100 MPG: Experimental hybrid car extends mileage
BY ANDREW MACKIE
RECORD STAFF WRITER
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Jim Poch, executive director of the Plugin Hybrid Coalition for the Carolinas, talks about the altered Toyota Prius that gets 100 miles per gallon under certain driving conditions.
ROBERT C. REED (RECORD PHOTOGRAPHER)
HICKORY - Many motorists probably dream of 100 mile-per-gallon cars during these days of $3 gasoline. Such a car was actually in Hickory on Thursday.
The vehicle, an altered Toyota Prius, combines current hybrid technology with larger lithium batteries six times stronger than those in typical hybrids. Charging can be done from a standard outlet.
James Poch, executive director of the Plugin Hybrid Coalition of the Carolinas, drove through Hickory as part of his marketing campaign.
“The goal is to accelerate the adoption of these for environmental, economic and national security purposes,” Poch said.
He listed these benefits:
• Environment. A 30 percent to 60 percent reduction of pollutants is projected.
• Savings. Businesses and consumers would reap $500 to $800 annually in fuel costs.
• National security. Reduction in dependence on foreign oil and widespread adoption of the cars could save 3 million barrels per day.
Four utility companies - Duke Energy, Progress Energy, South Carolina Electric and Gas and Santee Cooper Energy - support Poch’s organization.
Plug-ins use electricity for short trips, but retain a gasoline engine for acceleration and long-range travel. Under certain conditions, the vehicle reaches more than 100 miles per gallon. Those criteria include the first 30 miles of a trip and speeds of less than 35 miles per hour.
People may focus on those stipulations, but Poch says about half of Americans drive less than 25 miles each day. In an urban setting, the vehicle would makes sense for its estimated $3,000 additional cost of a hybrid, Poch said.
The vehicles will soon be on the road in large numbers.
Toyota plans to roll out its plug-in hybrid for mass use in 2010. General Motors will introduce a Saturn Vue in 2009 and a Volt for 2010.
Critics often say the difference in the cost of hybrids and non-hybrids is not made up in the savings from reduced fuel costs.
But Poch disputes that, saying insurance, maintenance and resale value is not taken into consideration. He says the new plug-in vehicles also would be cost effective, along with its other benefits.
Poch, a Charleston, S.C., resident, hopes the concept takes off.
“We don’t want this to be an environmental niche,” he said. “We expect it to become mainstream.”