Paul
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http://www.forbes.com/2006/06/13/toy...acescan03.html

 

I don't think hybrids will solve the environment issue, but its at least creativity in the making and a step in the right direction. ---Shrug---
Of course, combining the E85 idea with hybrid technoloy could be a nice step too...but I dont know the mechanics enough of how E85 works

 

isnt there alot of talk about how E85 costs alot to make and its mileage is like 5 mpg less then gas... from wat ive read in the past

 

E85 (a gas and ethanol mix) does not have the same energy potential as 100% gasoline so you do get less miles per gallon - the benefit is that ethanol is produced from corn, a renewable resource, while gasoline is not. Also, ethanol takes more energy to produce. Ethanol does burn cleaner, but because it takes more energy to produce ethanol than it takes to refine gasoline, the environmental benifits are minimal. The main benefit of ethanol right now is that it lessens our dependancy on foreign oil resources.

 

why does it has to be "hybrid" for? cant technology today do pure electric car... -o-

or are they scared of getting killed by the government.....

 

Why not bio diesel or bio diesel hybrid?

 

A) There isn't enough land to grow enough corn to fuel the world

B) The problem with Electirc only is that it takes to long to charge, the charge doesn't last long enough, and you still have to produce the electricity from fossil fuels at the power plant.

C) Diesels do not meet CA strict air guidlines...which is why the prius operates off of gas. The first prius experiments got 90 mpg with a diesel, but the emmisions were the problem. As far as bio-diesel goes, once again, I think the issue will be supply of fuel. "Eat fries for America!"

The answer for now is simply to mix it up. Too much of anything is a bad thing. We need to think about a balanced energy diet, much like a balanced nutritional diet. The more sources we have to light up our world and move us around, the less dependance we have on any one source.

 

Bulls eye. . . bio diesel works great when only ten people use it. When 10,000 people, use it, you're going to be finding a lot less jolly green giant in the aisle. And if the entire USA wants to us use it? There isn't enough corn, twigs, berries, hemp, or wishful thinking around to fuel all the cars, trucks, generators, and heaters. And the world? Yeah. . . not gonna happen. It's about as pointless as a milk powered car.

 

bio diesel smells funny....

 

I agree with the notion that Toyota's hybrid operations is a step in the right direction. We need to invest in utilizing a cheap, renewable resource to power our cars and America for that matter. As hybrids become more affordable and practical to own and maintain, we will find more of these cars on the road and we will lessen our dependancy on foreign oil.

 

BioDiesel is about 20% less efficient that gas, but its free and the jolly green giant has nothing to do with it...Biodesel is simply filtered grease from the grease trap at your local Mcdonalds.

Neuclear power plants donot use fossil fuels however only acount for 19.4% of our nations power consumption and only 16% world wide...but you are correct about the power plant issue...Cars are not the only reason that we are suffering, have you ever consider how much energy a computer uses on standby or a tv or even an incandesent lightbulb...if every household in america where to change just one of there typical household lightbulbs'for a CFL(Compact flourescent Light) it would be the equivalent of removing a million cars from the road. The point is that as long as we are able to pay $400 a month on electricity in our homes nothing is going to change. and as long as gas keeps being pumped out of the earth we will not stop driving, and untill the day it is too late will we see how wastefull we really are.

 

bio-diesel is only free because we don't have millions of folks using it every day.

There hasn't been a nuke plant built in the US since the early 70's thanks to non-staderdization, poor designs, and folks like the women league of voters. If we just let the Navy handle it, there wouldn't be any issues except protecting the spent rods from terrorists. They can re-enrich the rods now, but you are looking at a perfect target for terrorists now.

Once again, mixing it up is the key. In Texas they are building huge wind farms. On the coasts, we should be looking at tidal energy. Hydro whereever there's a big enough river, and solar in the dessert. Use what we can where can.

 

True, it's free for about 5 people. . . when more than 5 people want biodiesel, it's going to up the price. . . simple supply and demand. Right now it's a byproduct, so it is free. But if and when a market emerges, you better believe that people will sell it rather than give it away. That, and nobody on this planet even MAKES enough bio-diesel (used french fry oil or whatever) to power all the cars in the first place. . . there's probably barely enough to fuel California, let alone the country or the world.

We have super tankers; just about the largest sea vessels ever created, cruising the ocean. When's the last time you've even seen a double tanker semi-truck with vegetable oil? There probably isn't even enough vegetable oil in circulation (at the moment) to fill the world's supertanker fleet. Yes, oil is NOT renewable, but it is fairly abundant (at the moment). We need a new source of energy, but bio-diesel is not a REAL solution. . . at least not for the masses.

 

If only they would put the Volta into production! Ooooh baby!!
http://www.italdesign.it/dinamic/gal...a_brand=Toyota