what do u suggest we do about that?

I think the point he's getting to is that we shouldn't be worrying so much about what our cars are doing (especially hybrids after their whole production cost), and be spending our time focusing on taking care of a major issue (not to say that pollution isn't a major issue).

Eat them.

i'm worried about other issues, there's just not a lot i can do about them i guess. pollution to me is that we can all do something about it. rather easily. and other more major issues we can't.

i love eating cows

Water car > all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rb_rDkwGnU

Well, you know that Americans sequester more carbon than anyone else. Mowing lawns sequesters carbon. Building houses does, not directly though. Landfills, replanting trees after tearing them down (young trees take in way more than old trees), etc.

yea i know
thats why i think we should cut back on the things that are easy to cut back on, and i think not driving cars that get 14 miles a gallon is one of them.

well, 14 miles/gallon is just ridiculous lol. I don't think that means we have to cripple our automotive industry or anything though. Besides, new cars (such as the new suburban's) are getting this new engine that only uses the amount of cylinders it needs to. If you don't give it too much gas, for instance, it only uses 4 cylinders. If you floor it, it uses all 8. Then there's always flex-fuel.

Well, I think what she means is - there are so many vehicles on the market that get poor mpg. Like large SUV's, Jeep Cherokee's (only get like 15), and large pickup trucks. I understand that some people do need large trucks, but alot of people driving them do not. Same for large SUV's... some of the people that drive them dont need the extra room. They just drive them because they can afford to.

I dont think it would cripple our economy at all to try to get people to drive more efficient vehicles. It would help our economy actually. We're spending a record amount on fuel, which financialy hurts alot of Americans. Gas isnt $1.50 anymore.

agreed
14 miles is what fueleconomy.gov gives the hummer
that new suburban engine sounds good, stuff like that would be a huge improvement and probably make quite a bit of difference. i think if we've got the technology we should use it.

I think she is a he lol. I understand that too, and see the logic there, and don't see any reason why more people shouldn't drive cars instead of SUV's. Also, if everyone learned to drive manual they could get better mileage that way haha.

My Jeep only gets about 15 i remember having to fill it up every week at like $60

wow
i'd be broke

my ford escape is hybrid and gets 35-40 usually

I drive a mustang GT standard, and the way I shift I am pulling 22 mpg city, which is pretty damn good for a modded 8 cylinder car with only 5 gears lol.

Greater gas mileage encourages more driving - which, even though emissions may be better, result in greater pollution. When people drive cross country cause it's cheaper than buying a plane ticket, it's going to cause an increase in pollution. Silly heads.

Alternative fuel, there is a joke and a half too. Ethanol, expensive and filthy! Awesome!

maybe it's just me and my family but we don't fly because it's cheaper, we fly because its faster and more convenient.

i'm sure it encourages more driving, but i drive the same amount i would if i didn't have a hybrid, so i'd rather get good gas mileage while im at it

My mum has a hybrid RX400, and it's really cool. :)
Hybrids do take a long time to "pay for themselves," but I think it's more of a psychological thing; you think you're saving a lot of money because you're not buying as much gas.
I haven't really researched what the production of the batteries does to the environment, but even if the production of the battery is detrimental, surely once the car is in use, the everyday reduction in the amount of emissions would somewhat make up for it? Does anyone want to do the math?

I think the only idea of the hybrid that I find appealing is if for some odd reason I am in a hurry or am late and don't have enough time to get gas, or don't feel like spending money, I could always just change from using gas to using the hybrid part of it. As in... I could just go from using gas to using the battery if I needed to. That alternative of having a back up if I run out of gas seems nice.

However, I wouldn't buy a hybrid just for that reason...

i didn't know any of them did this?
all the ones i know of use a gas engine and an electric one. they both work together, there is no option to run on only one. but maybe ur talking about one that i don't know of. mine doesn't do this, and i know the toyota ones don't.

Really? I was talking to my dad about if I could do that, and he said you probably could. I guess he was wrong. Or wasn't actually listening to me when I was talking... I guess you can't... would be cool if you could though. Haha.

My mum's Lexus automatically switches between gas and electric depending on the situation. It CAN use one or the other. If we're going down a big hill, it just coasts down using no power, and charges the battery. And if we're just cruising around a parking lot or something, it runs on electric. But then when she gets above a certain speed, the engine kicks in. It's all automated. It actually has a screen on the navigation system that shows exactly where the power is coming from/going to. That's how I know exactly what's happening.

yea mine does the same
but i cant push a button and only run on battery if i'm out of gas like elbaliava wanted to do. that would be nice though.
mine automatically switches depending on the situation as well.

I can't think of any way to do the math other than read cited sources etc. They have, however, stated that the hybrid's "carbon footprint (lol)" is considerably larger than that of normal cars, despite the fact that normal cars put out more pollution once they've been made.

i think if nothing else they balance each other out
even though im kinda inclined to think that a hybrid would end up being better. but i guess that would depend on how long you drove it, and which normal car u were comparing it too.

i can't think of any way to do the math either. but i'd like to

also i was thinking, nickel is used to make chrome, that's on a lot of "normal" cars. and a good chunk of all the nickel mined goes towards making stainless steel, that's used in normal cars. then there's engine alloys and what not.

Yeah but if it's on a normal car what's to say it's not on the hybrid. Also when comparing hybrid vs normal, I tend to compare a normal car vs it's hybrid counterpart, i.e. ford escape vs ford escape hybrid.