It's interesting that they made that remark about E85
OR gasoline at the end. In an article about "educating" consumers...they don't seem to realize that flex-fuel vehicles can run on any blend of ethanol & gas all the way up to E85...
I digress. I don't think full-hybrid systems (ala Tahoe/Silverado, etc) will ever be as cheap as a regular powertrain...mostly because we're talking about two full power sources in one car. It really is insane. But mild hybrids (like the Malibu) I can totally see going into a LOT of vehicles for no extra cost in the future. GM's improving their version so that you can run on electric only (which they current edition cannot do) for up to 5mph.
Ethanol, and biofuels are going to be big. You watch! Turbocharging and high-octane fuels (like Ethanol
) like each other very much.
Oh, and did you hear? The US's use of Petroleum has STOPPED growing for the first time in History! The local news had a little segment about it.
These politicians just need to get their thumbs out and start realizing that simply setting a bar real high, (coughcafecough) isn't going to work if no one can reach it!! Now, if the
gov't funded the difference in vehicle costs to reach CAFE...that's a totally different stroy, and an instance that I might support!
Current hybrid systems that cost freakin' thousands of dollars, just do not make any sense right now. You'd have to own the vehicle for 5+ years before you see any return, and even then, the savings are negligable...Ugh, I'm ready for my E85 Camaro.
