You Might Be Very Surprised

A few days back I posted a You Tube presentation about two professors from Duke University who came up with a different, and in their minds, more accurate way to determine the efficiency of the engine in your vehicle.

It’s nice to know how many miles per gallon (MPG), or as the profs say, gallons per mile (GPM) your vehicle will get, but there’s more, much more to that equation.

First of all, you’re paying a premium for regular gasoline, $4 maybe in excess of $5 a gallon, and you decide to fill it up.  Sticker shock will settle in quickly, but how about this, how many hours will you have to work in order to pay for that fuel?

CNN has posted a super simple calculator to help you determine how long you’ll have to work in order to fill the gas tank on your car.  The link is below, along with another link that ties into the overall cost of owning a car, and a chart to see how your vehicle stacks up against the least expensive cars to own, and they aren’t hybrids.

How Much is Your Vehicle Costing You Each Day?

Face it, whether moving constantly or sitting in the garage for days on end, your vehicle is costing you money.  Here are the considerations:

• Depreciation (your vehicle loses value every day)
• Financing
• Insurance
• Taxes & Fees
• Maintenance
• Repairs

The Edmunds Company has posted a great “True Cost to Own” (TCO) page that helps determine what your vehicle is costing you over a five-year period, based on being driven an average 15,000 miles a year.  The calculator offers new or used options, for model years 2003 thru 2007.  The link is below, and when you’ve figured the “True Cost to Own” for your vehicle, along with total cash price and the average cost per mile, compare your car with the ones below.

Just remember, all the figures you come up with are averages, and won’t necessarily be an accurate depiction of your costs.

What Are the Ten Cheapest Cars to Drive?  They’re Not Hybrids!

The Edmunds company used their calculator to look at the latest 2008 model vehicles, to see which ones would be the cheapest to own over a five year period.  Surprisingly, there isn’t a single hybrid in the bunch, as a matter of fact, hybrids didn’t do all that well.

A quick rundown of the least expensive in order:

1. Chevrolet Aveo 5 Special Value 4dr Hatchback
2. Hyundai Accent GS2dr Hatchback
3. Honda Fit 4 dr Hatchback
4. Toyota Yaris 2dr Hatchback
5. Honda Civic DX 4dr Sedan
6. Nissan Versa 1.8 S 4d Hatchback
7. Mazda MAZDA3 i Sport 4dr Sedan
8. Kia Rio 4 dr Sedan
9. Scion xB 4 dr Wagon
10. Toyota Corolla CE 4dr Sedan

The lease expensive to operate in the first year was the Chevrolet Aveo costing $0.427 a mile to operate.

The Toyota came in at $0.468 a mile for the first year, so you can see the margins are small.

Moving to the Hybrids

Same order, least expensive first:

1. Honda Civic Hybrid 4dr Sedan gas/electric hybrid CVT
2. Toyota Prius Standard 4dr Hatchback gas/electric hybrid CVT
3. Nissa Altima Hybrid 4dr Sedan gas/electric hybrid CVT
4. Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 4dr Sedan gas/electric hybrid 4A
5. Ford Escape 4dr SUV gas/electric hybrid CVT
6. Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4dr SUV gas/electric hybrid CVT
7. Toyota Camry Hybrid 4dr Sedan gas/electric hybrid CVT
8. Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV gas/electrc hybrid CVT
9. Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4dr SUV AWD gas/electric hybrid CVT
10. Lexus RX 400h 4dr SUV gas/electric hybrid CVT.

The Honda Civic Hybrid came in at $.0476 a mile while the last place Lexus RX 400h would cost an estimated $0.897 per mile.

Again, these are estimates based on a system of calculations by the Edmunds Company and explained on their website.

You’ll find the complete totals on the “Hybrid Vehicles Not Best Value According to Edmunds” link below.

So, How Many Hours Do You Have To Work To Own Your Vehicle?

The math should be easy from here, if you work an 8 hour day, 40 hours a week you work 1080 2080 hours a year.  Average out the total amount of gas you buy for a year, divide by 1080 2080 and there you have it.  Then add that number to the one you found through the Edmunds calculator and that should give you the total number of hours you need to work to support your car.

CNN’s Hours for Gallons Calculator

The Edmunds Cost to Own Calculator

Hybrid Vehicles Not Best Value According to Edmunds

So there you have it, only you will know exactly how much your vehicle is costing you, and if not, I hope these guides will help you determine your own costs.

Happy motoring!

Some Related Articles:

Are Automakers To Blame For Consumer Car-Buying Trends? Auto Alliance Weighs In

Low Cost Gas Engine Innovation Doubles Fuel Economy

High Gas Prices: Empty Tanks Are the New Black In California

Prototype Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid: 88 MPG on 85% Ethanol

Image Credit:  http://visiblevote08.logoonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/gas-pump-71806.jpg

]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/27/how-many-hours-do-you-have-to-work-to-fill-your-gas-tank/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/20/second-annual-clean-air-car-show-in-south-pasadena-july-20th-2008/ http://gas2.org/2008/05/20/second-annual-clean-air-car-show-in-south-pasadena-july-20th-2008/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 20:28:59 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/05/20/second-annual-clean-air-car-show-in-south-pasadena-july-20th-2008/ For anyone who’s interested and in the area, on July 20th the second annual Clean Air Car Show in South Pasadena will be highlighting auto manufacturers with hybrids and low emissions vehicles, along with the next generation of these and other alternative energy vehicles.

Since California is the largest market for hybrids and other low emissions vehicles, the show should be full of new models trying to capture this large Southern California market. For more information, see the press release:

(South Pasadena, CA) - The City of South Pasadena, in association with State Senator Gilbert Cedillo and Assemblymember Anthony Portantino, will once again present its free Clean-Air Car Show and Film Festival on Sunday, July 20, 2008. The success of last year’s inaugural event demonstrated that the public is eager to learn about the new technologies that can lead to cleaner, more healthful air for people and pets, help reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, address growing concerns over global warming, and strengthen our national and economic security. Like last year, the show will be part of an effort to promote cleaner, more efficient alternatives to the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine by showcasing emerging alternatives like Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid, Electric, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Ethanol, and Biodiesel vehicles.

Free movies centering on environmental themes are planned to be shown throughout the day at the historic Rialto Theatre. In addition, the popular mini-seminars on environmental topics will once again be held in the Stage Tent.

Last year an estimated 3,500 people from around the region were drawn to this charming San Gabriel Valley city, nestled between Los Angeles and Pasadena. “Southern California is one of the largest markets for clean-air cars, and South Pasadena is the perfect place to see them all,” says South Pasadena Councilmember Michael Cacciotti. “I’ve had people tell me that last year’s show helped them pick their next car, and they learned more about the environment and air quality. With gasoline prices at an all-time high and rising, attending this year’s show will be even more appealing.”

Exhibit space and sponsorships are still available. Manufacturers, reps, and sellers are encouraged to contact the City of South Pasadena to get involved.

For more details, visit www.ci.south-pasadena.ca.us/whatsnew/cleanaircarshow.html . To sign up for exhibit space and/or a sponsorship, please contact Jeannie Chiu at 626-403-7239.

About South Pasadena:
The City of South Pasadena is a full service City of 25,000 that maintains its own Police and Fire departments, an active Parks and Recreation program and an outstanding Public Library. South Pasadena is also known for its commitment to an excellent public school system and support for a thriving business community with unique shops and restaurants. All of these things combine to maintain the small-town atmosphere that makes South Pasadena one of California’s most desirable locations. Learn more at www.ci.south-pasadena.ca.us.

Electric and hybrid electric car manufacturer Aptera has been turning heads since the first announced their space-age looking Typ1 prototype. The sub $30,000 electric version of the Typ1 has a range of 120 miles and is expected to be ready for limited release later this year.

Take a look at the latest video from Aptera, a guided tour of their factory:

You can also see pictures of the facility here.

Related Post: Aptera’s $26,000 Electric Car and 300 MPG Hybrid Coming Soon

This is something I (and a lot of other people) have been wondering about for a while in regards to plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs, like the Chevy Volt) and pure electric vehicles (EVs, like the Lightning GT and Subaru R1e). PHEVs are not a new thing, and they have been discussed on Gas2.0 before, but there is some interesting news that recently came out of Carnegie Mellon University suggesting that if we don’t make our power generation system less carbon intensive, PHEVs could have little benefit over regular hybrids (HEVs).

More after the jump!

Unfortunately, if you want to see the original article, you’ll have to buy it, but for the rest of us, Green Car Congress has written a good article about the findings and the implications of this study.

There is no doubt that PHEVs result in good fuel economy figures — GM is currently touting its PHEV-to be, the Volt, as getting 150MPG over all. However, they aren’t necessarily super efficient. Instead, they achieve these high numbers by supplementing the power produced by their gasoline engines with power taken from the grid. This has caused controversy lately, as hybrid-opponents often claim that battery production and the use of energy from the grid actually makes these cars bigger GHG polluters. However, if you look at this chart posted by GCC, you can see that both HEVs and PHEVs have a clear advantage over conventional cars, even when battery production is factored in:

This chart assumes the national mix of power from the grid, and as I said, shows pretty clearly the advantage of HEVs over conventional vehicles (CVs), but also shows that with the current mix of power sources on the grid, PHEVs aren’t that much better than your standard HEVs. I don’t say this to suggest that we should be shutting down PHEV research or production, but rather I think we should embrace the ability to consolidate our efforts in “greening” only one particular industry rather than trying to attack every one separately.

What I mean by this is that if our vehicles all drew power from the grid, making the grid more efficient would both improve standard energy usage as well as make motor vehicles less polluting. As it stands now there is a huge rift, where some are trying to improve the grid by adding things like wind power and others are trying to improve vehicle fuel economy or introduce hydrogen cars.

In fact, as noted by GCC, if the grid were low-carbon, PHEVs would reduce lifecycle GHG emissions of 51-63%, something anyone would admit is a huge improvement for motor vehicles.

You can check out this chart (if you can read it, click for a bigger version) to see how the different vehicles compare under different scenarios:

How do you all feel about PHEVs? Are they the new thing of the future or just another set-back on the way to pure EVs? Or is a hydrogen economy in store for us in the future?

Related Posts:
How Solar Panels Could Power 90% of US Transportation
Algae Could Be Major Hydrogen Fuel Source
Toyota to Pioneer Hybrid Racing Technology?
Google To Spend $10 Million on Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Project
Subaru Unleashes R1e Electric Car on New York
Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants By 2030 (Or None At All)
100 MPG+ Plug-In Hybrids Already Available (Check ‘em Out)
Plug-In Hybrids Use Over 17 Times More Water Than Regular Cars, Researchers Say

As usual, Google is at the forefront of, well, everything. But this one is a little surprising: their philanthropic branch, Google.org, is putting $10 million into plug-in electric hybrid research and real-world testing. If you’ve been reading Gas 2.0 lately, you already know that’s as much as will be rewarded to the winners of the 2010 Automotive X Prize for revolutionary green car technology.

Last September, Google offered up the $10 million in a formal Request For Proposals (RFP), saying they wanted to invest in any company that would “accelerate the commercialization of alternative transportation that reduces vehicle fossil fuel use and climate emissions.” In other words, getting plug-in hybrids, fully electric vehicles, vehicle-to-grid capabilities, and batteries and other storage technologies on the market.

Google’s own project, called RechargeIT, hopes to accelerate the development of plug-in hybrid and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. They’ve already set up a demonstration fleet by adding plugs and batteries to four Prius and two Ford Escape Hybrids. In an ongoing analysis, Google will be using performance data from the fleet to examine the usefulness of plug-in hybrids and their ability to transfer power to and from the electricity grid (that’s the V2G part). Google will also experiment with drawing power for the cars from their solar charging stations campus.

You can follow along with the results of Google’s performance data on the RechargIT.org dashboard or blog. You can also compare emissions and mileage data to your own vehicle with Google’s Vehicle Calculator.

To find out more about how a Prius or Escape hybrid can be converted into a 100 mpg+ plug-in vehicle, see these posts:

• 100 MPG+ Plug-In Hybrids Already Available (Check ‘em Out)
• Get 120 MPG Out of Your Prius (Plug It In)
• Sick of Gas?: Convert Your Car To Run On Electricity

Related Posts:
Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants By 2030 (Or None At All)
Plug-In Hybrids Use Over 17 Times More Water Than Regular Cars, Researchers Say
Could Hybrid Vehicles Hinder Development of More Sustainable Alternatives?

Source: SolveClimate.com (Mar. 23, 2008): Google’s New Search Function: The Best Eco-Engine

Photo Credit: RechargeIT.org

Hybrid electric vehicles that run on both conventional gasoline and stored electricity can be no more than a stop gap until more sustainable technology is developed, according to researchers in France. They suggest that the adoption of HEVs might even slow development of more sustainable fuel-cell powered electric vehicles.

The researchers go on to argue that the “misinformed craze” for hybrids in the U.S. is creating a situation where every manufacturer must include hybrid technology in their portfolio in order to stay afloat:

“Such a convergence is based more on customer perception triggered by very clever marketing and communication campaigns than on pure rationale scientific arguments and may result in the need for any manufacturer operating in the USA to have a hybrid electric vehicle in its model range in order to survive.”

But which technologies are hybrids precluding, anyway? Certainly not plug-in hybrids or fully electric vehicles, which seem fully compatible with gasoline-electric models. The study authors point to possibility of sustainable hydrogen fuel cells being delayed, but then admit that these won’t be around any time soon, anyway (not to mention finding a sustainable hydrogen source).

While I don’t think anyone here is going to buy their argument, it does offer some food for thought. In the near-term, will we settle on hybrid-technology even when higher-mileage or more sustainable alternatives exist?

What do you think?

Related Posts:
The World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car: 285 MPG, Not A Hybrid
Aptera’s $26,000 Electric Car and 300 MPG Hybrid Coming Soon
Plug-In Hybrids Use Over 17 Times More Water Than Regular Cars, Researchers Say
Get 120 MPG Out of Your Prius (Plug It In)

Source:
Science Daily (Feb. 8, 2008): Hybrid Electric Vehicles Not As Green As They Are Painted, Analysts Contend

Photo Credit

Clayton has an Honors B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry from the University of Utah. He most recently left a position at Oregon State University in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.

Link to Gas2

A 30-mile commute in a gasoline-powered car would require the withdrawal of 18.9 gallons of water… The same commute in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), meanwhile, would take a whopping 318 gallons…

So what accounts for the increase in water usage? PHEV’s don’t require water directly, but the power plants that power them do:

Any power plant that runs steam turbines uses water, whether fired by coal, natural gas, or nuclear energy, says King, a mechanical engineer at the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT. Many plants consume water by running it through cooling towers where it evaporates away. Plants can also tie up water resources via withdrawal, in which plants recycle water that is drawn from a reservoir.

This is enough of an increase to warrant consideration by public policy-makers, especially in arid climates. If 25% of the nation’s fleet converted to plug-in vehicles it would require an additional 1 billion gallons of water for electricity generation. For comparison, that’s almost half the total urban water used by the state of California in one year.

But no one, including the study authors, is saying that plug-in hybrids should be blacklisted. It just adds an important consideration for water-stressed areas that have plans for a grid-based automotive fleet. It also highlights the importance of using sustainable (wind, solar) sources of electricity for electric vehicles.

And as far as the alternatives go: PM pointed out that growing a bushel of corn requires 2200 gallons of water, which only makes 2.7 gallons of ethanol. I would take a fleet of plug-ins over a fleet of Flex-Fuel vehicles any day.

Related Posts:
Get 120 MPG Out of Your Prius (Plug It In)
Sick of Gas?: Convert Your Car To Run On Electricity
Will Plug-In Hybrids Become the Standard?

Source:
See the study here.
ES&T (Feb. 20, 08): Plugging in to more water use
Popular Mechanics (Mar. 7, 08): Plug-in Cars Could Drain U.S. Water Supply, Researcher Says

Photo Credit

The very first automotive electrical system was fired by a magneto, a simple device that requires no battery. Simply stated, the engine spins a magnet inside a coil, which creates electricity. A contact breaker, or switch, controls the release of electricity to the spark plug, creating a spark to ignite the fuel making the piston(s) go up and down accordingly.

As a matter of fact, to this very day, piston-driven motors such as those found in lawnmowers, chainsaws, and snowblowers, to name a few, all have a magneto creating the spark that drives the engine. Magnetos are used on a variety of aircraft. A single-engine plane would have two magnetos, for safety and an extra power boost to save fuel.

The magneto was introduced to automobiles in 1899, and was used on many vehicles until the early 1900’s, when electrical systems on vehicles began demanding more power to operate headlights, interior and tail/stop lights. I don’t know if you’ve seen the very old movies that show a man cranking an engine to get it started. Lots of broken arms in those days, and that’s when the 6-volt battery, a generator to keep it charged, starter, distributor, coil and other components became the norm.

I remember as a kid in high school, taking my date to a movie, the drug store for a soda, and then a few tender moments on a lonely country road, trying to get to know one another better. Note that “trying” is the operative word here. That’s my car in the picture, a 1939 Studebaker Commander. What a ride.

It was necessary to have the radio on of course, but there was a caveat. Radios in those days required vacuum tubes to create their sound, and they were very energy intensive. So, it was necessary to park on a fair-sized incline, just in case we listened to the radio too long and the battery ran down.

I parked on the incline so she wouldn’t have to push so hard to get the car rolling fast enough so I could “pop” the clutch to start the engine. And of course, she wouldn’t have to walk uphill after all that pushing.

After the war, the 1950’s saw advances in car technology, and more demand on the electrical system, so 6-volt batteries and generators were replaced by 12-volt systems and alternators. Little has changed in the past 50 years, except more demands are being placed on those same systems today.

Now, it looks like the 42-volt system is the next step, possibly within the next couple of years. Cars will have 36-volt batteries and 42-volt electric systems, which will be integral to the development of hybrid-electric and fuel-cell vehicles.

If you’re wondering about the necessity for greater voltage, maybe I can help a bit.

I liken the flow of electricity through wires to the flow of water through a pipe. There are similarities, and it helped me understand the process.

Let’s go back to the 6-volt battery. In electrical terms, a volt is the amount of “push” electrons are given to flow through a wire, better known as current flow, which is measured in amperes.

A 6-volt battery, then, would supply a finite number of amperes to operate a car’s electrical system.

If you had a pump that created six-pounds of pressure on water in a pipe, the water would flow through the pipe with enough force to power, let’s say, a water-wheel designed to carry out a process requiring that much energy.

Increasing the load on the water wheel beyond what the six-pound pump could produce, you’d need a larger water pump. It’s the same with electricity. A larger load requires a more powerful pump.

Today’s vehicles have pushed electrical systems to the max, and it’s time for a change. There are on-board computers to run, ear-splitting sound systems, seat warmers, heated steering wheels, power windows, seats, rear-view mirrors, heads-up displays, global positioning and whatever else they can think of to use power.

Factor in the new electric cars and we’re faced with electric power steering and brakes, electric heating and cooling units, and those batteries to keep charged and running, to name a few.

42-volt systems are complex, and the changeover will undoubtedly create confusion not only to the general public, but to technicians who may not fully understand electricity. The ones who do should be cherished and celebrated.

The day of the shade-tree mechanic is slowly coming to an end. Much the pity, I found it a lot of fun.

My, how things have changed. There are more fuel choices, and a trip to the MapQuest Gas Prices website will show you what I mean.

Not only will you be able to find out what fuel is available at your destination, but where you can find it and the cost. If you’re driving from one point to another, MapQuest has a Gas Price Calculator that allows you to input the length of your trip and the price of gasoline when you get there and fill-up. Add in the miles per gallon your car gets and you get an estimate of what the trip will cost in terms of fuel.

Pretty nifty, huh? You can browse by State and City, or browse by fuel types by state and then pick the city. Once there, you can drag to Pan Maps and Aerial Images.

For the alternative fuels market, you’ll find where to buy biodiesel, E-85 Ethanol, or electric plug-in stations in case you have a plug-in hybrid or choose to rent an electric car. They also include the different natural gas options too, CNG, LNG or LPG.

The site is updated seven times a day, and the prices aren’t always what they seem. Some stations fail to update their prices so MapQuest removes any price older than 48 hours.

Even if you aren’t traveling, this is a fun site. I’ve checked out my home town in Illinois and other places just to see what fuels are available and the prices.

These transmission systems will be for so-called “mild hybrids,” which boost acceleration and can make engines work more efficiently in stop-and-go traffic, but can’t run on battery power alone and don’t offer the same fuel savings as a full hybrid (like a Toyota Prius, which connects an electric motor and batteries to a standard combustion engine.). The carmakers should have the mild hybrid vehicles ready for the road in the next 3 years.