Anybody heard about the new hybrid car?

[SRP]

I heard this on the morning news. There's a new prototype hybrid sports car out. It gets 50-something mpg and can go from 0-60 mph in something like 4 seconds. It runs on soy-based biofuel. And last but not least.... it was designed by a group of high school kids in shop, I believe in a Philadelphia high school. Some of these kids were known as troublemakers, had flunked out of other classes, etc.

So if a group of kids can design an environmentally friendly, fuel efficient and sporty car that actually made it to the big auto shows, why can't the pros in the auto industry do it? One of the kids said he thinks it's because the petroleum industry has a hold on the auto industry. I think he's probably right.

 

[acatalina]

I have been thinking about going hybrid, but i was talking to someone that told me in a rear end collision the battery can blow. Firemen are trained to get people out of the back 1st. since that is usually where the battery is located.Scares me.
The pros don't do it because thay probably own stock in the oil industry!!!!
Big bucks!!!
Big money!!!!
Anne
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=8227804&uid=3969941

 

[pink_fortitude]

Personally, I think we have more to learn from kids than they can learn from us. Kids are so cooooool!!! :7 They aren't tainted by the world yet. Even the ones that are labeled "trouble makers" have so much to offer, and I think that what they did is awesome! I hope that something will come of it, I would buy one of their cars!

Missy

 

[kathryn]

People have been working on, and developed, alternative energy cars since at least the 70's, but many of those patents were bought up by the oil companies or other big businesses, not to use them, but to keep anyone else from developing them and taking away from their profits.

Some people have their own biofuel cars that run on used oil (they get the oil from fast food places, strain it, and use it).

Trouble is, unless there are fuel outlets available for these, there's no way to refuel easily.

I have a hybrid (a Prius), and unfortunately, in a small town, it doesn't get the tests 60 mpg. "city" mileage (but gets about 50 mpg on the highway).

 

[SRP]

I just wonder how long the world will stay in denial about our dwindling oil supply. If more people would invest in this sort of thing, oil could last a lot longer.

I've been reading about individuals who have developed their own biofuel cars for a long time. I'm too much of a coward to give it a try myself. I have been "this close" to buying a hybrid - almost got an Insight, but they're too small for my needs. Now I can't decide whether I want a Prius or a hybrid Civic - they seem fairly comparable. But then... I am currently enjoying life without a car payment and want to squeeze a few more years out of my current vehicle.

 

[kathryn]

>I just wonder how long the world will stay in denial about
>our dwindling oil supply. If more people would invest in this
>sort of thing, oil could last a lot longer.
>
I've been thinking the same thing since the 70's!!

You know, for the most intelligent species on Earth, humans sure don't make use of all that grey matter, and all our intellectual advantages over other species (like projecting into the future and being able to plan for it, or seeing things from a global perspective).

It's only in times of "crisis" (like the oil crisis in the 70's) that much if anything is done to reduce oil consumption. Then we just wait around for the next crisis, instead of averting the crisis altogether.

Same thing about fresh water supply. The Ogallala (Ogalala?) aquifer is the biggest source of fresh water for much of the US, and it's being drained at an alarming rate. But, if all is par for the course, nothing will be done until it's almost dry!