The Prius a Screaming Teen Hot Rod or Hybrid for the Granola Crunching Crowd?

It was the car, a Prius, not the celebrity offender, that grabbed the lime light and had everyone abuzz. Recently, Al Gore III, son of former Vice President Al Gore, was arrested for possessing marijuana and speeding over 100 mph on the San Diego Freeway in his Toyota Prius.

Ho hum another celebrity in trouble with the law. What's new? A hybrid caught speeding over 100 mph that's what.

Speed tests have shown that the new Prius can attain speeds up 103 mph. When compared with other Toyotas such as a Camry which can go up to 130 mph, that is not too fast. Even the Hybrid Camry can go 117 mph.

On the other hand, the Prius is not the slowest vehicle on the road either. Car and Driver magazine complied statistics which show that the AM General Hummer H1 has the top speed of only 88 mph.

The equalizer, however, is the speed governor that most American cars must have for liability reasons. The governor insures that a car will not go too fast for its tires. Although Pruis tops 103 mph, the governor limits both the Prius and the Corolla to 112 mph.

There are several factors that limit the Prius hybrid to 103 mph.

First, Toyota made a conscious decision to limit the Prius speed to 103 mph. Mike Michels, spokesman for Toyota, stated that the Prius hybrid is capable of going even faster. But the car is speed limited to 103 mph to avoid using up its battery.

He stated that "It can go 103 mph indefinitely." Until the gas runs out that is.

Second, Toyota created the Prius to be fuel efficient which leads to it having less horsepower than a conventional car. A car with less horsepower will not consume as much gas, but will also have less speed.

Hybrids don't necessarily have to have less horsepower. The gas motor and electric motor of a hybrid can be combined to create as much horsepower as a conventional vehicle. For example, the conventional, four-cylinder Toyota Camry has 158 horsepower. While the four-cylinder, Hybrid Camry has 187 horsepower. So, not all hybrid are designed for fuel efficiency.

But, how can the Hybrid Prius attain 103 mph?

Serveral factors come into play. First, automotive technology has raised the speed limit for all vehicles in general. Russ Rader, spokesman for Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said that if he tried to go 100 mph in his 1983 Oldsmobile Delta 88, "It would probably shakes its bolts loose."

Second, the globalized car market has resulted in higher driver expectations that the Prius has to meet. Some European countries have no speed limit while the rest have higher speed limits than the US.

Third, for Prius advocates, "Efficiency is just another way to spell performance." In otherwords, Toyota optimized the Prius hybrid to have a high speed performance. They achieved this by aerodynamically designing the car to have low drag, light weight, and have tires with low rolling resistance which reduces the friction between the rubber and the road.

Michels states that the car has everything that a hotrodder wants "from aero resistance to rolling resistance, cooling systems and the powertrain itself."

Although it is no help to Gore, his arrest has show cased the Prius as a high speed car to be reckoned with. A poster on Priuschat.com. wrote "At least the bashers can't say the car is pokey or slow."

Want to Buy a Hybrid, But Afraid to Commit?

The rising demand for hybrids is overflowing at the car rental counter. Rental agencies are increasingly adding hybrids to their fleet of automobiles. Toyota Prius hybrids seem to be the hybrid of choice.

The rentals give Toyota Motor Corp. a chance to show off their Prius and give potential buyers a opportunity to try out a hybrid and decide if it would be right for them.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc., Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Avis Budget Group Inc. all offer Toyota's Prius hybrid at selected branches.

Hertz stated that it will invest $68 million to increase its fleets by 3,400 Prius hybrids by 2008. Consumers can rent a Prius from Hertz at 50 branches of the company's U.S airport locations. The New York City offices will have a 100 hybrids available.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in favor of increasing hybrid rental cars. He stated that the hybrid vehicles lines up the city's goal of reducing its emissions by 30 percent by the year 2030.

The stop and go traffic of Manhattan traffic is especially suited for hybrids as it allow them to run mainly on their electric motors thereby reducing vehicle emissions.

Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by as estimated 3,000 tons per year when a 1,000 ordinary rental cars are replaced by a Prius hybrid according to a Hertz's spokesman.

Not to be out done, Avis said it plans to make 1,000 Prius hybrid vehicles available right away. A spokesman for Avis, John Barrows, stated that the hybrids will be offered in its California, Portland, Seattle and Washington D.C. markets. Avis will consider expansion into other locations if the consumer demand for hybrids is apparent.

Already, Enterprise offers more than 3,000 hybrid electric vehicles, besides 41,000 flex-fuel cars and light trucks that can run on ethanol-based fuel.

Fox Rent A Car which has offices in the US and international affiliate locations around the world teamed up with EV Rental Cars. EV Rental, the only enviromental based rental car company in the US, has offices in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.

Jeff Pink, founder and CEO of EV Rental Cars decided he wanted a career in protecting the environment after descending into smog fill Los Angeles after vacating in Hawaii with his wife. So he started a rental car company with only green rental cars. Later he teamed up with Fox Rental A Car to increase his presence in the rental car market.

One of the hybrids in EV Rental's fleet is the Ford Escape Hybrid. So, consumers can try a SUV hybrid before they buy one. EV Rental bought the Escape Hybrids from a Ventura California dealer. However, Ford is not making the Escape Hybrids available to the general daily rental market. Unlike Prius, Ford Escape Hybrids are not mass produced. So far, EV Rental or Fox Rent A Car is the only rental company where you can try out a Ford Escape Hybrid.

Brian Chee, an automobile analyst for MyRide.com said that even with the additional hybrid vehicles to rental fleets, the hybrids still only represent a small portion of the rental market. Chee said that it would be interesting to see if rental companies still keep adding hybrids to their fleets after their initial expansion.

With its addition of 3,400 hybrids, Hertz shows the most promise for making hybrids available for rent in the US market. However, not all car dealers are enthusiastic about providing hybrid vehicles for rent. For example, an Austin-area Honda dealer said that it was against corporate policy to sell hybrids to rental agencies. The dealer expressed a desire to keep resale values high for consumers.

Will Diesel Hybrid Vehicles Be the New High Mileage Green Car?

Peugeot will be the first manufacturer to sell a small family car with a diesel electric-hybrid power unit. It will be a version of the new 308 model and will be on sale before the end of the decade. Peugeot does not sell in the US, but has watched the sale of hybrids such as the Prius in Europe and elsewhere. Toyota has sold about 5,000 Prius cars in the UK and more than 22,000 Prius cars in Europe. The Peugeot diesel hybrid is projected to average more that 70 mpg. It will have the lowest carbon dioxide emissions of any car except a pure electric car. Peugeot has declined for the present to quote a price stating that they are working to reduce the cost.

Meanwhile over in Japan, Toyota purchased a 5.9 share in Isuzu. Taking advantage of Isuzu's expertise in diesels, Toyota plans to combine its Synergy hybrid drive system with a diesel engine. A Toyota subcompact with this system is reported to be available by 2010. In the US, you may has seen a diesel hybrid-electric vehicle and not realized it. City transit buses, military ground vehicles, garbage trucks, delivery trucks and etc. have been using diesel hybrids for years.

Since diesel engines run optimally at steady speed highway driving, trucks are a natural for diesel engines. Thus, the combining of the diesel engine with a electric drive system is of great benefit to the heavy trucks that must also navigate city streets with its stop and go traffic. Other manufacturers, besides Toyota and Peugeot, are also working on developing their own diesel power hybrid vehicles. They include Citroen, Ford, Opel and Volkswagen. Until 2007, most diesel fuel sold in the US is the high sulfur variety which which is starting to be phased out by law in 2010. Now cleaner diesel fuel is starting to be available nationwide. This in turn is motivating the above mentioned manufacturers to develop diesel hybrid-electric vehicles.

This new diesel fuel is an ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel with a sulfur content of less than 15 part per million. By 2010, it will take more than 53 new trucks to equal the emissions of one 1988 truck. With the increased production of clean diesel fuel, most analysts predict that diesel sales will account for more than 10 percent of the US vehicle sales by 2015. Also, since diesel fuel is less flammable and explosive than gasoline, approximately 60 percent of US school buses are powered by diesel.

In addition, diesel vehicles usually get 20 to 40 percent more miles per gallon than gasoline vehicles. According the US Environmental Protection Agency, America could save up to 1.4 million barrels of oil per day if one third of US vehicles were diesel powered. This is the amount of oil currently imported from Saudi Arabia. These figures are for pure diesel vehicles. A diesel hybrid-electric vehicle would save even more on oil.

Finally, diesel drivers have the option of fueling their vehicles with blends of biodiesel. This is a domestically produced fuel that further reduces US oil dependence. By turning to a diesel hybrid-electric vehicle, American can save money at the pump without having to sacrifice power and performance that drivers have come to expect and rely on.

Car Safety Seat Installation Drives Parents Crazy

If you have struggled, sweat dripping down your face as you try to install your child's safety seat. Help is now on the way.

Parents now have the option of going to safety seat installment classes, calling for a Mobile Car Seat Check Up Van, or using their own personal, nationally certified child passenger safety technician to install their child's safety seat. You will have to check to see what your area offers.

Safe Kids Worldwide studies show that correctly installed safety seats increase the safety of kids. In a crash, the risk of death is decreased by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers when the car seat is properly secured. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a 2001 study found that 73 percents of the car seats were being installed improperly.

Not only must your child be appropriately fitted with the right car seat and safely restrained, but you must know what kind of seat your car can accommodate. Car seats are not standardized and their fit is different from car to car. Your car owner's manual or your dealer will be able to help you out in telling you what kind of car seat is compatible with your own car.

When you install the car seat, the manufacturer's instructions must be followed exactly. If you have lost or misplaced the instructions, you can call the company for another copy. The manufacturer can be found on the car seat label which will also have the address and phone number. To get a replacement, you must have the name of the car seat. That should also be on the label. If it does not have a label, do not purchase or use the seat as it may be damaged from a car accident.

If you can not understand the instructions once you find them, you can contact the manufacturer. Some hospitals and police stations offer assistance or workshops, too.
A study done by Safe Kids Worldwide shows that workshops on installing the car seats are quite effective. The study covers 29 states that held child passenger car seat installment clinics in 2005.

A second child safety seat clinic showed that 45 percent of the parents increased theirs skills when they came back to install booster seats. The parents had hands-on instructions on at a prior car seat installment class. However, Safe Kids Worldwide stated that while many parents had improved their skills, there was still room for improvement.

Besides improving parents skills in installing the seats, Safe Kids studies showed that the number of parents being taught these skills need to increase. Mainly, highly educated parents were reached while the less educated parents did not take advantage of these clinics. Also, they were not properly installing the seats.

As a result, Safe Kids plans to create more inspections stations and workshops in the low income neighborhoods. General Motors Corporation is the major financial supporter for this out growth. In an effort to reach all parents, General Motors sponsors 119 Mobile Car Seat Check Up Vans. They are employed in areas with no access to permanent safety inspection stations.

Does classes or tracking down an inspection station that may or may not be in your area seem like too much work? Or is hunting down tags and calling up manufacturers not your cup of tea?

Most of 30,000 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-certified Child Passsenger Safety Technicians work for free. A few charge a nominal fee. Debbi Baer, a delivery nurse and her daughter, a medical resident in Philadelphia work by appointment. Together, they get about 50 to 60 calls a week and do about 30 to 40 installations. Baer charge $15 for each installment but will waive her fee for someone who cannot afford it. She says that, "This is not a money making thing."

Everyone agrees that it should not take a trained professional to install your child's car seat. While manufacturers advertise that each year's model is easier to install than last year's, the sheer number and variety of seats is enough to confound a trained engineer.

Good fitting car seats keep your children safe. This is just as important is driving a safe car and keeping it in good condition which keep everyone safe

4 Ways the Average Car Owner is Being Overcharged at the Pump

After watching gas prices rise at an alarming rate, I have to speak out about it. Year after year oil companies raise the price above our comfort level. Then, they drop the price but never to the same level as before. Thus, conditioning the public to higher and higher prices. It is said that you could cook a lobster the same way. Just raise the temperature a little bit at a time. He will get used to the higher temperature and never know that he is being cooked until it is too late.

That is why I believe that hybrids, hybrid electric, all electric car, anything other than a pure gas using vehicle is the way to go. Ideally, I would like to see a car mass produced that does not use any gas at all. But, hybrids seem to be a practical solution for the time being.

Big oil companies manipulate gas prices many different ways. One way is by not repairing or replacing old worn out refineries. Therefore, creating a shortage of gasoline but not not a oil shortage. In California alone, ten refineries representing 20 per cent of the state's refining capacity were closed between 1985 and 1995.

For the year 2006, Exxon reported annual profit of $39.5 billion. This was the largest profit reported by any American company in history.

Yet, there has not been a new oil refinery built in the United States since 1976. All the remaining American refineries are running at full capacity. There is hardly anytime for the plants to shut down for routine maintenance and upkeep. Because if they do shut down, it causes a break in the production of gasoline resulting in a price rise. Either way, the oil companies win. They can save money by not repairing the refineries or earn more money from the shortages caused by refinery shutdowns.

Another way prices are manipulated, is when the temperature rises during the summer months. When the temperature of the gas rises over 60 degrees, the gas expands. However, the California pumps do not account for the bigger volume and the customers receive less gas than they should. California regulators have certified a temperature adjusted pump, but the oil companies are fighting the use of this pump.

Finally, the price at the gas pump is not following the price of crude oil. For example, the price of crude oil on april, 2006 was $65.67 per barrel. The national average during that time period averaged $2.631 while Californians paid an average $2.788 or 15.7 cents more than the rest of the United States. On April 23, 2007 the price of crude oil was $63.39, compared to the 2006 price of $65.67 per barrel. While at the pump, gasoline prices rose to a national average of $2.917 and California prices rose to $3.363 or 44.6 cents more than the national average.

My purpose of this discussion is to point out the advantages of using hybrid electric vehicles whenever possible. The price of crude oil may go up or down but the only direction for gasoline prices is up.

How You Can Save Money and Energy With the New Plug-in Electric Hybrid Car

A new prototype hybrid car was revealed by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Not only does it save on gas, but it can be used to power homes and businesses during blackouts or during hot summer days when energy prices soar.

In addition to reducing energy cost, V2G technology will allow consumers to be able to sell back energy to the utility during the hot summer months when energy demand is the highest. Hybrid vehicle owners may sell energy at the price threshold they select. When the price reaches this point, the utility will automatically take energy from the vehicle. The owner will have enough energy left over for the drive home. Payment to the vehicle's owner can be made in the form of earned credits from the amount of energy used by the utility toward their monthly energy bill.

V2G technology can increase the availability of renewable energy used during peak energy hours. Plug-in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) may charge their batteries at night when energy is inexpensive and is generated with a larger percentage of renewable resources. While electrical utilities usually have to buy power from expensive, less efficient, fossil fuel power generating sources during the day or times of maximum demand. But with PHEVs, utilities may purchase the renewable energy stored in the vehicle batteries.

PG&E demonstrated the first-ever utility Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology at Silicon Valley Leadership Group Alternative Energy Solutions Summit in California. The PHEV, a converted Toyota Prius, featured a 180 pound lithium battery that takes up the bottom of a back trunk where a tire would go. The vehicle produces about 9 kilowatts of electricity while the average house uses about 2.5 kilowatts of electricity on hour.

The PHEVs charge by plugging into a three-prong 110- to 120-volt outlet. Flipping a switch sends the charge to the home from the car, if the home needs energy during a blackout or high energy consumption days.

For the demonstration, the Prius ran several lights and appliances after reversing the flow of energy from the outlet to the vehicle.

The plug-ins, like the traditional hybrid, have both electric motors and batteries as well as a gasoline engine which turns on when the car runs about 20 to 25 miles per hour.

A plug-in hybrid vehicle with its larger battery, uses its gasoline engine less often and gets about 100 miles per gallon. In contrast, a 2007 Toyota Prius reaches about 55 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.

PG&E officials did not release a timeline of when V2G hybrid cars would be available to the general public. Since the auto industry is not yet increasing production of electric vehicles which require larger batteries, the PHEVs are not likely to be produced before 2012.

What this means to you, is that you will have way to turn your vehicle into a power storage system that will conserve energy and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Does Your Hybrid Vehicle Qualify for Full Tax Credits?

Not all 2007 tax credits for hybrid vehicles are the same, even if the taxpayer bought the same car. How is that possible?

The 2005 Energy Act providing tax credits for new hybrid vehicle owners include qualifications that the owners must meet. Some of the qualifications such as the following are clear cut.

1. The vehicle must be bought on or before 12/31/10 and driven or used after 12/31/05.

2. The tax credit may be claimed only by the original owner of the new hybrid. A preowned or used hybrid vehicle does not qualify for the credit.

3. In order to take advantage of their credit, some first time owners of hybrid vehicles might have to recapture their tax credit if they resell their hybrid car or truck.

4. The vehicle must be driven mainly in the United States.

5. If a hybrid vehicle is leased, the leasing company has the right to claim the tax credit, as the credit is only available to the original purchaser of the hybrid vehicle.

So far the hybrid owner only needs to take basic precautions. But the Energy Act goes farther and places other qualifications to consider such as the date of purchase and number of hybrids sold per car manufacturer.

The number of hybrids is limited by 60,000 hybrids per car manufacturers that may be claimed for taxes. Two hybrids that have met the 60,000 mark in June 2006 are Toyota and Lexus hybrids. Buyers who purchased their Toyota hybrid or Lexus hybrid before October 1 will have 100 percent of their tax credit. While buyers who purchased their hybrids on or after October 1 will have a tax credit that is reduced by 50 percent.

That means that some buyers of a new Prius or Lexus hybrid vehicle will qualify for the full $3,150 tax credit. While other buyers of the same vehicle will receive only a $1,575 tax credit. Therefore, the amount that the taxpayer may claim is not only based on the amount the vehicles qualifies for but also is based on the date the hybrid was purchased.

It should be noted that the tax credit will not last forever, but will be phased out by 2010. This is hurried along by reducing the amount of tax claims until it is gone.

For example, after 60,000 vehicles are sold, the taxpayer may claim the full amount of credit for that first quarter. For the second and third quarter after 60,000 vehicles are sold, the taxpayer may claim half or 50 percent of the tax credit. During the fourth and fifth quarter, the taxpayer may claim 25 percent of tax claim. After the fifth quarter the 60,000 vehicles are sold, no tax credit may be claimed.

A further limitation in claiming a tax credit is based on the type of vehicle purchased. This involves the amount of reduced emissions and fuels saved by the said vehicle. Only the type of vehicle is considered. Price is not a factor. You would guess that the more expensive hybrids would bring a higher tax credit. But, this is not always the case. For example, a $40,000 Lexus RX 400h hybrid commands a maximum of only a $2,200 tax credit.

Another consideration in limiting tax credits is the Alternative Minimum Tax (ATM), which may disqualify some other taxpayers.

Other hybrid manufacturers such Honda, Ford, GM have not meet the 60,000 limit and still qualify for the full amount. You do not have the same considerations, at the present time, that others such as Toyota hybrid owners must contend with.