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Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
Here's what I don't get about the hybrid rage: my in-laws have a Mazda 3. Pretty basic car, smaller engine (2.0?) and an automatic. Nice, quality car, and pretty decent to drive for a commuter appliance. They paid about $15k for it new. Mixed it gets about 30 MPG, up to about 34 MPG on the highway. Prius *starts* at a bit over $22k, and real world results put it at about 40 MPG for normal mixed driving.
30 MPG for $15k, or 40 MPG for $22k? Beyond that though, this is what passes for revolutionary technology? Using a very complicated system to get 25% better MPG than an average car, at a pretty large premium? Even better, using complicated technology to get the same MPG as a relatively simple diesel? I just don't get it.
Sink the money into improving gas engine efficiency, as well as reducing diesel emissions. I'm all for new technology, but hybrids are not the answer. The research dollars should go into hydrogen and fuel cells, because that is where the most potential lies.
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The Prius gas mileage is more like high-40s MPG mixed (real-world), which is around 60% better than the Mazda 3 numbers you use, and it is a significantly nicer, more upscale car than the Mazda 3.
Sure, you can pick some bottom-basement economy car and show that the MPG-to-dollar ratio is as good or better than the Prius or the VW TDI for that matter. But you wouldn't willingly drive a Toyota Yaris or Hyundai Accent, and neither will I. (The best MPG-to-dollar ratio would be from buying some used economy car, e.g. a beater 1980s VW Rabbit for $500.)
I agree that long-term, a hydrogen or fuel cell or some other technology would be the goal. Unfortunately, you cannot buy a hydrogen or fuel cell car today, and if you did, you wouldn't be able to refuel it in your neighborhood much less in Nowhereville, AR. So that is not an option at the present.
AFAIK, it isn't so much an R&D issue. The technology for fuel cell cars exists right now. But the infrastructure of refueling stations and distribution does not. So, for now, hybrids and diesels are the best we can do.