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A couple additional articles have popped up into my attention regarding the Prius/Hummer discussion so I thought I’d bring them to your attention as a follow-up to this post.
First off, Earth2Tech has a brief but interesting blurb about Prius sales in the US with some particularly fascinating stats on San Francisco Prius ownership.
Secondly, and far more substantial to the argument between Prius and Hummer is Dr. Peter Gleick’s rebuttal to the original report, by CNW Marketing Research, stating the Hummer has less impact in its life-cycle effects than the Prius. It describes the assumptions (we all know what assumptions do) the original report made about the lifetime of each of the vehicles. In effect it debunks the original report on the basis its faulty science. I mean, c’mon, the lifetime of the Hummer is 35 years? The lifetime of the Prius 109,000 miles?
1 response so far ↓
1 Jim Beyer // Aug 5, 2007 at 5:34 pm
The really sad thing about all this is that PHEV/Hybrid technology will work well with large vehicles! Perhaps even a bit better, as they may have more room for batteries.
Big vehicles are obviously heavier, but the added energy needed to get this additional mass moving is recouped via a regenerative braking, just as with a Prius. Up to 40 MPH or so, the additional energy needed to bring a Hummer up to speed vs. a Prius is relatively small. Over 40 MPH, the issue of wind resistance (which causes additional energy loss) becomes more important, but that relates more to the SHAPE of a vehicle, and not its actual size or mass.
The high low end torque that PHEVs/Hybrids provide would also be a valued feature for drivers of big vehicles.
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