JB and I spent Saturday at the
Maker Faire, which is a great gathering of nerds who make stuff. Among the interesting sights we took in at the Faire was a 100 MPG Prius.
How does it happen? According to
www.calcars.org, "We can achieve [a 100 mpg hybrid]
today -- with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). A PHEV is essentially a regular hybrid with an extension cord. You can fill it up at the gas station, and you can plug it in to any 120-volt outlet. It's like having a second fuel tank that you always use first -- only you fill up at home, from a regular outlet, at an
equivalent cost of under $1/gallon."
The benefits they claim are:
- You don't have to plug it in. You can use the gas tank like a regular hybrid if you want to.
- If you drive mostly locally (short range) you don't use alot of gas.
- Service costs are lower.
- A PHEV can power your house when there's a power outage!
A few things I wondered were, first, doesn't generating electricity also create carbon emissions? They have an answer for this one: "The "well-to-wheel" emissions of electric vehicles are lower than those from gasoline internal combustion vehicles. California Air Resources Board studies show that
battery electric vehicles emit at least 67% lower greenhouse gases than gasoline cars -- even more assuming renewables. A PHEV with only a 20-mile all-electric range is 62% lower (see printed page 95 in the
2004 study)."
Second, I wondered whether the
enviornmental impact of the batteries themselves would affect whether this makes sense. Maybe a topic for another time.
Still, this sounds like a really interesting way to really reduce your gas usage. Too bad you can't get one yet. According to CalCars, "CalCars and several aftermarket companies have converted a few dozen cars. For a list of conversions completed to date, see
Where PHEVs Are. We don't know when after-market conversion companies will be selling to individual consumers."
Hopefully we'll hear more about these soon.
That’s my car. You can get one for yourself only you have to build it. Calcars will help with all the information you need. I am plugging in to Wind Energy so no Carbon emissions there. The batteries will be recycled when it is time. I am also hoping do another conversion, or two, at the Maker Fair in Austin later this year.
Yes, my Social Studies teacher has been talking a lot about cars like that. He’s building one this summer, and he told us that it costs a little over $6,000 to transform your car to completely gas free.
What I’m wondering is why haven’t they released it yet, and then also why aren’t people making more cars that are at least partly solar powered? As far as I know that doesn’t have much of an impact on the environment.