vehicles, and possibly funding a "no holds barred" effort to develop an alternative fuel that uses raw materials that are found or manufactured in abundance in the USA.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. |
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Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Like natural gas? There's a series on Discovery running for the past month called Future Car. One of the portions is on new fuels, and a natural gas engine is covered that looks pretty feasible. Since we already have a national distribution network (right to your house!) it would be REALLY easy to kick this off. Plus natural gas has VERY low emissions. Many public transportation systems already use natural gas, and the US produces collects most of the natural gas it uses domestically. Of course it would just be a patch. Hydrogen is even better.
And before you say, "but it's explosive!" so is gasoline.. using nat gas or hydrogen is actually safer as a leak will naturally disperse upwards instead of covering the occupants in flammable liquid and cooking them alive... |
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RIRWIN1983
join:2005-08-30
Columbus, OH
| reply to pnh102
What we realy needto do in the short term, is reduce the cost of hybrids. If there isent/wasent such a major price diffrence, then hybrids would be more main stream, get them down to the range of manual v.s. automatic tranys and then we'll see them realy take off. BTW ever notice how widely available automatic tranys are now, and the big price diffrence when they first started to come out? nowadays on most vehicles it a less that 1,000 diff for an auto trany. |
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Thaler
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :I agree completely... I just think that hybrids are not the best solution to that problem. I would suggest opening up more US territory to oil production, opening more refineries in the USA, pushing for significantly higher fuel economy standards for all vehicles, and possibly funding a "no holds barred" effort to develop an alternative fuel that uses raw materials that are found or manufactured in abundance in the USA. I'd agree to opening up oil/fuel resources more...if it could actually be fruitful to a stopgap measure awaiting future alternative fuels. Oil is a limited resource, nomatter how one chooses to address the issue. However, I'm lending to believe that in the current economy, simply opening up territory will only lend to short-term profits by the oil industry with little interest paid into alternative fuel sources. Should energy become more impending a concern in the future, no doubt alternative fuel research investments will have to be a bloated government-funded kickoff, as these companies are currently too entrenched with the profit margin they enjoy now.
The future energy problem is complex, and I doubt there's a one-size-fits-all solution like hybrids...but it's a start. In the here-and-now, however, buying a hybrid car (longterm) is less resources used, less money funding "iffy" regions, and a marginal savings. I'd say the money was well worth it, even if I broke even. |
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Thaler
Premium
join:2004-02-02
Encino, CA
| reply to RIRWIN1983
said by RIRWIN1983 :What we realy needto do in the short term, is reduce the cost of hybrids. Hybrids are of limited supply, and the demand is great. The price could very well be lower, but dealers are capable of selling them at suggested retail, or even marking them up for the added "green" factor. My 2007 Hybrid Camry was a relative "steal" for getting it ~$1k under sticker price.
...or at least that's how the dealers in So. Cal. operate. |
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RIRWIN1983
join:2005-08-30
Columbus, OH
| Well in Cali your in the 3-4/gal range thus i think the dealers can get away with that a lil more than back out here where were sub 2/gal area. i can understand the cost big auto has in researching and developing this tech, but they could get a faster reurn on that expence if they dident price them so far out of most peoples willingess to spend, even if it means saving money on gas. I would fully buy a hybrid car, only if it dident mean working 3 jobs just to afford the "luxury" of being envio frendly. |
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