Hybrid vehicle???

[Rob Bourgeois]

Another concern with wind power believe it or not is Bird Kill!

It seems quite a few birds get hit by the blades. The is some bird loving group who has strong opposition to wind power.

Anotehr issue about wind...is frankly its not powerful enough to produce the needs we currently have. IT would take a area as Big as South Dakota running as many turbines as they can fit to power New York City for a day. Until technology improves wind is not a viable solution.( some doubt it will ever be).

I addition ethanol at its current technology level uses MORE energy to make it than what it gives when you burn it. Thats al great but the oil used to make it would be better spent as gas. Remember the corn has to be harvested, trucked to a processing plant, then heated... So in theory if you dont have gas..you cant make enough ethanol. ( negative energy production)

The solution to all our energy concerns is to cut back and conserve. Whether thats a hybrid car or changing our driving habits that is the only solution until alternative energy technology can improve. It was suggested elswhere that the solution to our oil problem is to drill more wells....a friend said "what a great idea..thats like proposing an end to slavery by buying all the slaves".

[Erin Raasch]

Anotehr issue about wind...is frankly its not powerful enough to produce the needs we currently have. IT would take a area as Big as South Dakota running as many turbines as they can fit to power New York City for a day. Until technology improves wind is not a viable solution.( some doubt it will ever be).

Actually, the technology has improved significantly over the last 15 years.

Taken from Lester Brown's Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble:

One of wind’s great appeals is its abundance. When the U.S. Department of Energy released its first wind resource inventory in 1991, it noted that three wind-rich states—North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas—had enough harnessable wind energy to satisfy national electricity needs. Those who had thought of wind as a marginal source of energy obviously were surprised by this finding. 19

In retrospect, we now know that this was a gross underestimate of the wind potential because it was based on the technologies of 1991. Advances in wind turbine design since then enable turbines to operate at lower wind speeds, to convert wind into electricity more efficiently, and to harness a much larger wind regime. In 1991, wind turbines may have averaged scarcely 40 meters in height. Today, new turbines are 100 meters tall, perhaps tripling the harvestable wind. We now know that the United States has enough harnessable wind energy to meet not only national electricity needs, but national energy needs. 20

19. D. L. Elliott, L. L. Wendell, and G. L. Gower, An Assessment of the Available Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential in the Contiguous United States (Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest Laboratory, 1991).

20. Ibid.; C. L. Archer and M. Z. Jacobson, “The Spatial and Temporal Distributions of U.S. Winds and Wind Power at 80 m Derived from Measurements,” Journal of Geophysical Research, 16 May 2003.

I think that wind is probably the best viable option we have at present. Theoretically, wind could provide enough electricity to satisfy our current stationary energy needs, and in addition, to recharge fuel cells to run our vehicles. Call me a treehugger, but I envision a day (though probably not in my lifetime) when people will look back and say, "Gee, they actually had to burn stuff to create power!? How primitive!"

Always an optimist and hoping for a greener future,

Erin

[Anthony Yakonick]

From what I can tell on the Ford/Mercury Hybrid, the real fuel savings would come from in town driving. Cooler climate would be a plus also. I don't think the people in Texas would appreciate pulling up to a long traffic light and it start blowing hot air! If you have the Ford/Mercury unit on Max A/C, then the engine is running, thus you lose the fuel savings. I'm guessing the others are the same. I had to certify on the F/M hybrid so that my dealership could certify and be able to sell them, as did the other advisor, shop foreman, manager, and 2 techs. (the really interesting thing from a dealer employee standpoint is the sheppard's hook to safely pull a tech that gets electrocuted to safety!!! [I KID YOU NOT] ) Our dealership hasn't even ordered one yet!! Jim.

We have a hook, good luck finding it when you need it

[Anthony Yakonick]

I think the bottom line in the end is fuel savings not money savings at this point in time. From the added cost up front and the cost of repairs after the warranty is up (think of the battery cost) there won't be any money savings.

[Mark Pruitt]

I think the bottom line in the end is fuel savings not money savings at this point in time. From the added cost up front and the cost of repairs after the warranty is up (think of the battery cost) there won't be any money savings.

Judging from the article someone posted a few days ago (think it was on msn, can't remember), you are correct. Of the major players on the road today, only the Prius is projected to result in both fuel and money saving, but the money saved is only in the neighborhood of $500 over a period of several years. I still think it might be cool to scoot around in one of those little alien shuttles though.

[Jim Becker]

If everyone avoids buying hybrids...which really are a good idea in many ways...because the "payback" is long, than the cost will never come down on the technology. I think that is part of the reason that Toyota is working to make hybrid technology available across the entire model lines as it will stimulate more demand and help bring volume cost advantages faster. Honda has followed suit. The government could help further by removing the cap on the number of vehicles from one manufacturer that qualify for the full tax credit that went into effect on 1 January 2006. (Previously, it was handled as a $2000 deduction) The $3150 tax credit for the Prius pretty much wipes out the cost delta for a similar non-hybrid vehicle, too...but it only applies under current law until Toyota delivers 60,000 hybrid vehicles for the year to dealers. (You must buy...leasing doesn't qualify)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Well, I am holding out for Nuk-UUU-ler powered cars and trucks. I wanna reactor in my boot.

Unless of course the Gubbermit takes a long and hard look at Brazil's approach and does somethign to make ethanol a reality here.