Toyota is producing a new hybrid car (most likely a station wagon or an SUV) with a bigger and better battery. This lithium-ion battery is supposedly more powerful than the nickel-metal battery from previous models. It is estimated to be approximately $22,000 USD. Such creations increase competitions between car companies. Since efficiency is a hot topic when it comes to automobiles, many companies will and have been trying to improve the number of sales by improving the efficiency of vehicles. In some ways, this is pretty good. After all, they're all trying to make boost their own company's image by increasing their own cars' worth. And that worth comes from cars with better efficiency.
Now that there might be a possiblity that there be an SUV hybrid, would more people buy these? I'm not a fan of big cars myself, but it might be an option to consider.
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The next thing you know, there'll be a hybrid Hummer. That would be sick.
It's not a bad idea to create more energy-efficient cars. This way, consumers can have more choices. And car sales will go up. It can both help the economy and the people, at the same time, perhaps the environment too.
And to answer your question Kasper, I'm pretty sure most people will consider an SUV hybrid. Many Americans have big families and a hybrid SUV seems pretty convenient.
But does the size of a large SUV make it less efficient than just a regular small car? Though I guess it's OK if that's what it takes to get Americans to use less gasoline...
-Esther A
I couldn't agree more. The more competition there is out there, the better quality products result. When Toyota and Honda began boasting about their highly efficient hybrid cars, Ford responded by introducing the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Maybe this will spur other popular brand name cars such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW to create greener, more efficient cars in the near future. I hope so.
I can't see an SUV hybrid. It seems like such an oxymoron because all the hybrid and fuel-efficient cars we see are really small.
Sure, giving people more options model-wise is great, but I agree with Esther: I don't think an SUV would be a good hybrid because of the size
haha I read an article about this on popular science! Not only are the lithium-ion batteries lighter, they're also more efficient! It's great to see hybrid cars starting to gain popularity. I don't remember hybrid cars when I was a kid
Kevin, a hybrid Hummer, that'd be weird, wouldn't it completely defeat the purpose of a gas guzzling machine?
Kasper, it will all depend on the battery life and convenience. If people want an SUV, they have a wide range of options. All lithium ion batteries, though way more powerful, have a faster discharge rate, making its effective life a lot shorter. Also, the mess with special chargers and lithium ion battery fires can be catastrophic. I see people who buy these are the people who are strongly for the environment and still want an SUV, so there will be sales, but I don't see there being a landslide of them.
Esther, anything bigger will take more power, efficiency in itself will be roughly the same. An SUV hybrid will take less power than an SUV internal combustion, but an SUV Hybrid will always take more power than a compact hybrid.
Preston, Mercedes and BMW pride themselves on their powerful engines and robust designs. I don't see them converting over to hybrids all too soon....
Jodi, the point is that people get the size of the SUV, AND they get to be greener. They're relatively greener compared to the internal combustion counterpart.
Justin, read above comment about lithium ion batteries.. Lighter and more powerful, yes. More dangerous and shorter life span, yes..
Although the move from creating traditional car hybrids to creating SUV hybrids is a change, I'm more interested in the switch from a nickel battery to a lithium battery. The way nickel is mined is not very environmentally friendly, which is a lesser-known but very significant strike against cars like the Prius. I'm wondering if lithium is more efficient, or more environmentally friendly, or both.
-Julia B.
Julia, a quick Google search came up with this..
http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxicity.html
Though not exact numbers, I hope it is sufficient to quell your thoughts/curiosity of lithium's direct environmental impact.
However, I still worry of the fires that will be caused by these batteries. Anyone with any battery experience will know that lithium ion batteries are horrifically dangerous if on fire. Much more so than lead acids and the like.
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