New Wave of Hybrids
Offer More Mean, Less Green
November 21, 2005 — By Tim Molloy, Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — When automakers rolled
out the first hybrid cars, drivers who wanted their spectacular fuel
economy had to settle for weird shapes and a lack of luxury options.
Now it seems the high-mileage, low-frills trend in hybrid automaking may
prove shorter than a Hummer's trips between fill-ups.
Newer hybrids are using the added boost from their gas-electric engines
for more acceleration and power. But more mean equals less green.
To attract drivers looking for large and luxurious vehicles, automakers
such as Lexus and General Motors Corp. are building hybrids with the
looks and size of regular cars.
The focus on performance sacrifices the kind of jaw-dropping efficiency
that got hybrids noticed in the first place.
Environmentalists say automakers are squandering gas-scrimping
technology that reduces air pollution as well as the nation's reliance
on foreign oil.
"Consumers are enthralled by hybrids because they sip gas and don't
guzzle it, and they pollute less," said Dan Becker, director of the
Sierra Club's global warming program. "So if you have a hybrid that
guzzles and doesn't pollute less, then what are you doing?"
Though sales of large SUVs have taken a hit, luxury and midsize SUVs
continue to do well.
American automakers are launching hybrid versions of those vehicles to
remain competitive in the areas where they are most profitable, said
Anthony Pratt, an analyst who covers hybrids for J.D. Power and
Associates. It's cheaper to modify an existing model than to build a new
competitor to the Prius or Insight, and SUVs have more room for adding
hybrid components than sedans, he said.
Automakers say gas guzzlers have the most room for improvement. But some
new hybrids barely get better mileage than their non-hybrid
counterparts.
Take the hybrid Chevrolet Silverado, which gets the same 19 miles per
gallon on the highway as a regular Silverado. On city streets it gets 17
mpg, two mpg more than the non-hybrid.
The Silverado is among six hybrids either available or being designed by
GM, the world's largest automaker. All but one is an SUV or truck.
GM says small improvements make a big difference.
Upping an SUV's performance from 10 mpg to 11 mpg will save 110 gallons
of gas every 12,000 miles, points out GM engineer Tim Grewe. That's more
than the 100 gallons saved by increasing a sedan's fuel economy from 30
to 40 mpg and driving it the same distance.
Grewe's formula works only because SUVs use so much more gas. The 11-mpg
SUV needs 1,090 gallons to go 12,000 miles; the 40-mpg sedan needs only
300 gallons.
Lawrence Dewey, 78, is among those not getting the mileage he expected
from a hybrid.
Dewey and his wife love the plush interior, moving headlights, and "get
up and go" of their new Lexus RX 400h hybrid.
The only problem, he says, is that it averages only 25 mpg, about what
he used to get in a non-hybrid Volvo Cross Country SUV. The
disappointing mileage has caused him to drive less.
"We look at that figure and go: `Do we need to go now?'" said Dewey, who
lives just outside Madison, Wis. "We'll combine it with another trip."
Dewey 's other quarrel is with the EPA, which rated the vehicle at 31
mpg city and 27 mpg highway. The agency's mileage figures for new cars
often are inflated because testing conditions yield better efficiency
than real-world driving.
Dewey doesn't come close to saving enough gas to make up the price
difference between the $46,060 400h and the $37,770 non-hybrid Lexus RX
330. The hybrid does measure up in other areas: It goes from 0-60 mph in
6.9 seconds and has 268 horsepower. That's nearly one second faster and
45 horsepower better than the RX 330.
"A lot of people, whether they have size needs or need to carry more
cargo ... they like to have a bigger car. In order to reach out to those
folks you have to offer them performance," said Lexus spokesman Greg
Thome said, "otherwise they wouldn't even look at buying a hybrid."
An estimated 220,000 hybrids will be sold domestically this year, about
1.3 percent of the market, according to car-industry analyst J. D. Power
& Associates. That's a major jump from last year, when 87,000 hybrids
accounted for 0.5 percent of domestic car sales.
Some cutting-edge hybrid researchers believe consumers shouldn't have to
choose between performance and efficiency. At San Diego State
University, engineering professor Jim Burns led a student team that
built the Enigma -- a diesel hybrid convertible that goes from zero to
60 mpg in 4.3 seconds while getting 80 mpg.
A close performance equivalent is a Dodge Viper, which gets about 12 mpg
city and 20 mpg highway.
Burns, who says he would consider mass-marketing Enigmas for $60,000 if
he could get 1,000 orders, says it will take flash, not just good
mileage, to make the public fall in love with hybrids.
Some environmentalists are experimenting with the same pragmatic
approach.
Earlier this year, the Sierra Club handed out its first praise for a
hybrid SUV, Ford's Mercury Mariner, which gets an EPA-rated 33 mpg city
and 29 mpg highway.
"I think it would be vastly preferable for everyone to drive a 45- or
55-mpg vehicle and the technology exists to do that," said Becker, the
organization's global warming specialist. "But not everyone wants to buy
a sedan. ... If they're going to buy an SUV, it's better that they buy
one that gets over 30 mpg than under 20."
Source: Associated Press
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