Hybrids Delaying Fuel Cells & Other Technologies
To most, hybrid vehicles like the Prius are a step in the right direction towards a future of ‘greener’ motoring but a new study has found that such cars are actually holding back other alternative powertrain technologies like hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and all-electric cars. French researchers have found that a “misinformed craze” surrounding hybrids has delayed other technologies and is drawing a majority of research dollars.

Petrol-electric hybrids are not environmentally sustainable because they still rely on fossil fuels, however carmakers are still pouring millions of dollars into improving the technology instead of focusing on better alternatives. There’s also the fact that many modern diesel vehicles and even some petrol compact cars achieve much better mileage figures than hybrid halo cars like the Prius.

Consumers are convinced that hybrids are the solution, researchers Jean-Jacques Chanaron and Julius Teske claim in their paper Hybrid Vehicles: A Temporary Step.”There is a general convergence of strategies toward promoting hybrid vehicles as the mid-term solution to very low-emissions and high-mileage vehicles,” the researchers say. “But a convergence is based more on customer perception triggered by very clever marketing and communications campaigns than on pure rational scientific arguments and may result in the need for any manufacturer operating in the U.S. to have a hybrid electric vehicle in its model range in order to survive.”

Fortunately, there are carmakers out there pushing for alternatives. We’ve already seen Tesla’s all-electric roadster and next month Pininfarina will unveil a 700hp fuel-cell concept so there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

 

The all electrics were in CA for a while but then they got killed off for a variety of reasons. I don't see hydrogen becoming big because then you'd have to create the entire infrastructure for it as well as figure a way to produce it more efficiently.

 

not only that, in the end the fuel cell creates the same electricity used to power an electric motor, but it just took a longer and far less energy efficient path than an electric vehicle does.

 

wow, they found a way to "go back" and blame hybrids in that way?! please, give me a break. if you have some good stuff, people will buy it and it will be popular. marketing is one thing, but that's not everything

 

Uhh duh, the Subaru 360. Seats 4 people, gets 60 mpg hwy, and only takes 35 seconds to hit 60 MPH (its top speed).

 

This just in "Hybrids to cause killer Asteroid to hit the Earth in 2009"

 

This article must have been written in Detroit...

 

yeah, i agree there are merits

technically, there are better technology to be further developed other than hybrid
but companies are paying so much attention in hybrids now because it racks in the most money and easiest to market

 

all electric cars simply plug into the wall and draw energy from plants, thus causing more pollution from the plant. Its not like its 100% clean, it just redistributes the pollution.

 

Ah, but hybrids have lasting uses in say hydrogen cars according Toyota.

Personally I would prefer a hybrid over an electric vehicle simply for the thrill of driving. To me, a hybrid is like having a turbocharger on your car without sacraficing the sound and anticipation of an ICE. I'd be completely happy if Subaru offered a hybrid Impreza with their efficient 2.0L engine.

 

Yep, hybrids even have use in electric cars if you think about it. Plus they are a no hassle, nothing to plug in, nothing to refill, etc.

 

None of those other options make big oil happy.

 

ISn't toyota doing a plug in prius starting 2009?

 

Good to know fearmongering is alive and well. The adoption of any technology is always a crap shoot. There aren't too many engine only solutions to higher mileage out there at present. For whatever reason, the hybrid has gained market traction. Is it the best technology? Probably not. But because it has gained market acceptance there are now people who get to jump on the bandwagon. And yes, at any given point in time, the technology that has gained market share will drive development dollars away from competing products. Sometimes it is only in the short run, sometimes in the long run. To put it another way, is everybody happy with Windows? Or maybe that should be is anybody happy with Windows?

 

No by the French, who have an automotive industry that is too incompetent to figure out how to build anything but diesels, or compete on the world market.