NRDC say plug-in hybrid cars are good idea

[tag]Hybrid cars[/tag] sales world wide continue to rise as more and more people are getting behind the idea of owning a car that saves gas. Toyota has sold over a million of their hybrid cars, moslty the Prius model.

Toyota Motor Sales Inc., announced the one-millionth hybrid sale today by parent company, Toyota Motor Corporation. Of the one million hybrid sales worldwide, more than half have been sold in the United States — 541,210 units from 2000 through April 2007.

“The cost benefit of hybrids is becoming more apparent with climbing gas prices,” said Jim Lentz, TMS executive vice president. “We anticipate combined sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrids of a quarter million units in the U.S. during calendar year 2007.”

Now there is a move a foot to improve on what is on the road already by making hybrids even more dependant on battery technology so that they can be plugged in to recharge. In California a group called CalCars.org is spearheading that movement with their hybrid modifications. It is pricey to accomplish but you might end up at 100 mpg in your car!

The momvement has gotten further endorsement from the National Resources Defense Council and the Electic Power Research Institute.

EPRI-NRDC Report Finds Environmental Benefits of Deploying PHEVs
Analysis Cites Curb in Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Potential for Improved Air Quality

PALO ALTO, Calif. – July 19, 2007 – The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today released a comprehensive assessment that found that widespread use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the United States could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and potentially improve ambient air quality.

The research measures the impact of increasing numbers of PHEVs between 2010 and 2050, including the nationwide environmental impact of potentially large fleets that would use electricity from the grid as their primary fuel source.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles combine operational aspects of both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and power-assist hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). A PHEV, like a BEV, can be recharged from the electric grid, stores energy in an onboard battery and uses the energy while depleting the battery during daily driving.

Unlike a BEV, a PHEV can use its internal combustion engine for propulsion in highway driving or when the battery is depleted. Because of this versatility, a PHEV can serve as a direct replacement for a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle or HEV.

Maybe it won’t be to long before these will get into mass distribution and you won’t have to go to California to see many hybrid cars on the road. Politicians pooh pooh the effects of citizen change but wait till see it in action as it bites them for their inaction over the years in getting car manufacturers to increase gas mileage.

Additionally, Toyota has calculated that global sales of [tag-tec]hybrid vehicles[/tag-tec] have greatly contributed to reductions in CO2 emissions. Since the introduction of Toyota’s first hybrid in 1997, approximately 3.5 million fewer tons of CO2 were emitted when comparing emissions from gas-powered vehicles to hybrids of the same class.

In California some people buy hybrids just for the sake of doing something to help and to feeel good. Others sneer at them for their smugness. Someday we might all be zooming along in hybrid quiet cars and won’t that be fine.