CarSpace Daily Connect

Jul 17, 2007 - It's Talkback Tuesday with Karl!

If you haven't visted Karl on Cars, the popular blog by the Editor in Chief of Edmunds.com, you're in for a real treat. 

This week, Karl asks "How good will the next Prius be?" Given the success of the Prius in recent years, what will the 2009, 2010 and 2011 model years hold?  Karl gives you the skinny on the Prius, the competitive and changing fuel-efficient offerings coming out that may just give Toyota a run for their money.  What say you?

Make a point to bookmark in your browser and/or add Karl on Cars to your RSS reader to keep the fun going all week long!

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Jul 15, 2007 - Sunday Bookstack: Plug-in Hybrids by Sherry Boschert

I think we can all agree that hybrids are here to stay.  No longer are they the odd, egg-shaped looking cars stuck in the right lane only owned by whacko celebrities or the strangest person on your street.  Hybrids are mainstream going to the status of "why wouldn't you buy a hybrid?"

Pushing to the next frontier of hybrids and gas-saving alternatives is the plug-in hybrid.  A new book out by Sherry Boschert Plug-in Hybrids - The Cars That Will Recharge America is a very interesting and worthwhile read. 

Boschert takes hybrids, specifically plug-in hybrids into a whole new realmn where the energy industries and transportation industries interconnect and in fact, start to rely on each other.  The premise is basic.  Use plug-in hybrid vehicles as storage units.  Plug-in hybrid owners would have access to plug-in and be plugged-to the grid when the vehicle is not in use.  Owners could sign-up for different plans - never draw energy from my car, draw it when you need it in cycled minutes during the day, etc.  The grid, creating energy say at night from wind ('cause that's when the wind blows most) would get piped into cars.  During the day when peak demand hits and driver's are sitting at their desks, doing laundry and such while the car is plugged in at your commuter lot, train station, garage, the grid could pull from it for just a few minutes enough energy that collectively could help power households and businesses through the peaks.  The normalization of energy capture, storage and distribution would decrease our overall demand for energy creation (coal, hydro, natural gas, oil) and oil imports.

The cases put forth in the book are quite compelling but Boschert doesn't deny the issues.  While various studies show that Texas, Kansas and North Dakota alone could generate enough wind power to serve the needs of the US population it still comes down to building an infrastructure to capture, store and distribute.  Boschert fully acknowledges this and mainly with the fact that even if parking garages, commuter lots and garages installed outlets to plug-in, the auto industry still has to manufacture and people have to buy the plug-in hybrids to make it all work.  Michelle Kreb's over at AutoObserver covered the industry and polical angles of plug-ins last week in an entry aptly named - Stupid Comment of the Week - which provides some insight to the internal workings of the cogs.

What's the incentive to you?  If the picture painted in the book worked out perfectly you would not only save money by not heading to the gas station but you could get paid for plugging in by the electric company for the privelege to tap your battery when the grid needed it. 

Reading the book and the numerous supporting studies cited within it, you can see the rationale but can we as a country get there in reality?  

To learn more about Sherry Boschert, visit her site where a number of powerpoint slide presentations with data can be found.

For the most up-to-date lists and information on fuel-efficient cars and trucks, visit the Edmunds Green Car Guide and don't forget to stop into our Hybrid Vehicles Forum. 

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