I heard that Chrysler is closing the plant that was supposed to produce the Durango and Aspen and has no plans of building them anymore. That makes no sense to me. I think all mfgs should be required to build hybrids and electric vehicles. Lets face gas is almost cheap again but we would all be fools to think it will last. OPEC is already crying and cutting production. We need to go green and get rid of their power over us with oil.

 

Yes, you are right about the price of gas going back up again. It already has started moving in that direction. Back in 2005 when Katrina hit the gulf coast, gas hit $3/gal for the first time. That would have been the right time to think about hybrid and electric technology. That was over 3 years ago. Toyota has been building hybrids since the 2000 model year and selling them in the US, i believe. They now offer 3 of them. How many does Chrysler/Dodge offer?

 

Chrysler and Dodge were going to offer the Durango and Aspen but have since closed that plant as of December 2008. Honda also has been doing hybrids for a long time. The rest of the mfgs are all following suit. There are over 20 different models of hybrid on the road in the USA as of Sept. 2008 I know this because the comapny I work for makes Emergency Shutdown and towing and jump start guides ( hybrid hazards dot info ) There are suppose to be 10 more models coming out for 2010 and as many as 35 new ones by 2012 I just hope with gas prices being down that they still sell. My fear with gas being low is that people will stop buying hybrids. We all know gas will go up again. The Oil producing countries are already trying to drive the price higher. We need to keep making hybrid and even all electric cars. Just my opinion.

 

the issue with all electric is this: how do we make electricity? The majority of electricity in the US is still made by burning coal and fossil fuels. Until we can get past THAT, we are still in the same boat.

 

Couldn't have said it any better. We need to look more towards wind, solar and even hybdro power. I live in the Ocean State and they are trying to put wind power off our coast and everyone is fighting that. Another proposed idea was wave power and again everyone is opposing it. We definately need to get rid of our dependence on fossil fuels until then I agree we will always have issues.

 

so Rhode Island is looking toward wind power? Why would people want to fight that? it won't affect anything.

 

It all goes back to the old not in my backyard thing literally. There are people with water front homes that say it will distract from the beauty of the ocean and disrupt boating etc. I guess they don't realize with global warming that there home will soon be reefs.

 

The Aspen is a great hybird. I've logged 28.5 many times at 70MPH with cruise control.
Considering that most Aspen/durangos with the Hemi powertrain usually get 18 highway that is pretty good.

I'm excited to see the Dodge RAM 1500 hybrid due out next year as it should do better..

 

I am glad to hear that Daimler Chrysler is going to make a Ram pick up for next year. You must have one of the few Aspen/ Durango hybrids that were produced. Gas prices are creeping up everyday here and I'm sure it will not be much longer till people are looking at Hybrid cars again. The funny thing is its the gas prices rising that get people thinking green. 28.5 mpg at 70mph is an awesome achievement what kind of fuel mileage do you get in the city?

 

Solar and Wind are useless, What happens when the sun don't shine and the wind dosent blow?
and both take up too much land. Hydro is bad for Aqueduct animals, we should not block off rivers and streams from natural spawning.

Nuclear power is the only way, It can be done safely, the French get 85% of their power from Nuclear with minimal waste. Breeder reactors will deplete the rods to levels that are the same as the material that came out of the ground. They just re bury it and let it decay naturally.

Do not fear Steam people.. This is the only way to secure a clean future.