Have You Hugged a Hummer Today? (Piercing the Hybrid Hype)

Reason ^ | Shikha Dalmia

[Gone GF]

I have no desire to buy a hybrid but this is some pretty tortured logic. A Hummer is expensive to buy, expensive to operate, and, a fact that I don't see in here, has the highest rate of repairs per 100 vehicles of ANY make sold in the U.S. It's hard to imagine one going 300,000 miles without a whole lot of repair shop time.

[RegulatorCountry]

"I could get into that assuming a small 300-400 lb lithium battery could power 300-400 miles."

You missed the lithium battery powered Smart car thread from yesterday (or maybe the day before), I guess.

[KarlInOhio]

I'm having problems with these numbers. If the Prius costs $3.25 / mile for a 100,000 mile life, that means the total cost is $325,000. If gas is at $3/gallon for 40 mile/gal, that's $7,500 of gas in a lifetime leaving $317,500 in non-gasoline costs. Assuming the car is made of pure energy (absolutely nothing in it can be attributed to a non-energy cost) and costs $25,000 (might be a little high) you're left with $292,500 of energy costs not associated with manufacture or use. Some is for disposal. Some is for the energy to make repair and maintenance parts. But there is no way in the world you can say that those add up to over $290k. I rank this with proving you can flap your arms and fly around the room with a little math. The numbers don't add up.

(after a quick look at the report, it looks like most of that cost is for the disposal of the car. I have my doubts.)

[Southack]

"Why don't they use lithium batteries to power cars?"

Gasoline is a better store of energy than batteries, pound for pound.

Furthermore, federal crash standards and auto accident lawsuits prevent the implementation of light-weight cars. Burt Rutan, of SpaceShipOne civilian space flight fame, made a 4 passenger car for GM that weighed only 600 pounds, for instance. It was driven in a Wesley Snipes movie, as they had no other use for it (couldn't sell it commercially).

Lithium batteries *could* power a 600 pound car (think: electric golf cart).

But you need more energy for heavier vehicles, obviously.

[NRA2BFree]

Now here's a catchy slogan for the next Save the Earth campaign: Have you hugged a Hummer today?

I appreciate the research on the Hummer. I've seriously been thinking about buying a Hummer II. This is good information to know. My Explorer already irritates the heck out of the Environ_MENTAL_ wackos, but it gives me chills just thinking about how upset they will get when they see me driving a Hummer. LOL

[cyberaxe]

.....now, now.....

.....ha,ha,ha......

[muleskinner]

This article will cause the environmentalists to jump like a frenchman.

[Doohickey]

Never mind that at the time Ford was losing $2,000 to $3,000 for every hybrid it sold because consumers won't pay the entire $6,000

She lost her credibility right there. Ford makes one hybrid model, and it's an SUV. The price premium is $3,000 over a comparably equipped gas-only model. And, Ford doesn't have to sell them at a loss because they can't keep them in stock.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

"The numbers don't add up."

You're absolutely correct. The "study" is a total crock.

This is the sort of nonsensical, innumerate sophistry one expects to come from moonbats ranting about SUV's. It doesn't help advance us toward rational decision making.

SUV's aren't as bad as they're usually made out to be, and hybrids aren't as "green" as they're made out to be -- but, these figures are asinine.

[Loyal Buckeye]

She used government math.

[webboy45]

You can prove anything with a study that's properly designed to lead to that proof.

[Old Professer]

Not at all; the more complex something is and the more exotic its parts the more likely it will fail and be very difficult to recycle or dispose.

Hybrids are intrinsically complex and will always be in a state of refinement whereas I have not seen a radical wooden spoon in my lifetime.

[Old Professer]

Mouth-breathers go first.

[bfree]

Too bad that General Motors dosnt make that car in the United States. They import it from South Korea. Why doesnt General Motors build it here?

A very simple answer-the UAW.

[Comico Atómico]

Several problems with the logic of this article have already been pointed out up-thread.

It should also be pointed out that what we are short of is not energy, it's petroleum. Any energy requirements that can be met from nuclear, coal, solar or hydro should be deleted from both sides of the comparison.

Look, anyone who can afford one is welcome to buy a Hummer as far as I'm concerned.

But don't insult my intelligence by claiming they are an energy efficient means of transport....unless you routinely load yours to full capacity and run them off-road.

[Old Professer]

A small quote from a site concerning the cost of lithium batteries used by the military:

Disposal and transportation for Lithium batteries is $6.71/pound (FY96$). Disposal is $6.00/pound and transportation is $0.06/pound. These were converted to FY96$.