Moving on with Hybrids

Posted by Colin Hensley on January 22, 2009 in 360° approach, Eco-driving tips, Green Technologies

I have to confess I am now jealous of my colleagues in North America, at TMS, who have already had the opportunity to “show-off” the new Prius at NAIAS in Detroit. I’ve followed the buzz with great interest, and I should add, quite some pride.

I’ve spent a lot of hours talking to people about hybrids, at conferences, press launches and many times during dinner or at parties with friends.
I’ve always been enthusiastic about hybrid technology, it’s one of those wonderful feats of science, where the holistic result is more than the sum of the parts, even somehow seeming to defeat logic.

This is where the new Prius shines too. The engine is now bigger than the current Prius, 1.8l vs 1.5l, but this results in enhanced efficiency! This links back to what I said in my last blog about eco-driving, that you should keep the revs as low as possible, for better fuel efficiency. With the 1.8l engine, when driving at higher speeds, the Prius does this bit for you, and engine turns at fewer rpm, hence the result.

But, in the end, the thing that really makes me happy about Prius, is that it makes the owners happy. Some people accuse Prius owners of being ‘smug’, well, wouldn’t you have the right to be if you had the car which won the J.D. Power and Associates award after emerging as the highest scoring individual model in the 2008 Customer Satisfaction Index Study in both the UK and France. I’m also struck by how Prius owners feel like they’re part of something special. They have even set up quite active online communities and forums such as Priuspoint and Priuschat.

Whether you’re a Prius driver or not, I’d really appreciate your thoughts on our hybrids – or anybody else’s.

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