I woke up to read that it is now believed more likely that Ford will fall into bankruptcy than General Motors, who isn't far from the abyss itself (although they've improved their situation recently). Ford shares are now down to around $6 a share. GM, seeing the success of the Toyota Prius, claim they will have a plug-in hybrid ready by as early as next year...
General Motors Corp., losing sales to fuel-efficient cars from Toyota Motor Corp., is developing a hybrid-electric vehicle with a battery that recharges at any outlet, said GM officials familiar with the plan.
The so-called plug-in hybrid would travel more than 60 miles on a gallon of gasoline, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the research is secret. GM, which had the first modern electric car in 1996, lags behind Toyota in hybrids, which combine electric motors and gasoline engines.
But is the hybrid technology all that better than what we had 20 years ago?
I've been intrigued with the Toyota Prius for a while given the state of gas prices, but I've always wondered something. The
MSRP on a Prius is $21,725. Being a hybrid vehicle, it has eletric motor/generators,
regenerative braking, a nickel metal hydride battery, and a on-board computer to regulate all this & ensure fuel effeciency.
Can someone explain how a 1989 Honda Civic CRX was able to get similar gas mileage without all of that?
The 1989 Honda Civic CRX HF specs were...
Weight - 892 kg (1,967 lb)
Engine - Honda D15B6 SOHC 8-valve I-4, 1493 cc
Power - 62 hp @ 4500 rpm / 90 ft·lbf @ 2000 rpm
According to EPA tests, the Prius gets
60 mpg city, 51 mpg highway. The 89 Honda Civic CRX, without all the hybrid components, had
50 mpg city, 56 mpg highway. Now to be fair, the Civic CRX was a 2-door hatchback, where the Prius is a 4-door sedan. Also, I would guess that in 1989, the Civic didn't come with dual-side airbags, anti-lock breaks, or even power windows & locks. I also wonder about fuel emissions too, but it was getting that gas mileage with a standard internal combustion engine. It didn't have a computer in the dash.
Are you telling me that in 17 years they couldn't have improved on the technology they had then? You know why doesn't Honda just pull out the 17-year old design, update it a little, & sell it?