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Originally Posted by krousdb
It would be great to get the positives to the viewing public. The problem is that the media cater to what the public wants to hear. Because the majority of Americans are afraid of change (hybrids), they grasp at reasons why such a change should not occur. Negative news stories help them rationalize why they should keep buying the same old technology. It makes them feel that they are right and you and I are wrong.
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That is big part of it, another factor is that controversy draws more attention than affirming that somerthing performs as expected. An article saying that a product falls short of a promise also confirms in a lot of people's minds the idea that businesses go out of their way to lie/misdirect people, when the problem of FE in the hybrids is no so much in the equipment but the driving style.
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I have to say, that I completely agree. If the end use of hybrid tech ends up more hummers on the road, because the hybrid tech gets them up to 20 mpg, then we have achieved naught.
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I would beg to differ on this for this simple reason: by having a hybrid system, you're still getting better performance from the same (or slightly less) fuel consumption, instead of achieving better performance by adding more engine displacement and using much more fuel to get the same extra performance. If hybrid systems were added to every single car on the road, and they were driven exactly the same way, there would be less overall fuel consumption. Putting out lots of "high end" hybrids is a (over-?)reaction to the idea that hybrid tech is
only applicable to small, high-mileage economy cars. The performance booster avenue has a lot of potential, as does the hypermiler avenue, and that technology improvements in both areas would benefit each other (ie reduced drivetrain losses, aerodynamics, battery packs etc). The Accord gains a lot of performance from only a 15HP motor.
What I would like to see is a 4-cylinder car similar to the Civic hybrid setup, but with a
much larger electric motor that can run with the engine completely disengaged (for regen and electric mode). Next, there could be a "hybrid" battery pack with conventional batteries (storing up power) as well as fast-discharge capactitors (high-load acceleration without wearing out the batteries) Next, add a 6-speed "manual" transmission that is shifted electronically, and coasts automatically. Finally, let the driver choose from different modes (ie performance, economy, assist-disabled, all electric, and optional manual shifting) That setup could have performacne of an Accord hybrid, with better fuel economy than a Civic Hybrid. I just can't say I see performance or FE as mutually exclusive.