Gas Prices

[iago]

I want my first car to be a hybrid!.... I highly doubt it.

Yes. Chicks will love it?

"Can you go faster please?" "BITCH I'M FLOORING IT."

That's a serious problem with people right now.  For some reason, they want to be able to accelerate very fast, and save the extra 2 or 3 seconds at the cost of the environment.  Are the extra seconds really so important that you would spend a ton of money on gas if electric cars were a reasonable price?

[AntiVirus]

Ron, where I live you have to beable to accelerate fast, or you will get hit.  Down here in Kansas City, Missouri if you don't get going fast enough up an on ramp you will most likely get ran off to the side, or get hit..  Our on ramps are extremely small, and poorly built.

So yes, the extra seconds are really important to some of us.

[trust]

@iago: Yes.

[iago]

In Winnipeg, people accelerate slow as hell, and it's a real pain. 

But I think that people need to get their priorities straight.  Everybody is so busy complaining about how much gas is costing, yet they're still driving everywhere.  I personally bike almost everywhere, and take the bus when I have to.  Alternative technologies to power cars exist, but they don't accelerate as fast! Oh no!

[trust]

They're also pretty expensive.

People in America understand time is money. I shouldn't complain, here we have our fast and slow people, but generally it's a pretty comfortable pace - the south is much more relaxed. But when I was in NJ and NY, DAMN, you would be pwned++.

[iago]

They're also pretty expensive.

Are the extra seconds really so important that you would spend a ton of money on gas if electric cars were a reasonable price?

[Sidoh]

In Calculus today (this isn't a Calculus problem, it was just a trailoff), we were talking about gas prices.

Americans have been getting massive discounts on gas due to government reductions.  The government pays oil companies so much per galon of gas (or barrel of oil, I suppose), which causes dramatic reductions in prices of gas in the US.  The actual price of gas right now is about $4.00/gallon, so we're still seeing a somewhat significant discount compared to the rest of the world.

Buying a Hybrid right now will pay for itself in about 10.5 years, which is still somewhat of a letdown.  However, that's assuming you drive 15,000 miles a year.  If you drive more, the time will decrease.

A new hybrid (on average):  $45,000
A new small truck (Ford Ranger, Tyota Tacoma -- the most common cars on the road): $25,000

Difference: $15,000

Average price of gas in the US:  $3.25/gallon
Average miles drove: 15,000 Miles

Average gas mileage of a hybrid:  62 Miles/Gallon
Average gas mileage of a small truck:  22 Miles/Gallon

15 000 / (((15 000 / 22) * 3.25) - ((15 000 / 62) * 3.25)) = 10.4923077 Years

So yeah.  Hybrids are nice, but until they come down in price, they're still not too much worth it.  This is (obviously) an very averaged figure, so they could pay for themselves much sooner if the figures were different.  These are fairly accurate average numbers, though.

I think it's atually a good thing that the gas prices are going up like this.  It's the really the only logical thing that is going to give us a kick in the ass to develop a reasonable alternative fuel source.

[iago]

I think it's atually a good thing that the gas prices are going up like this.  It's the really the only logical thing that is going to give us a kick in the ass to develop a reasonable alternative fuel source.

I agree!

[trust]

They're also pretty expensive.

Are the extra seconds really so important that you would spend a ton of money on gas if electric cars were a reasonable price?

I wasn't replying to your scenario.

However, I was replying to:

Alternative technologies to power cars exist, but they don't accelerate as fast! Oh no!

[rabbit]

I think it's atually a good thing that the gas prices are going up like this.  It's the really the only logical thing that is going to give us a kick in the ass to develop a reasonable alternative fuel source.

http://www.greasecar.com/

Pizz-owned, well, if your vehicle runs on diesel...

[Sidoh]

That and it's still not exactly efficient.  I think we need to steer clear of the internal combustion engine, if oyu ask me.

I've seen similar solutions with E80.  They seem like a nice idea, as they are an alternative fuel source, but they're still horribly ineficient.  The internal combustion engine is less than 1% efficient.  That's sad...

Also... I forgot to mention in my previous long-winded post:

Another thing to consider with Hybrid cars is that they're a foreign car (to us, anyway).  This means parts are generally much more expensive.  When you bring one in for repairs, the bill is probably going to be a lot higher than it would be for an average American-made car.  Not that this is a fair argument, but it is still a valid point.

[rabbit]

Two of my friends' families have space cars (the crazy electric hybrids that turn off and on when stopping/moving and charge when stopping).  They are awesome ^^

[Ergot]

That and it's still not exactly efficient.  I think we need to steer clear of the internal combustion engine, if oyu ask me.

I've seen similar solutions with E80.  They seem like a nice idea, as they are an alternative fuel source, but they're still horribly ineficient.  The internal combustion engine is less than 1% efficient.  That's sad...

Also... I forgot to mention in my previous long-winded post:

Another thing to consider with Hybrid cars is that they're a foreign car (to us, anyway).  This means parts are generally much more expensive.  When you bring one in for repairs, the bill is probably going to be a lot higher than it would be for an average American-made car.  Not that this is a fair argument, but it is still a valid point.

Solar power !! A solar powered sailcar ;o?

[Sidoh]

Two of my friends' families have space cars (the crazy electric hybrids that turn off and on when stopping/moving and charge when stopping).  They are awesome ^^

This was the Hybrid discussed in my previous message.  The standard ideal behind the Hybrids that exist today follow this model.

And Ergot:  That has been analyzed before.  Solar panels simply do not supply enough energy for a car to go 60mph for hours on end.

At NYLF Tech, we were assigned some project in which we were required to design 'the car of the future.'  We ended up making a car using cell-batteries (so it would charge extremely fast) with solar panels on top which gave you a few extra miles of driving time every hour that it absorbed direct sunlight.  Our fueling stations were Hydrogen-fuel cells.  It was actually a pretty good idea, but it would require too much change.  Converting every fueling station in the world over to Hydrogen-produced electricity would take far to much effort than it is worth at this point.  The winner in our category designed a car that was powered off of E80.  It was one of the suggestions in the pamphlet for our category... it was lame as hell.

[rabbit]

On a side note, the lowest gas price I saw when I was driving around today was $2.96