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Nicola Naydenov

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Why aren't hybrid cars well integrated in our urban environment?

Hello everyone,I am a student and I have worked on a project based on the integration and potential of hydrogen hybrids from which i got the idea to ask all of you. First of all when i started the project I though I had a satisfying level of information about hybrids like probably the majority of people think, but in the process of working I've discovered the data about this type of vehicles was greater than I thought. After some researches I found dozens and dozens of prototypes of hydrogen hybrids alone. When I made a research about the percentage of people who would like to buy a hybrid I found that over 60% of my schoolmates and random people on the street didn't know what a hybrid car really is. So my question is why are these auto mobiles have not overtaken the market yet and why are we not familiar at least with some of them?

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Topics: car environment hybrid hydrogen integration urban
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  • n stark

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    Mar 2 2012: Hybrid cars are relatively new. conservative people will not buy them until they have a proven track record. Also, they are very expensive. There are plenty of folks who just don't have the money. Hopefully, over time, the batteries will be smaller, there will be more places to charge them up, and they might come out with more "sexy" designs.
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    Peter Law 30+

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    Feb 29 2012: The numbers don't add up. They need to make financial sense.
    Petrol/Electric don't do more mpg despite expensive technology.
    Electric need new batteries too often.
    Hydrogen is expensive to produce & awkward/expensive to transport.
    They all ultimately need conventional fuels to feed them, so there isn't even a respectable environmental payback .
    Great scope for these guys in garden sheds out there to come up with new ideas.

    :-)
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      Nicola Naydenov

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      Feb 29 2012: Actually about the hydrogen(at least i heard so) the cost of a gallon hydrogen is equal to the cost of gallon gasoline or I think hydrogen had a little bit higher price but the gap of prices wasn't so big and if we take in mind that petrol is become more and more expensive, in a few years the prices will be equal or even hydrogen could cost less. Also hydrogen is produced by electrolysis which needs only electrical energy which can be provided by the sun itself or the wind or the waves... it depends on what natural energy resource is surrounding your home. It is true that the mpg of the hybrid cars is low but i don't 100 miles isn't so bad if at least 20% of the fuelling stations offer hydrogen fuel this mpg wouldn't such a worry.
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    Nicola Naydenov

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    Feb 29 2012: Mr. Long about the Hindenberg it was scientificly proven that hydrogen didn't take a general role in the inferno that was formed. In nowadays there are a lot of hydrogen hybrid prototypes that work perfectly but no one knows about them. As an example I'll give you the Mazda RX 8 Renesis or Honda Clarity and many more... Now about the urgency I have watched a ted talk with Shai Agassi in which the man said that the number of petrol is so grate that even if some companies start making hybrids now, the results will be visible after at least 10 and more years and also it is a well-known fact that petrol is not only used for fuel and the forecast are that supplies for this fossil fuel will be empty in around 2060. So about the urgency at least I am concluding that if we don't take some serious measures in preserving oil at the end it will be exhausted when it is least expected and mostly needed.
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      edward long 100+

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      Feb 29 2012: I suspect you are correct Mr. Naydenov. I did not not say hydrogen was dangerous. I said people THINK hydrogen is dangerous.
      The sense of urgency does not kick-in for modern man until the remaining time is quite short, which 2060 is not. Again, people don't THINK it is urgent to develop an alternative to fossil fuels. People are not clearsighted as a rule. QUOTE: "The clearsighted do not rule the world, but they sustain and console it." --Agnes Repplier
      Thanks for your thoughts. How about battery problems?
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        Nicola Naydenov

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        Feb 29 2012: About the battery problems I share your point of view Mr. Long there is no point in arguing about the obvious. Unless we don't start extracting the energy we need from a renewable and sustainable energy sources there is no point in even thinking of mass producing of electrically powered vehicles.
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    Elizabeth Berry

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    Feb 29 2012: 1) Hybrid cars aren't that sexy, in terms of design.
    2) We lack the infrastructure. We only have petrol stations at the moment. But if petrol stations also included charging ports, I'm pretty sure that would jack up the number of people who wouldn't mind driving them.
    3) Humans are pack animals. We follow the hype. The hype has yet to surround hybrids.
    4) Most people are scared of by the relatively more expensive buying price. We tend to think about what hurts in the pocket now, rather than in the future.

    • n stark

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      Mar 2 2012: what would you rather have, a sexy car or a living planet?
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    Robert Winner 50+

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    Feb 29 2012: Can't speak to the hydrogen car but lets look at the chevy volt. The battery lasts for 25 miles prior to switching to gas. The result is approximately 30 MPG with battery and gas. The total range is approximatelky 270 miles. At 60 MPH 270 miles will take you 4 1/2/ hours. It takes 10 hours to charge the 16 KWH battery so the total time for the trip is 14.5 hours.My electricity cosats about $1.16 per KWH. 16 KWH X $1.16 per KWH = $18.56 to charge the battery.$18.56 per charge divided by 25 miles = $0.74 per mile to operate the volt using the battery. Compare that to a car with a gas engine that gets 32 miles per gallon. $3.19 per gallon divided by 32 MPG = $0.10 per mileThe equivelant size car is $15,000 while the Volt costs $46,000.Summary: You want me to pay 3 times as much for a car that costs 7 times as much to operate and takes three times as long to go the same distance.That may not be fair to the hydrogen car. Show me the math and I will reconsider. Don't believe all you hear and see. Do your own math. Good luck on your project. Bob
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    edward long 100+

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    Feb 28 2012: Battery production, use and disposal is environmentally hostile. Strike One.There is enough petroleum to render a replacement technology non-urgent. Strike Two.Hydrogen scares people. Remember the Hindenberg. Strike Three.
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