Cars Go Green - plug hybrid Questions
Question #1:
Just bought a Camry Hybrid. It's not that I need a jump but just wondering IF I were to drain the battery completely somehow and needed a jump how does that work exactly?
and
If the car is parked for several months at a time (say due to a long trip) is it ok to leave the battery "plugged in"?
Question #2:
Question #3:
The September sales figures for automakers operating in the U.S. came out yesterday, you can read about them at Click Here .
Ford, in particular, took a big hit in profits. All of the former Big 3 makers had disappointing results, and there doesn't seem to be much hope on the horizon. Will market forces eventually sink the Big 3, and should the U.S. Government step in, like they did with Chrysler in 1980?
I, for one, would hate to see all of those jobs go away - but have these companies acted in the best interests of the American people? After all, did not U.S. makers, GM in particular, lead the fight to sink California's electric vehicle law? Aren't their most profitable vehicles - gas-guzzling, Mega-SUVs - helping to keep us dependent on Middle East oil? Aren't they dragging their feet on hybrid technology? Is this socially responsible? When do we pull the plug?
Question #4:
In a recent interview, Dr. John Felmy, Chief Economist of the American Petroleum Institute admitted that by shifting capital investment from fossil fuels to rewneable energy and energy efficiency, “I have no doubts you can get a lot more jobs.”
Click Here
Given that one of the USA's biggest problems right now is unemployment, and that switching to renewable energy and increased efficiency would also have a host of other benefits (decreasing global warming, decreasing ocean acidification, cleaner air and water, decreased reliance on foreign oil [when combined with plug-in hybrids and electric cars], etc. etc.), why shouldn't we make this transition?
Gee David, and you wonder why we call you 'deniers'.
Expeller - I never suggested 'green jobs' would solve our unemployment problem, merely help it.
Your article's second argument seems incredibly stupid. We shouldn't invest in green technologies because they're dominated by foreign companies. Guess why they're dominated by foreign companies? Because foreign economies invest in green technologies!
Thanks for that worthless ad hominem 'answer', Bad Moon. I'm so sorry that I linked to an interview with the API Chief Economist. First jim and now you don't seem to give a crap about the content if it's on a website you don't like. Grow up.
Bad Moon - my question was about the comments of the API Chief Economist. I couldn't give less of a crap if the rest of the article was good or bad. Next time try answering the question.
Question #5:
There seem to be many plug-in hybrid (PHEV) kits available for the more popular Prius. Does anyone know if there is a kit to convert my 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid to be a plug-in hybrid?
Question #6:
Life was simpler under the petrochemical monopoly. Miles per gallon was just that. Then we find that hypermiling techniques can allow some drivers to go far further. The EPA doesn't actually drive cars it calculates mileage. Click Here
It might be somewhat simple to convert gasoline to energy and determine the equivalent energy used to drive an electric car. On this basis the Tesla Roadster gets 244 mpge. (miles per gallon equivalent) Click Here
By law the EPA must provide a mileage rating, but hasn't come up with an official release: Click Here
So fast forward to what DOE's regulations would give us for mileage. Go here and scroll down to Petroleum-equivalent efficiency and tell me if this is something that would give you valuable information or is an intention to simply confuse the issue? Click Here
Linlyons, You are an intelligent person but you might take a moment to read the several paragraphs it takes to translate the DOE criteria. You might be as surprised as I to see what is included.
Nata, are you familiar with how much energy it takes to refine a gallon of gasoline and that you could drive an electric car further on that energy alone? Click Here Your numbers do not seem plausible.
Crash: Until you organize the United States of Crash we will have to consider the laws of this (US) country and not your wish list.
One point is clear, The DOE regs are not confusing if you don't look at them. One wonders if one head in the clouds is worth two in the sand.
Paula, altough I have, in the past, had some severe criticism of things you have written your answer is most on topic. Several different mileage ratings can be as confusing as one that is difficult to interpret. (As can this question if someone is not familiar with the issues.) We might hope that magnetic motors would work but the Australian, Oklahoma and Canadian work have all been discredited. (and it may not be revelant to EPA mileage.)
Question #7:
The Associated Press has a very detailed article on these two cars:
Click Here
The Nissan Leaf is a fully electric car with 100 mile per charge range. The base model will cost $25,280 when accounting for the federal tax break (some states have additional tax breaks), and Nissan offers a $349/month lease with $1,995 down. It comes with an eight-year,100,000-mile battery warranty. The car goes on sale in select markets in December.
The Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid which gets 40 miles on purely electric power, then switches into hybrid mode to extend the range much further if necessary. The Volt will sell for $33,500 when including the federal tax break, but they're offering a similar lease to the Leaf at $350/month with $2,500 down. The Volt also has an 8 year, 100,000 mile battery warranty and goes on sale in select markets in November. Both will be available nationwide about a year later.
Which of these cars would you choose to lease or buy?
Question #8:
I have just a couple questions here:
If you have to plug it in and "attach" it to the electric grid, isn't that using "coal-fired" electric plants, which are highly polluting? And didn't Obama pledge to massively increase the cost of coal because it is a "dirty" energy source?
Also, I'm not certain I want to be limited to only 40 miles before a charge is needed, as people aren't going to let you just plug in your car and zap their electric bill, are they?
Don't these take hours to recharge? SO I guess wherever you are going with it, you better be prepared to stay for a while, right?
excerpt...
The long-anticipated Chevrolet Volt, General Motors' electric car, will cost $41,000, the company announced Tuesday, leaving consumers to decide whether its environmental appeal is worth a price far above that of similarly sized conventional autos.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.
But some analysts said they doubt that electric cars can reach a broad audience in the near term. Hybrid cars took about eight years to reach the million-unit sales mark in the United States, according to Energy Department figures.
"I'm not sure the Volt is going to be a volume vehicle," said George Magliano, director of automotive industry forecasting for North America at IHS Global Insight. "The technology still isn't there to make them cheap. At the end of the day, the consumer pays a hefty premium to make a statement."
Both the Volt and the Leaf will cost considerably more than rival gasoline-powered compact sedans, such as the Honda Civic or the Ford Focus, each of which costs under $20,000.
Price is only one potential barrier to mass adoption, however.
Consumers must also get accustomed to plugging the cars in at home. It takes hours to recharge the vehicles, and in the absence of a network of public recharging stations, drivers that run out of juice may need a tow truck.
Click Here
Ha M: According to EVERY FUCKING article on this suject, THE GOVT OWNS 61% of GM!!!
subject...not suject. My bad
Question #9:
I do not want to talk about the cars cause everyone will start their petty X vs Y debates.
I just want to know if my math is good :)
So I FAILed math so bad in highschool and college but hey, i think i am doing this right.
I got 2 cars. 2 different starting prices, same "gas cost (2.5$/gal)", and different mpg.
And we are solving for "x" (miles) to see where the more pricey hybrid car would pay off.
So my problem is.
20000+2.5x/40 = 15000 + 2.5x/27
cost of car, plus gas cost of miles, divided by mpg.
20000 = car
2.5$/gal
x=miles
40=mpg of that car.
I did this with different numbers twice.
Am i doing my math good? If so i will plug in more numbers :D
Doing this with the "est mpg" is kinda dumb cause i always get WAY more then stated so this may not be so true, i may get WAYYYY better with the hybrid and just a bit better with the non hybrid but i will do more test driving to figure out my true mpg.
Anyways, my work.
20000+2.5x/40 = 15000 + 2.5x/27 (-15000)
5000+x2.5/40 = 2.5x/27 (/2.5)
2000+x/40 = x/27 (*40)
80000+x = 40x/27 (*27)
2160000+27x = 40x (-27x)
2160000 = 13x (/13)
166153.84=x
~~~~~~~~
21300+2.5x/45 = 16410+ 2.5x/30
4890+2.5x/45 = 2.5x/30
1956+x/45 = x/30
88020+x = 45x/30
2640600+30x = 45x
2640600+x = 15x
176040=x
Question #10:
So I FAILed math so bad in highschool and college but hey, i think i am doing this right.
I got 2 cars. 2 different starting prices, same "gas cost (2.5$/gal)", and different mpg.
And we are solving for "x" (miles) to see where the more pricey hybrid car would pay off.
So my problem is.
20000+2.5x/40 = 15000 + 2.5x/27
cost of car, plus gas cost of miles, divided by mpg.
20000 = car
2.5$/gal
x=miles
40=mpg of that car.
I did this with different numbers twice.
Am i doing my math good? If so i will plug in more numbers :D
Doing this with the "est mpg" is kinda dumb cause i always get WAY more then stated so this may not be so true, i may get WAYYYY better with the hybrid and just a bit better with the non hybrid but i will do more test driving to figure out my true mpg.
Anyways, my work.
20000+2.5x/40 = 15000 + 2.5x/27 (-15000)
5000+x2.5/40 = 2.5x/27(/2.5)
2000+x/40 = x/27(*40)
80000+x = 40x/27(*27)
2160000+27x = 40x(-27x)
2160000 = 13x(/13)
166153.84=x
~~~~~~~~
21300+2.5x/45 = 16410+ 2.5x/30
4890+2.5x/45 = 2.5x/30
1956+x/45 = x/30
88020+x = 45x/30
2640600+30x = 45x
2640600+x = 15x
176040=x
Question #11:
I'm turning 16 this week and I'm saving up for a car. I'm a "tree hugger" lol and I refuse to buy a car that will harm the environment. I want the earth to stay beautiful, soooooo I was thinking about buying a 'plug in hybrid' but I hear they can get expensive. Can you also tell me about how much these cars cost to buy, and maintain? Thank you so much!!! :D
Question #12:
A plug-in car uses the electric grid which is already under-invested in the USA, given our current needs. More importantly, this grid is inefficient--I hear that the loss during transmission is fairly high. Furthermore, the power source to generate the electricity comes from a variety of sources, some of which are decidedly inefficient.
Is there any study to take these factors into account? Is an electric-plug in hybrid more green given the issues I have described VERSUS. just driving a gasoline car, or some other hybrid (gasoline-electric, methane-electric, highly efficient gasoline car)?
Question #13:
Click Here
Question #14:
IM Trying to hook up my computer to my tv using A HDMI Chord. I Hooked Them Both Up But My Computer does not even say there is another display only shows my monitor. But when i go to realteak Hd Manager it says it plugged in. i dont know what is wrong but can someone help me get through this.
My TV Is A Toshiba 37In 1080p TV
Computer Is A Dell Studio Hybrid Windows 7.
Question #15:
Hello, I have a 2009 Toyota Prius and I would like to know how can I convert it to Plug in like the ones that I see on environmental show.
Question #16:
we hear of the Toyota Prius plug in but it still uses a gas engine to recharge the batteries. why are there not any plans for using a fuel cell instead?
I guess my next question is, battery powered cars have a limited range. if i am trying to drive across a country, is there a way of getting the same sort of range that a gas powered car gets (with refuling) with out releasing harmful emissions (and not using a trash can reactor)
Question #17:
Which is less harmful to the environment? Hybrids still use gas, but plug-ins rely on coal fire plants. thanks.
Cubejam: Hybrids rely on powerstations also. not as much as pure plugins, but hybrids need to be plugged in and they need oil.
Question #18:
My sony vaio is in a good condition, the Model is VGN SZ583N/C(they dnt make it anymore). Her battery wont stand wihout plug in for more than 30 min! Can someone help me appraise the value?
Tech Spec
Intel core 2 Duo 2.40 GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS GPU
Memory 2GB/HDD 160 GB(hybrid)
LED Disp
DVD RW/RAM Drive
With finger print sensor and carbon fibre body..
Question #19:
Question #20:
I wrote a persuasive essay for English a while back and I thought it'd be appropriate to post it somewhere on the Internet, so why not Y!A? :D Anyways, I can't find my 4 or 5 sources anywhere but will edit them in if I find them. Tell me what you guys think...once I get the sources up you can check my internal citations :P
Hybrids Are Bad for the Environment
Hybrids are all the craze nowadays and the car companies are selling them under the impression that they are the ultimate in green car technology. They have an advertised MPG, or miles per gallon, that is much, much higher than gasoline and diesel fueled cars. They emit fewer greenhouse gases while running which contributes to the slowing of global warming, the natural heating of the Earth which can be intensified due to higher than normal amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Finally, they use less gasoline because of the MPG which will save the precious gasoline supplies in the world. But are they really that eco-friendly? Hybrids use Nickel-Cadmium or Lithium-ion batteries, Cadmium and Lithium being extremely rare in large quantities. The processing of the nickel in preparation for battery making releases copious amounts of sulfur dioxide into the air, which causes acid rain, which will destroy the ecosystem for miles around the nickel plants. Hybrids also advertise 19 MPG higher than what the realistic MPGs of hybrids are, and the precious gasoline that hybrids are using less of, will run out about the same time the precious minerals used in the hybrid batteries run out at current rates. There are also hybrids that plug into the wall, and of course that makes the emissions out of the car less, but the emissions from the coal being burned in 70% of the United States is much less clean than the gasoline and diesel fuels. Hybrids should not be developed further, as they are as destructive to the environment as gasoline cars are, as they use precious minerals in their batteries, cause acid rain around the nickel plants, destroying ecosystems, not saving them, and burn coal instead of gasoline for power. The best alternative for the most eco-friendly car is a clean diesel car with the PZEV, or Partial Zero Emission Vehicle, option available at many dealerships.
The batteries used in hybrids destroy ecosystems around the mining and processing plants and the precious minerals used in hybrids will run out at about the same time as gasoline. Will this really solve the problem? The batteries in hybrids, in an example of the Prius batteries, made in Sudbury, Ontario, cause acid rain. According to Impact Lab, “[t]he acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside” (Prius), and with more and more companies creating hybrids, more and more battery processing plants will be made, causing more and more acid rain due to the copious amounts of sulfur dioxide emitted during battery processing. Not only do the batteries destroy the ecosystems around the plants, “after maybe 100,000 miles, the battery starts to lose its ability to charge. Tesla Motors performance figures even state that after 50,000 miles, the batteries will only perform at about 70% their optimal, factory level” (Why). What does that mean? That means that after 100,000 miles the battery will have to be replaced, and the used batteries cannot be recycled, and thus just go into landfills. And if you want optimal performance, you’d have to change the battery every 50,000 miles. The average gasoline car can be used until nearly 300,000 miles before ultimate failure with minor repairs, which is 4-7 batteries in a hybrid. And you have to remember that, according to Four-bits.com, “lithium… is pretty rare in large quantities. With projected increases in the use of lithium, the known mines would run out about the same time as oil” (Why). This makes hybrids just another quick fix that won’t fix the problem with the environment long term.
Many hybrids are being converted into plug-in hybrids which plug directly into a household wall socket and charge via the coal-burning power plants that provide electricity to 70% of the United States, and coal emits many more greenhouse gases than gasoline does. This means that “coal-burning plants could be even worse for the environment than gasoline-burning engines…” (Hybrid). And even in the green-powered electricity states, such as California, Jim Motavalli of The Environmental Magazine quoted that the
“ACEEE concluded that a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius could reduce CO2 emissions by a third over a conventional Prius hybrid, but only if its batteries were charged with California electricity — generated mainly from relatively clean sources. In the Midwest, dominated by coal-burning power plants, the report says the plug-in Prius would actually generate one percent more carbon dioxide” (Motavalli).
California being the strictest state in emissions standard, this is a rare case of hybri
Thanks for your rebuttal :D I spent about 5 hours digging through all the pro hybrid stuff to get to this con hybrid stuff... I still dislike hybrids (I'm a fast car guy, not a fuel efficient one) but I was not aware that the sudbury (spelling?) was cleaned up... anyways, thanks for your rebuttal, I convinced my whole english class that hybrids were bad (including my hybrid-driving teacher) so now I have the actual facts. I'd still rather ride a bike to be fuel efficient. :P
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