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94 Comments
- swordedge, on 10/11/2007, -1/+24Before it's release, Ford put 15 gallons of gas in an Escape Hybrid and ran it dry in New York City. It took well over 30 hours and something like 550 miles to do that. As I recall, it got 37.4 miles per gallon. I can't find the original story that told about this but here is a late one from Ford.
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/feature_display.cfm?release=17439
or for short http://tinyurl.com/2hea6h
When I first saw the escape hybrid, I had two reactions. About time and perfect pizza delivery vehicle. The about time is that it never made sense to me that the take high mileage cars and make higher mileages cars out of them.
I used to deliver pizza and everyone gets terrible mileage doing that. I got 15MPG on a stick shift five speed tempo. My regular driving mileage was more like 26. Even a rabbit diesel (shook the front windows in idle from the back of the store) got 55 highway, 44 city, 33 delivery according to it's owner. A hybrid Taxi fleet makes a LOT of sense. All they need is a hybrid tank, err, full sized car. (an Aussie told me they call them Yankee tanks)
- freakk123, on 10/11/2007, -1/+21I saw this on MSNBC the other night and it made me very happy. The more Bloomberg does, the more I like the guy. Hybrid cabs=good stuff.
- tgunner, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17In New York City, I'd think that an all electric vehicle would be ideal. Especially with all the idling taxi's do. Hybrids are a fantastic improvement from the Crown Vics though.
- swordedge, on 10/11/2007, -2/+14slightly less gray is an improvement
- PixelVision, on 10/11/2007, -4/+15Rudy Giuliani
- joshua5, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10kinda makes me wonder why its not like this already
- soulpiercer7, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10why not make them all electric? the technology is there. many independent companies are making them. You can save even more money and release even less pollution. since it's all in the city, range really isn't a big factor...
- moghua, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7wacki, you've been suckered. The CNW "research" was debunked ages ago. "Dust to dust" a Prius still far more environmentally friendly than any hummer.
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/hummer_versus_prius.html - sunsetprojects, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7I being an Electronic Fuel Injection specialist know some facts about diesel that most people don't.
1. Diesel engines have a little less horsepower but double the Torque.
2. Diesel engines burn clean when your not stomping the gas pedal.
3. Diesel engines have more then double the miles per gallon then a Gasoline engine.
4. All Diesel engines can run used cooking oil after you filter the stuff first.
5. Diesel engines love to be turbocharged.
6. My source I'm a EFI specialist and ASE certified. - tehpwnerofn00bs, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8hybrids are a great idea for New York City. The traffic hardly moves there, and hybrids get excellent gas mileage at a standstill. Admittedly, the Prius gets nowhere near its advertised 60mpg in the city, but 45-50 is still a lot better the the current taxi gets. The taxi services will save money in the long run.
- swordedge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6You may wake up now
http://www.evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=10635
http://tinyurl.com/2hug9o
http://tinyurl.com/5z2rq
And a video of a Diesel Electric Hybrid bus (those are coming to NYC too)
http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6079283.html - BackwardsPanda, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7100% Hybrid, eh?
- MadScientist420, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Our countries problem with diesel engines is the fact that everyone remembers the diesel's of the past (e.g. last gas crisis) that were much dirtier than today's diesels. The US also has stronger NOx emissions requirements, which is currently making it very hard on diesel engine makers. (Ask me how I know, I work on catalyst technology for reducing NOx emissions)
- HappyPig, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I think the worry (rational or not) is that cab-goers don't think they'll fit into a Prius with all their stuff and friends and small dogs and - and - and ... but think they will fit into a small SUV.
In reality, it's about the same space. I've driven both the Escape and the Prius and I can cram the same amount of junk in both. The Escape's just much higher off the ground. - rockchops, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6HOORAY!!
- izzydahedgehog, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5The cab itself doesn't save money, but the gas it doesn't burn does.
- PhillipJFry, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Vancouver population: 587,000
New York population: 8.1 million and 18 in the metro area.
Do you think it's even ***** fair to compare the two? Give mayor mike a break. He's done his best with the time alloted. - phrstbrn, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5@Kinjiru
Duh. Any sports car will outrun than a cop car. Nobody is denying that. Outrun is the key word.
Now, suppose the cop is chasing you in a small, fast sports car, like you suggest they use. No cop can safely knock you off the road, into a ditch, etc, without endangering his life or other innocent drivers if you decide to run. A squad of cops chasing you can't do it either. It will just be an endless goose case.
Now, you can outrun a single Crown Victoria, no problem. But you can't outrun a squad of highly trained, highly coordinated squad of cop cars. All it takes is ONE cop to catch you by surprise, chase is over. Crown Victoria vs your 240sx? Cop car comes out with a couple of scratches, your car has a good chance of being totaled, you go to the hospital for injuries, and then straight to jail.
Have you EVER seen a police chase won by speed? It's done through force, skill, and teamwork. Not speed. - Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Someone in the government is getting a kickback for this little attack on free choice.
- wacki, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4moghua,
Thanks for the link. I wasn't aware of that. - flamingmb, on 10/11/2007, -8/+11uh, cops use crown vics because they are durable, powerful, useful cars. If a cop were to use a honda or toyota there is no chance in hell they would be able to catch any car if it ran. I find it pretty discouraging to even consider running from the cops when I see the new Charger cop cars they have here in oregon.
- izzydahedgehog, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I think that as long as coal and oil power are as prevalent as they are, a pure electric car will just mean more fossil fuels burning somewhere else. I know that's something that the "big evil capitalists" said in 'Who Killed the Electric Car', but they have a point. Maybe when we have more/better/safer nuclear power (or better yet, wind and solar power) I will advocate an electric car. Until then I think hybrids are just fine.
- seanc6610, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Who cares what Vancouver is doing? More or less, you contradict yourself from the start by apparently insulting Bloomberg's (ambitious) plan, but then you mention the 5-10 years. In 5 years or less, 100% of NYC yellow cabs will be hybrid. And, in reality, it's not "slightly less gas" when you're driving stop-and-go in Manhattan - it's a lot less gas.
EDIT: If that's the problem with the hybrid movement, then why do you so admire Vancouver's "large number of hybrids"? - awoeonip, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3there was a good article about this in the times today
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/nyregion/23taxi.html?em&ex=1180065600&en=bbbd22806e29310f&ei=5087%0A - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Sorry to threadjack, but I called myself out on it, so that makes it ok.
does "100% hybrid" sound like an oxymoron to anyone else?
Thanks, I'll be here all week. - flamingmb, on 10/11/2007, -4/+7I would rather have a crown vic over a camry if I was trying to take down a car in a chase. And, sorry to break it to you, but no matter how many "NISMO" stickers you have they dont give you more horse power.
- MissinSoCal, on 10/11/2007, -4/+7Please Hybrid Tech is most efficient in city driving where the the constant stopping is always charging the batteries.
- swordedge, on 10/11/2007, -8/+10You have no clue on Cop Cars. They need to... Out run the idiots (short chases are always safer) and take lots of prisoners like you to the station. Can't do that with a Honda Civic.
- techtv04, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I don't get it is this what happens when you use a hybrid taxi.
- PixelVision, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Sand in your vagina, you have
- danarama, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2because it means 100% hybrid CABS in NYC.
- avalys, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4@swordedge
Sorry - I meant wake me up when I can buy one, not look at pictures of concepts online. - Kinjiru, on 10/11/2007, -8/+10@ flamingmb & swordedge
RAOTFLMAO!!!!! Ahh that shows how little you know... check out what MOST of the world is using as cop cars you twits.
(And yes the world consists of more than just the states...)
I drive an old 240sx and it'll outrun any cop car easily.. nevermind outhandling those huge hunks of crap.
Reality is 99% of the time a cop car is idling and wasting a ton of gas.
As for durability... *snickers* even a friend of mine that works for FORD and helped make the CV interceptors says they are complete *****. - thescimitar, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I do like the idea of hybrids in the city, but what I'd really like to see first is the implementation of Bloomberg's tax for entering manhattan. I know the BnT crowd will go ballastic over it, but it would eliminate a fair bit of traffic and in doing so, reduce idling traffic in the city. Even if that wasn't achieved, we could drastically increase tax revenue and on the backs of out-of-staters (sorry nj and ct). Less stop and go traffic means better gas mileage, hybrid or not.
It would also be good if we had some non-suv/light truck taxi hybrids too. I take cabs regularly for work, and it isn't often I see more than one or two people in the current van and suv taxis we have now. My only concern, for all hybrids, is damage... back when I lived off manhattan, I was near a taxi repair shop, and I was blown away by the sheer volume of repairs done there. Granted, 13,000 taxis means a lot of potential for damage, but this was just one shop, and they always had lines of cabs waiting for repair. It seems to me that a more expensive vehicle would almost certainly mean more expensive repairs, which probably means a fare hike wouldn't be far away, particularly given the current cost of a medallion in the city: $300,000 (at last auction). - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3@ flamingmb
No, they use Crown Vics and Impalas because they can buy them in large fleets cheaper than imports, and they cost less to fix when the cops ***** them up. It has absolutely nothing to do with durability. Also the fact that they are large and can accomodate most of the gear needed for patrol duty.
And yeah, a Civic Si w/ a turbo package could easily run circles around any of those V8 crown vics.
Disclaimer: I used to be in charge of purchasing fleet vehicles for a city PD. - pintomp3, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3yes, pure hybrid. got a problem with that?
- mkayatta, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Thank you for one person saying it! Don't even get me started on the monopoly of cab driving. Forced barriers to entry, no real competition...
- theodicey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Many taxis run 24 hours a day. Current electric cars need 6 hours of charging every 300 miles.
Until there's standardized replaceable electric car batteries...electric taxis aren't gonna happen. - Astaro, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@madscientist
Diesels run dignificantly cooler than petrol engines, which means they should produce signigificantly less NOx than a petrol engine.
Sulfur however, is another problem, and one that hinges on your fuel supply. many countries have shifted entirely to low-sulfur diesel. the U.S is not one of them. - apeweek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1How about with 10-minute rechargable batteries? Like in the Phoenix electric car: http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com
The same batteries are also in the ZAP-X electric vehicle: http://zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4560 - apeweek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The newest electric cars don't have to charge for hours anymore. 10-minute recharge batteries are in electric cars like these:
http://phoenixmotorcars.com
http://zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4560
And electric cars pollute less than any other (motorized) transportation option, even when powerplants burn dirty fuel, because higher efficiency = more miles on less energy = less pollution. Details in this collection of well-to-wheels studies of electric vehicles (PDF):
http://sherryboschert.com/Downloads/Emissions%5B9%5D.pdf
And on this website (about finding cheap electric vehicles):
http://squidoo.com/cheap-electric-car - supermanred, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Wouldnt smaller cabs with more reliable gas engines be more fuel efficient? The extra 1000-1500 pounds the dual engines add to these things usually makes them not as fuel efficient as they would portray in the advertising. Makes wannabe hippies feel good, but those in the know arent too impressed with the current hybrid technology.
- TLAKABM, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Oh, right. It's still ambiguous though.
- swordedge, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2build your own!!!! ;-)
Actually, I hear that hummer may really do a civilian one. They need to badly as some are barely out of the single digit mileage. - swordedge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I wonder how many fairs the cab looses while it's batteries are recharging for hours? For taxi's, till you can either swap out the battery pack in a few minutes or recharge it in 10, hybrids will make more sense economically.
Oh, and is your car electric? There is nothing stopping you from buying one or converting something to it. - dikiz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1humm Pryus? yeah good eco-friendly decision, but as a foreigner I can say It won't be NYC anymore.
- apeweek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It may seem like BS to you, but it's a real product. The Phoenix is being built already for fleet use by companies like PG & E. Ten-minute recharges are accomplished with storage banks of batteries or supercapacitors. Electricity is accumulated over time, preferably at night when rates are cheap, and released quickly into car batteries when the car needs charging. Check out the links I provided - two of the cars use the Altairnano batteries.
Fast recharge stations are more likely to be provided by service stations, not in your home. - ChromaVita, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3hey avalys! wake up! wake up! it's here it's here!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel-electric_locomotive#Diesel-electric - bratpack8, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Wait until we have the next environmental disaster -- what to do with all the old batteries from electric and hybrid cars?
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Oh and all of you dick-waving about what car is fastest and why the cops use them? Cops could all drive H1 hummers and still catch you on a Suzuki Hayabusa. You can't outrun the radio. Cops don't care about speed OR handling. If they did, they'd all drive sport bikes.
The Crown Vics are CHEAP, hold lots of *****, and are cheap to fix. It doesn't matter how fast they go. That's the bottom line. -
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