Gas is burned by fools like me . . .

I've been posting my driving experiences for some time now. My family has driven a production EV as our primary motor vehicle for more than ten years. No need to wait until "they have them on the road." Contrary to what the car companies would have you to believe, the cars have been on the road since 1996. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Yes, "driving like you stole it" consumes more energy no matter what type of car you drive. But it turns out that "having fun" means different things to different people. When I'm having fun in our EV it is usually parked and the windows are fogged. The battery doesn't get depleted at ALL!

And back to the subject at hand: I feel like a fool whenever I drive any "car." And especially when I fire up the Prius. Even getting 50-60 mpg is silly in most situations. I wish MORE people would feel foolish driving around in a multi-thousand pound vehicle just to move one little person around.

 

When I'm in a car, which is rare, I'm always impressed. Hey, it's dry in here! Oooh, a heater! And music! Man, this is just like home. What, it moves, too?! It goes up hills without pedalling? And just look at all the stuff it can carry! Wow.

 

Mostly I just get bored since there's like nothing to do in there but sit and sometimes wiggle the steering wheel a bit.

 

patsparks & you ... havin' way too much fun.

 

Eww.

 

And the remote for that wide screen TV is useless. I can only ever get the road channel.

 

Alright, a little off-topic here, but not too bad in comparison to just above - why don't (at least some) non-hybrid cars have auto-shutdown to save fuel at stoplights? I'm sure there are design/engineering features that would add to the cost, but my guess is that it would be more than recouped over the lifetime of the vehicle, regardless of type. I also guess that if gas prices spike for an extended period, we might see it. Anyone familiar w/ the issue out there want to chime in?
thx
~T

 

Oh, come on. We're on the third page already.

In reply to your off-topic topic, I think there was one company who tried the auto shut-down thing with some of its models. Of course, they were marketed as 'Hybrids!', which they clearly weren't. The Toyota HSD works so well at frequent starting and stopping because it's designed to; the engine is spun up to speed before the spark and fuel are added. Most engines aren't built like that, and would not be as durable even if they could be retrofitted as pretend hybrids. Not that it isn't a bad idea....

 

GM certainly had some start/stop "hybrids."

Yeah, Hyo beat me to it. They've mad them... and they called them hybrids. Which is just one of the reasons why "hybrid" has very little meaning today. Yes, it is a good idea to not "idle" any car. Yes it can help. No, it shouldn't be called a hybrid.

 

yea what he said.
Stop start opens another pandora's box. You just increased the wear & tear on starter solenoids, ring gear, starter, battery/recharging etc. It's a trade off ... more parts wearing out versus fuel savings. Aint no free rides.

 

Yeah... or the technology could be implemented properly so as to not have those same worries. Of course that costs more. And for some people NO extra cost is worth the energy/pollution savings. I mean it'll never "pay back," right? Extra cost shoud be reserved for chrome accents, leather trim, 22" wheels, big exhaust tips and DVD players. Duh.

 

Another reason to not bother with stopping the engine when not moving; you don't spend most of your time (or fuel) in this state. Idling uses ~1 gallon/hour. Driving at 70 mph on the highway will use ~2-3 gallons/hour in most cars. Throw in some acceleration, and it's even worse.

Computer Science geeks will recognize this as a possible application of Amdahl's Law; if your transit is spent moving 95% of the time and stopped 5% of the time, there's a hard limit of just how much you can improve your mileage by stopping the engine during that 5% of the time (5.3%; 1/.95). On the other hand, if you spend the same amount of effort improving the efficiency for the other 95% of the time (aka when the car is moving), it's quite possible that you might exceed the best possible improvement you could get by just stopping the engine when not moving.

An added problem is that by improving the efficiency for that 5% of the time, you've probably hurt it for the other 95%; a non-hybrid car would need a better battery and starter motor, which means adding weight. The Prius and other hybrids get away with stopping the engine because the battery and "starter" motor already have to be there to power the car, and they can be used to get other benefits as well (smaller engine, regenerative braking, etc.). In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess.

 

lol....so whatcha sayin is... "what comes around, goes around"

if you dont want to be turned into oil when u die, STOP BURNING IT NOW!!

ok, so maybe that is not what u r saying, but when u mentioned God, i simply could not resist

 

I hear you. Yet every year, more cars spend more time in this state as the cities become more crowded and the highways more congested. Big City dwellers especially are effected by this. And the fact of the matter is - even though not much gas is consumed in this state, the car is getting ZERO mpg - as opposed to the times when moving when you are at least getting SOMETHING for your consumption.

Yes we need to go after the low-hanging fruit, we both agree.