Those of you who are regular readers know that I have some doubts about the actual environmental benefits of both hybrids and flex-fuel / ethanol powered cars.
However, it seems the rest of our country is sold on the idea, including the automakers that sell to our market. In the past few weeks quite a few announcements have been made about more hybrids that are getting ready to roll down the assembly line: the Chevy Volt, the (new) Honda Insight, and the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid. Call me skeptical, but I’m still not convinced …
2011 Chevy Volt
The one that seems to have people most excited is the Chevy Volt. Due out for the 2011 model year, Chevy is hoping to break new ground in the hybrid market with the first mass-marketed plug-in hybrid. The Volt is different from other hybrids on the market now in the fact that the gas engine is not connected to the drive wheels in any way, but instead only serves as a generator to recharge the batteries and supply electricity to the electric drive motors. By plugging in the car over night, it is capable of driving up to 40 miles on electricity alone. Therefore if your average daily driving amounts to less than 40, you could go for long periods of time without ever using any gas.
While this sounds great at first blush and is definitely innovative there are some issues that could throw a wrench in whether the Volt is ultimately a success. The first is its cost. Early estimates show that the Volt could cost up to $40,000. That’s a lot of money for a 4-door 5-passenger Chevy. The company is currently lobbying congress (ack) to give Volt buyers a sizable tax credit for their green-ness that would help offset this initial cost, but that still remains to be determined.
A technical issue that could come into play is the fact that if buyers were to spend several months only making short trips and never using the gas engine they could run into gasoline stability problems. Without added stabilizers, gasoline only has a limited “shelf-life” before it begins to deteriorate. As gasoline ages and breaks down it becomes dirtier when it is combusted and provides less energy. In worst-case scenarios Volt drivers could find themselves with a tank full of fuel that produces excess pollution, causes the car’s engine to run poorly, or even not run at all!
Finally, there are also environmental implications of such a plug-in hybrid. While GM estimates that it would only cost 40 cents per day to charge the Volt, thus making it much less expensive than powering it by gasoline, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is more environmentally friendly. When charging from the electrical grid most of the environmental impact is transferred from the car itself to the power plant that generates the electricity. If everyone were to start using plug-in hybrids the electrical infrastructure would need to be updated and potentially cause more pollution from power plants. I therefore repeat my mantra that “hybrids aren’t as green as you think they are.”
My final comment on the Volt is that it truly embodies “love it or hate it” styling. You can see more pics using the link above, but I’ll simply say that I fall into the “hate it” category.
2010 Honda Insight
Set to be officially launched at the 2008 Paris auto show, the new Honda Insight is supposed to be on the road in April 2009, probably as a labeled as a 2010 model. Honda has revived the Insight name from its first foray into the hybrid world. The original Insight was actually the first hybrid sold in the US and remains one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles you can buy, despite the fact it has been out of production for several years. The new Insight is being billed as Honda’s “Prius fighter”, though I would call it more of a Prius clone. If you swapped the front grille and emblem you could probably convince people this was the next-generation of the Prius.
The Insight will likely be a bit smaller than the Prius, and is supposed to undercut it in price. Some reports have said it will debut with a starting price of $19,000. Of course, that’s before dealers mark up the price because if the fact that everybody will be clamoring for one. Honda is hoping to sell somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 Insights annually, so prepare yourself to start seeing these everywhere.
2009 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid
Why would I include the new Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid in this lineup? For two reasons: It is significant because it marks Mercedes’ first foray into hybrids. Prior to this model, Mercedes-Benz was sticking to super-efficient diesels, which they happen to do very well. In fact, the S-series diesel model returns approximately 40mpg, whereas the S400 Hybrid is expected to get about 30mpg. Ah, but diesels aren’t as sexy as hybrids, despite the fact that most other world markets have been gravitating towards them for decades.
The second reason I include this car is because it marks the first mass-market application of lithium-ion batteries in a hybrid. Lithium-ion batteries are more expensive but much more energy-dense than nickel metal hydride batteries, which are used in most other hybrids. That means that lithium-ion battery packs can be much smaller and lighter while producing the same performance. I must admit I don’t know as much about lithium-ion’s environmental impact as compared to nickel metal hydride, but I’m sure there is still some impact to be considered when taking into account the overall impact of the vehicle during it’s lifespan.
Make no mistake, this car marks the beginning of a new era of hybrids. In a few years I expect that all hybrids will be using li-ion batteries, or even something that is developed that will surpass them. Making battery packs lighter and more powerful will allow for increased efficiency which might make hybrids a more compelling environmental argument than they are now.
My take
I’m still not sold on hybrids. Yeah they have cool technology. Yeah they’re more fuel efficient than gasoline-only powered cars. But in my mind there are better, more environmentally friendly ways of reaching the same efficiency. I remain a big fan of diesel technology, in part because most modern diesel-powered cars can easily run on bio-diesel, unlike gas-powered cars and E85 (ethanol).
I’d love to see companies start selling cars like the 65-mpg Ford Fiesta ECOnetic here in the US, however the facts that their engines are built overseas and the dollar is so weak means that they aren’t economically viable. One vehicle I will be watching closely is the 2010 Volkswagen Rabbit TDI, due here in the Fall of ‘09. While it’s not as efficient as the VW Golf (aka Rabbit) BlueMotion for the European market that gets about 62pmpg, it should still return mid 40’s to low 50’s depending on driving conditions.
Now the question is how long can our family get by with only one car, and can we wait for automakers to get around to selling more small efficient diesel cars here in the U.S.? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
What’s your take on the seemingly ever-increasing hybrid hype?
[...] More hyped-up hybrids on the horizon [...]
I like diesel too, since you can use biofuels, and the price at the pump is more stable and can be a good bit cheaper than regular–at least if the market’s good, which it’s not right now. And I just think it’s cool. I’m not sure why. Maye it’s the feeling of going against the grain somehow.
As for the Chevy Volt, I think it’s dumb. It only makes sense for people who can afford/are fortunate enough to have a garage with electricity. Otherwise, in the city at least, the streets would be a mess of cords. On my street we have to park across the street from our house, so the cord would drag the whole way across the street. What would happen if it gets pulled out by other cars driving by or by pranksters? Then you couldn’t start your car, and how long would it take to charge back up? Half a day at least? With everything else in the tech world going wireless, I’d be surprised if a corded car makes it at all.
[...] new Honda Insight has launched, to pretty good reviews I might add, but I’m still not convinced. It is about [...]