Hi Lars-ss:

http://autoalliance.org/archives/000110.html

___I don’t know how much more can be said. 20 – 30,000 (I am guessing at the number of Hybrid’s on California roads today?) Hybrid’s that are as dirty or dirtier then many of the new cars on California’s roads today do not have a significant impact on local air quality. It is the ULEV through PZEV program for all cars that are purchased in significant volumes that does. The Hybrid’s help but they are such a small percentage of the total as to be almost meaningless. In other words, promoting hybrids because of their emissions alone would be foolish given the std. I4 Accord or Camry purchaser in California is buying a car that is as clean as the Prius II and HCH PZEV in all but CO2 emissions. This California Accord/Camry I4 buyer has a cleaner emitting automobile then the Honda Insight in both CVT and manual format, the HCH in the non-clean fuel states, and the Prius I yet matches the Prius II and HCH-PZEV in overall emissions. How many 2003 and 04 California purchased Accord and Camry I4’s do you think are on California roads vs. Prius II and HCH-PZEV’s? This number does not include the rest of the list of non-hybrid PZEV’s Californian’s are purchasing by the boat load on a daily basis vs. the trickle of Prius II’s and HCH’s by comparison!

___A NOx spike from ignition after autostop is real and is inherent in just about any automobile (hybrid and non-hybrid alike). When a car is idling, there are no spikes from the ignition because it is already running. Acceleration from a stop will yield similar emissions from hybrid and non-hybrid alike that are rated similarly. A non-Hybrid will have a larger spike if it was auto-stopped at the light but they are not so this is not of a concern.

___I am not discrediting Hybrid’s as they are generally as green or greener then the cars you or I (non-Californian’s in particular) can purchase today. I am saying that there is such a low number of them on California roads in comparison to clean or cleaner non-hybrid’s that trying to correlate the drop in emissions because of hybrid’s is a huge stretch given the insignificance in comparison to the total population.

___Finally, the best thing California could do to drop SMOG related emissions is to give a $2,000 tax-credit for any PZEV purchased below a certain MSRP. This would push the automakers to run PZEV’s down the food chain to that those who can least afford a Hybrid or more expensive PZEV. This initiative could improve upon California’s air quality far faster then any number of projected Hybrid sales in California over possibly the next decade! Even today, you can pick up a Ford Focus ZX3 PZEV for ~ $10 - 11 K brand spanking new from many dealerships inside of California. By making PZEV’s that much more affordable, even the lowest income brackets might consider dumping their early or late model TLEV or worse polluters for a much cleaner/greener solution. Or at least make some pause before considering the soon to be released ULEV based Accord Hybrid. Although it too is a technological marvel given its VCM and overall performance, it is not nearly as clean an automobile as those purchasing std. Accord LX/EX I4’s from California automobile dealerships today.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net