By JOHN O'DELL, TIMES STAFF WRITER
A study by the Electric Power Research Institute says consumers like the
idea of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and that they could account for
one-third of mid-size cars sold in the U.S. if priced no more than 25%
higher than competing models powered by internal-combustion engines.
Sales appeal would climb to as much as 50% if prices--through
mass-production economies or government and private subsidies--dropped
closer to those of conventional vehicles.
Plug-ins, or grid-connected hybrids, work a bit like the unplugged Honda
Insight and Toyota Prius hybrids sold today in that they combine a gasoline
engine with an electric motor to boost mileage. But plug-ins are far
"greener" than the unplugged models--or would be if any of the auto makers
would build them. So far, the companies say they are too costly because they
require larger battery packs than unplugged hybrids.
Plug-in hybrids would be recharged overnight using 120-volt household
current and would run on pure electric power until their storage batteries
were drained. Proponents figure that present technology would enable the
industry to build models that run 20 to 60 miles (depending on size of
vehicle) on electricity before the gasoline engine kicks in.
Because most commuters drive fewer than 50 miles a day, use of plug-in
hybrids would mean that most weekday miles would be driven in zero-emission
electric mode, with the gasoline engines kicking in only on longer weekend
trips or extended commutes or business travel. By comparison, unplugged
hybrids use their gasoline engines almost all the time.
The Palo Alto-based Electric Power Research Institute is funded by the
utility industry and has a stake in promoting continued use of commercially
generated electrical power. But the group notes that its study was supported
by auto makers Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., state regulatory
agencies and the Energy Department as well. A copy of the study can be
obtained online at www.epri.com .
Green Dealers. Two Ford Motor Co. dealerships--Downey Ford in Southern
California and McHugh Lincoln Mercury in the Bay Area community of Los
Gatos--have become the first auto dealerships in the state to be certified
as "model shops" under the California Environmental Protection Agency's new
pollution prevention program.
The program is aimed at eliminating improper disposal of the myriad toxic
substances used in automotive service and repair shops.
The car dealerships' service personnel received pollution prevention
training from the state's toxic substances control unit; floor drains in the
service facilities were removed or blocked to keep substances out of the
sewer systems; and brake-and parts-cleaning systems were changed to
eliminate use of chlorinated solvents.
Cal-EPA estimates that each year a certified dealership will reduce its use
of hazardous substances by 960 gallons of volatile organic compounds and 60
gallons of chlorinated solvents; keep 52,800 gallons of polluted runoff from
draining into sewers; and eliminate 1.5 tons of absorbent materials that
otherwise would go to crowded area landfills.
Civic Duality. Honda Motor Co. made the long-anticipated hybrid Civic a
reality last month, announcing in Tokyo that the gasoline-electric car--not
a plug-in--will go on sale in Japan in December and emigrate to the U.S.
early next year.
The five-passenger Civic will be powered by a 1.3-liter gas engine augmented
by an electric motor that will provide additional power for acceleration and
climbing hills. Honda said the hybrid model will get the equivalent of 69
miles per gallon. A conventional gasoline-powered Civic can get as much as
47 mpg, depending on the engine and transmission package.
Honda's new hybrid will augment the two-seat Insight that has been sold in
the U.S. for more than a year and will give the company a car to compete
with Toyota's five-passenger Prius hybrid. Honda sold 3,601 Insights in the
U.S. in the first eight months this year, trailing Toyota, which has sold
9,756 of the larger and more practical Prius.
Fresh-Air Fares. EV Rental Cars--the 3-year-old purveyor of electric,
natural gas, hybrid and super-low-emission gasoline vehicles to
environmentally minded or just plain curious tourists, business travelers
and other car renters--says it will offer rental and used-vehicle purchase
discounts to supporters or employees of the American Lung Assn. of
California.
The promotion provides Lung Assn. staffers, volunteers and donors with
discounts of $300 a vehicle for the natural-gas-powered Honda Civic GX and
Ford Crown Victoria and the Honda Insight hybrid-electric vehicle.
EV Rental executive Terry O'Day said the company's Toyota Prius hybrids also
will be available but haven't accrued enough mileage yet to be turned out of
the rental fleet.
He said hybrid cars to be sold will have had 20,000 to 25,000 miles of
rental use, and the vehicles using natural gas will have logged about 15,000
miles in EV's fleet.
The Los Angeles-based company also will provide special rental rates to Lung
Assn. supporters and will contribute $2 to the group's California unit for
each rental of a cleaner-fueled vehicle, O'Day said.
Details on how to become eligible for the EV deals can be obtained online at
www.californialung.org or www.evrental.com .
