Speaking of the Prius... Real world expierence.

[Travelover]

While the mpg debate is interesting, I'll just say that my 2010 prius is averaging just over 49mpg for 30K miles. .........

Oh sure, but it probably had a fully charged battery when you bought it. :laughing:

 

[DarkBlack]

Oh sure, but it probably had a fully charged battery when you bought it. :laughing:

credit due.:laughing:

 

[Egbert]

LOL. I started to say I got a head-start because it came with the battery charged

 

[94BULLITT]

My car is a hybrid, it burns gas and rubber

 

[powerpace]

I can see what you are getting at. The test sounds over-engineered to me, or really wrong for these types of vehicles to begin with.

If, like Egon said, you begin with a full charge and end with a full charge, the gas engine in a non-plugin will automatically be penalized when it recharges the battery--has to happen somewhere in the test. You gain some here, lose some there.

So who charged the standard gas engines battery on a non hybrid? It works out to be a crap computation. The comparison should not be made between a hybrid and non-hybrid. Two different animals. They both use gas but one uses it more effeciently. How do they compare Hydrogen or Propane powered vehicles? Compare like vehicles for effeciency and non-like vehicles for scale.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Personally, I like the 'miles per $' comparisons..

 

[dave1949]

So who charged the standard gas engines battery on a non hybrid? It works out to be a crap computation. The comparison should not be made between a hybrid and non-hybrid. Two different animals. They both use gas but one uses it more effeciently. How do they compare Hydrogen or Propane powered vehicles? Compare like vehicles for effeciency and non-like vehicles for scale.

Are you asking me, or agreeing with me?

I can see what you are getting at. The test sounds over-engineered to me, or really wrong for these types of vehicles to begin with.

I agree that the validity of the test is questionable. I would be more interested in a total carbon footprint assessment that covers building and scrapping/recycling. That combined with a total energy efficiency for operation would be more useful than worrying about one of a five-segment test or whatever.

Total energy would build-in some values for how efficiently the given energy is supplied along with how far it takes you, plus a carbon footprint for some btu/watts/whatever standardized quantity of the fuel.

If the engineers are going to spend time solving problems, they need to begin with useful questions.

 

[houstonscott]

Any car that either generates electricity for power or uses power from batteries charged from out side from fossil fuel can by laws of physics never be as fuel efficient as burning the fossil fuel ( gas, diesel, natural gas) directly. Converting to electricity and back to storage and back are highly inefficient, and a gigantic waste of resources, and any automotive engineer will tell you the weight of the batteries is a gigantic penalty. HS

 

[two_bit_score]

CNG makes more sense to me than hybrids.

Ford CNG Vehicles

 

[houstonscott]

CNG makes more sense to me than hybrids. Ford CNG Vehicles

It's not the type fuel, it's how you make mechanical power from it. Converting it from what ever to electricity, then send it down a power line can be as much as 50% inefficient. Stepping the voltage down, then storing it then taking it out of battery looses efficiency each step. The gallon of fuel at the power plant charging cars somewhere else can't by laws of physics produce the same power as burning it directly in a TDi. HS