What are they? - The most damaging vehicles on the planet...
Ad's claim the 2008 Ford Escape hybrid was "the most fuel efficient SUV on Earth." Ford has said this for years and, for years, and that two other SUVs are just as fuel efficient; the Mazda Tribute hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. As Hybrid Chevy Tahoe wins "Green Car of the Year" award
There is so much wrong with this mentality... declaring a truck or more vehicles will help.
Can hybrids make a difference in the near future? Short answer... NO
Hybrids are a very long way from the 25% take-up assumed in this quick calculation but perhaps the most sobering statistic is that over the last fourteen years, traffic, as measured in vehicle-miles traveled, has been increasing at a rate of 1.2%. Just as increasing car weight squandered the last decade's engine efficiency improvements, increasing traffic is likely to squander any real efficiency improvements that hybrid technology can deliver.
So, can hybrid technology really deliver increased fleet efficiency where the natural evolution of traditional cars has failed to deliver?
First of all, it's important to remember the hybrid is not a new species so much as an evolutionary step. It looks the same, drives the same and uses the same fuel as a traditional car. The addition of batteries and an electric motor simply allows the internal combustion engine to be a little smaller and to be used more efficiently.
As a rule of thumb, today's hybrid technology can increase the efficiency of a petrol car by around 50%. Coincidentally, this is approximately the same as the difference in efficiency between equivalent petrol and diesel cars. So, whatever today's petrol-hybrid technology could do for the fleet's CO2 emissions, the same could be achieved by increasing the number of diesels on the road.
Only the diesel-hybrid, which has yet to be released, looks likely to raise the bar significantly.
While hybrids may be able to reduce the rate of increasing emissions, it seems the only way to achieve significant reductions is to drive less.
Find out more at: www.thehybriddebate.com
