Category: (Book)
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Hybrids- the new car generation ?Reviewed by Petra Calman, 2009-11-22
I think that hybrids and electric cars will be the new car
generation in the next 10 years.
My husband and I strongly considering to buy a car like this.
This book helped us even more to make our decision.
Less pollution, great gas mileage and a big reduce of dependence on
imported oil and the way the author described it, makes this book
even more interesting.
A Well-Written Book That Misses the PointReviewed by Father Bowers, 2009-08-05
Many people view the plug-in hybrid as a stepping stone. In other words, we can't just go from 100 years of burning gas in cars for fuel to not using gas at all. While the author's arguments are well-researched and well-founded, I find part of the answer to our importation of foreign oil missing. Plug-in hybrids cars use both an electric motor AND an internal combustion engine (Gas). When you run out of electric power (from plugging in), the car converts to gas and internal combustion. So actually, there are even more moving parts in a plug-in hybrid. And big automotive gets to keep selling us transmissions, oil filters, water pumps, etc. While plug-in hybrids may help with long trips (an objection people have made to 100% electric cars), for the average commuter, why buy a hybrid with an internal combustion engine if 100% electric cars become available? According to "Who Killed the Electric Car", the NiMH batteries that fueled the 100% electric Saturn EV-1s met the needs of 95% of consumers. I would rather put my eggs in that basket than new, complicated and expensive plug-in hybrids.
Everything you want to know about electric cars and plug-in
hybrids, and why they are not yet in the marketReviewed by Emc2, 2009-04-13
This is a very well written and comprehensive treatise regarding
the technological evolution and behind the scenes stories of
electric cars, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, reflecting the
state-of-the-art as of circa 2006 (a lot has happened since).
Despite the author's ideological bias, a committed environmentalist
and co-founder of the San Francisco Electric Vehicle Association,
Mrs. Boschert makes an objective and strong case for plug-in
hybrids as a readily available solution for the US to begin its
trek toward oil independence, cleaning urban air, and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. She shows how California's experience
demonstrates that battery technology is already advanced enough for
plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles to be available in the market
today.
The book debunks several myths and misconceptions regarding these
alternative fuel vehicles, and its main focus is the alleged
resistance and boycott by Detroit Big Three and Big Oil to avoid
any shift towards electric cars or plug-in hybrids, and explains
why hybrids, such as the Prius, have been the only option tolerable
to them. Several inside stories are used to support this conspiracy
theory, particularly regarding the killing of the electric vehicles
launched by several automakers in the late nineties as a response
to California's Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate.
Even though at first this work might look as the companion book to
the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, Mrs Boschert goes
well beyond. Besides the fight to save the electric cars GM's EV1
from being crushed, the book also recounts the campaign led by
[...] (now Plug In America) activists, and its partial success in
rescuing some Ford's Th!nk, and Toyota's RAV4-EV. Along the way,
the book tell the initiatives and struggles of several activists
and key figures including UC Davies Professor Andrew Frank,
considered the father of the plug-in hybrid; activists and
enthusiasts from Calcars, the group that converted and developed
the PRIUS+, able to reach up to 100 mpg when plug-in; and James
Woolsey, former CIA Director, who is advocating the plug-in as a
mean to free the US from its oil addiction. The final chapters
recount the amazing story on how environmentalist and conservatives
have joined forces to promote plug-in hybrids as a readily
available solution regardless of their opposing views on global
warming.
Despite the political tone and conspiracy theories, the book is
worth the reading if you are interested in learning about this
alternative technology. Chapter 2 presents an excellent summary
about the basics and performance characteristics regarding plug-in
hybrids and electric cars, and the different kinds of hybrids,
including "hollow" or "mild" hybrids, and even flex-fuel hybrids
(with cellulosic ethanol, as the author incorrectly dismisses all
types of current bioethanol, not even sparing the sustainable and
environmentally friendly Brazilian sugarcane ethanol). Chapter 3
discusses hydrogen fuel-cell cars, the preferred technology choice
of several academics, environmental groups and the carmakers. This
is the alternative where most of the funds and research is focused
today, though it is not expected to become commercially available
for several decades. She explains why this solution does not make
sense, plus the hurdle imposed by the infrastructure required at a
national level for hydrogen fuelling stations. For the sake of
fairness, the pros and cons of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle are more
comprehensively presented in Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward
Sustainability, a book written by reputable scholars who explain in
detail why hydrogen vehicles are considered by several groups the
"Holy Grail" of alternative fuel vehicles.
After having read both books, Mrs. Boschert fully convinced me of
the virtues of plug-in hybrids and their cousins. I also find
ridiculous that environmental groups and scholars are taking sides
with alternative fuel technologies, guessing negative impacts and
picking a winner beforehand. For most countries it is urgent to get
out of oil dependence and to clean the air, so all available
options must be explored. In the long term the market will decide
which new technology will prevail, if just one, because I believe
they are not mutually exclusive, but rather complement each other.
For example, in the case of tropical developing countries, the
combination of small ethanol flexible-fuel engines with the plug-in
electric hybrid drivetrain makes a lot of sense and brings quite an
opportunity for a clean solution that can boost their economies, as
many of them have the right conditions to produce sustainable
ethanol from sugarcane and already have plenty of hydroelectric
power available.
A key issue not discussed in this book, nor in most of the
literature in general, is the availability of enough lithium to
mass produce electric car batteries for the entire world. It just
happens that half the world reserves of lithium are located in the
Uyuni desert in Bolivia, which is not precisely a very reliable or
stable country. Today, China, Chile, and Argentina are the main
suppliers of lithium for computer batteries, but Bolivia's lithium
is required to fulfill the future demand of a worldwide fleet of
several hundred millions of electric and hybrid vehicles that might
be expected in the mid-term. Is it realistic for any country to
actually achieve energy independence, or do we need to put the eggs
in several baskets?
I highly recommend this book, whether to introduce yourself to the
electric and hybrid technologies or just to learn about the
conspiracies that had hindered these technologies. Either way the
book is worth the reading for all of us to be prepared to make
educated choices when the time comes to decide whether to jump into
these new technologies, which now lie in the near future. Remember
that you will pay an upfront premium for driving a cleaner
low-carbon car, as reducing greenhouse gases and oil independence
comes at a cost, though most advocates minimize or omit this
fact.
Today it seems that Mrs. Boschert's dream is becoming a reality. By
early 2009 the Prius had sold more than 1.2 million vehicles
worldwide, with more than half in the US; on December 2008 the
Chinese automaker BYD launched into the local market the F3DM
sedan, the first mass produced plug-in hybrid for around US$
22,000; Toyota has announced the launch of the Prius plug-in hybrid
for fleet use by late 2009; and if GM survives, the VOLT plug-in
hybrid will be launched by the end of 2010. GM promised this
plug-in hybrid will be built with an internal combustion engine
adaptable to several platforms, including clean diesel (for the
European market), and a flex-fuel engine capable of running with
gasoline or ethanol (E85 or Brazilian E100), or any blend of both.
I am looking forward for Mrs. Boschert's updated second edition
after these new developments materialized.
PS: For a follow-up and updated materials read Plug-In Electric
Vehicles: What Role for Washington? and $20 Per Gallon: How the
Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for
the Better, both published in 2009.
Not a "How-to"Reviewed by Walter R. Nagel, 2008-09-17
A serendipitous find that changed my perspective on energy policy. I was looking for a how-to book and ordered this one "by mistake." I was somewhat skeptical, but the author held my attention through the entire book. By the time I completed the last page I was convinced that my attraction to plug-in hybrids was correct and my world view had changed considerably.
Review - "Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles", by Sherry Boschert.Reviewed by Peter Roberts, 2008-08-04
The title should read :- "Plug-in Hybrids; the Cars that will Transport the World". Sherry Boschert has done a wonderful job in drawing all the pieces together. It is a "must read" for those who have an interest in our transport future. I sincerely hope that by the year 2012, it will be completely implemented. However, I feel that the automobile industry and the oil companies will both fight very strongly, against the adoption of PHEV's. Also, the Governments of the world, will not be sufficiently forceful, to demand, that the automobile manufacturers produce quality PHEV's. They are our only answer, to vehicle pollution of our planet.
