FotoVeloce

Not sure about that.. but think about the implications of a 200v battery in a crash. And I don't mean the immediate threat during the crash, but the fact that EMS *might* not want to get in there right away and help you! :0

http://www.firehouse.com/extrication...ptember01.html

I have not found it, yet, but recently there was a delay in extracting an injured motorist from a hybrid due to fears of elctricution to the EMS / Fire personel. I'll keep looking. I suspect it's a short-term risk as they determine the best ways to handle this but, it's still an added risk.

texas911

Umm, the battery is sealed and the connections to it has a GFI. Gee, you guys are much smarter than those idiot Toyota engineers, I bet they never thought of those issues.

As for EMS being afraid of batteries, I guess they aren't afraid of explosive gasoline?

luv2ride

Now that's hilarious. . you forgot or ate sprouts.

I'd love to drive a SUV as my daily that had zero emissions and ran off h2o. But I can't buy one. Wish I could, but until than society makes me drive my ff'n gas guzzling suv. Hybrid is not the answer!

rant on.

FotoVeloce

Just telling you what an EMS member of my family told me. Feel free to discount it.

Bokonon

I have been eyeing the biodiesels myself, but if you want to cut down emissions there are other ways too. (to nail the coffin on this thread!) lol

"Last year researchers at the University of Chicago took the Prius down a peg when they turned their attention to another gas guzzling consumer purchase. They noted that feeding animals for meat, dairy, and egg production requires growing some ten times as much crops as we'd need if we just ate pasta primavera, faux chicken nuggets, and other plant foods. On top of that, we have to transport the animals to slaughterhouses, slaughter them, refrigerate their carcasses, and distribute their flesh all across the country. Producing a calorie of meat protein means burning more than ten times as much fossil fuels--and spewing more than ten times as much heat-trapping carbon dioxide--as does a calorie of plant protein. The researchers found that, when it's all added up, the average American does more to reduce global warming emissions by going vegetarian than by switching to a Prius."

OK, tongue firmly in cheek here!
have a good one
-terry

FotoVeloce

Wow. That's great.

Thank goodness we don't have to ship any of that 'carbon reducing' produce from the far.... er..... hey... wait a second....

Oh. well.. at least we don't have to burn hydrocarbons to grow the stuff.. because those combines and tractors all run on... er.. hm....

OH.. wait.. it's still OK because the fertilizer and pesticides used to get a decent crop yield are not at all destructive to produ.... er.. . hm...

"Make my steak medium rare.. so, we save energy, of course."

cabrio993

CN

Talking about the "carpool lane", I alway wanted a lane strickly dedicated to the highest tax bracket!! After all, we pay way more of the cost of roads and associated maintenance so we should have priority right? While we're at it, that concept could apply to voting as well. You should get 1 vote for every $25,000 you pay in income taxes. That way, the higher tax payers have more say in how the dang money is spent. I'm sure there are a few who may disagree but hey, everybody is entightled to my opinion.

Boeing 717

I dont know CN i would prolly only qualify for like 1/4 of a vote if that were true but i agree with what your saying man....

JERRY

Ray S

Not a bad idea. Or how about a "High Performance lane" for drivers with approved high performance cars that have passed a high criteria driving test.

StevoUK

Prius?

The Smart car diesel turbo is the only car in eurup that meets the forthcomming CO2 legislation at less than 95 gizwhatsits.
Don't see many Gores driving those - or Bush or Blair...

How about electric?

2Many Cars

To me diesels make a lot of sense for the environmentally sensitive because you always have the biodiesel option. Unfortunately biodiesel is hard to find, even around here and although they have pretty good power when they are moving, the 0-20 times on most (note I didn't say all) diesels are sluggish. By the way, don't be surprised if you see a diesel hybrid some day.

As to the 200 volt batteries and rivers: I was kidding. As Texas911 correctly observed hybrids have GFI breakers right at the battery (which by the way is not very big). I know an EMS in Marin County(a virtual mating ground for Prius) and he told me that in an accident extraction they worry far more about tripping unfired airbags than they do about hybrid batteries. The cabling runs pretty much up the center tunnel and with the GFI the risk is very, very slight.

Pedro356C

Hey Zombie....I used to ride on my 356 wearing my Birkentocks...pretty comfortable and they did match my coco mats...I'm nor particularly fond of the Prius, and as far as Hemp goes...well...let's change the subject!!!!

wayne993

Boeing... I'm not going to go thru 1000 posts to see what kind of stuff
people are writing, but 2 paragraphs into the story you linked to, I've
found so many incorrect things written, I just stopped reading. Leave
the engineering to the engineers. You'll be able to find someone
(who produces Hummers for a living or sells oil or.....) who will be able
to tell you "a Hummer is Good For America" any day.

wayne993

OK so now I read a few posts. Keep in mind a Prius is not the end game. It's something that
can be made now. The end game, if we ever get there, is fusion powered reactors which will
drive everything. The cars will be electric. The Tesla is an excellent start, as would the
the GM electric car have been, if GM hadn't been in such a rush to kill it off. All these
so-called "problems" people have with technology, the same things happened 100 years ago
when gas powered cars first appeared. I don't know why we all feel that we have to go
straight to the end-game. It will take time.

And another thing to ponder. We arne't the big picture, although we are as a country very
smug and sure of our place in the world. THe big picture is a place called "China". How will
we expect THEM to give a crap if we don't (and trust me, we will want them to give a crap).