Just a reminder that everything is connected. That is why motorcycling makes me interested in middle east war. Motorcycling connects to propaganda and back in six steps: "Motorcycling > price of gas > war in middle east > religion > propaganda > fuel efficiency > motorcycling"Now Honda has come out with a new hybrid that makes it more fun to save gas. The new 2010 Insight has available CVT (continuously variable transmission, similar in function to Mary Ann's burgman 400, also available on the Prius), and the usual Hybrid technology including regenerative braking. They are priced starting at under $24,000 in Canada, which is less than the $30,000(?) Prius. But what I find most significant is the recognition of the need for driver feedback on fuel efficiency. As I have said before in a previous blog, our fuel efficiency problems are mostly mental.
One of the biggest problems with fuel economy is that is is out of sight, out of mind. A high powered engine is always able to show its power at the touch of a gas pedal. More than anything else, this constant awareness of power drives our "need" for more powerful cars. Anyone, even a car lover or an engineer can appreciate the achievement of fuel economy. It can be just as exciting and interesting as the achievement of more power and speed. Car and motorcycle fanatic Jay Leno has said so on his website, Leno's Garage, and he has quite a few high efficiency vehicles to prove it, along with the usual assortment of gas guzzlers. But to have fun saving gas, you need something to make it more visible, more immediate and psychologically satisfying.
Honda has taken the psychology a step further. First, they copied the style of the original Prius, which was pretty good aerodynamically. But even more important they are now creating a "style" that is becoming recognizable across the industry. Just as "Muscle cars" had a certain style across all makes, so now do fuel efficiency cars. If you're driving a muscle car, you generally want it to look like a muscle car. It's the same with a green car, and now we seem to be getting a recognizable green car look.
Next is the computerized dashboard display, which is almost like a video game within the cockpit. Indicators of current fuel efficiency, visual cues about how well you are doing, markers as "rewards" for an efficient trip, and something to brag about. Mary Ann finds it frustrating when someone asks about her Burgman's fuel economy and she says she has gotten 70 mpg (Canadian) and asks them what they get and they say "My gas mileage is real good". "Well what is it?" "It goes really far on a tank of gas." Coincidentally, a test driver reported getting 70 mpg with the new Insight on one trip.
Feedback is important to driver satisfaction, and it has always been less with green cars than for muscle cars. Once people get used to knowing the fuel efficiency of their cars as well (or better) than they know the horsepower or torque ratings, more people will start to buy their cars based on fuel efficiency rather than brute power.
It's a lot of fun to drive fast, but it's also a lot of fun to drive efficiently. Both are mental challenges, but if the only satisfaction you get out of taking it easy is an ambiguous readout at the pump every 500 km, then you will get bored driving efficiently long before the end of the tankful.
http://drivingtv.canada.com/CarReviewVideos.php?ccID=750
Aerodynamics is a big part of fuel efficiency ... Honda even faired the bottom of the original Insight to minimize airflow disruptions. So it's not surprising that cars look more and more alike, and that the Insight bears more than a nodding resemblance to the old Prius.
ReplyDeleteHowever, IMHO, the hybrid is still a dead end, at best a transitional technology on the way to fully electric vehicles. In engineering terms, less is more, and combining the complexities of internal combustion and electric drive components is kludgey.
I'm not impressed with the Insight's fuel economy ratings either ... 4.0-4.5 l./100Km is good, but we're nowhere close to the eventual goal of 'one litre' equivalency which, I believe, can only be achieved by electric drive.
(Or by extreme engineering of internal combustion vehicles.)
Having millions of small independent thermodynamic electricity plants running around on our roads is inherently less efficient than the alternative.
On the other hand, to a large degree, this is about 'feel good' and I'd much rather this, than people feeling good about their stinkin' gas gulping SUVs!