Plug-In to one of the most insightful books about hybrids available today!
Written: Mar 17 '08 (Updated Mar 17 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Educational
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: Learn the truth behind Hybrids and how they can not only save you gas at the pump but also how they can reduce emissions and our dependence on foreign oil.
rgathright's Full Review: Sherry Boschert - Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That W...
We are all guilty of skepticism. The doubt that persists when a loved one tells you why they are happy or a coworkers says they enjoy their marriage. Plug-In Hybrids sent similar feelings a drift in my mind as I examined its creative cover. At first, the imagery of a car set against a green and blue background made me conjure up thoughts of hippies dancing around a campfire. The book quickly became more than this as I read on.
The book covers the lives of the pioneers behind the scenes who are working to bring hybrids and electric vehicles back to the streets of America. At the same time Sherry provides short essays on topics such as: The Plug vs The Pump, Emissions Alphabet Soup, Beating The Bushes For Batteries and the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate Timeline. The last few chapters of the book cover the actions of the political action groups trying to get lawmakers in Washington to listen. Along these lines, I just found out that presidential candidate Barrack Obama is working on a plug-in hybrid bill.
For those owners of Toyota Prius Hybrids interested in conversion, you will be happy to hear that this book offers plenty of detail about how the process works and real world performance. Sherry follows the efforts of Felix Kramer and CalCars.org as they convert a Prius and monitor its performance afterwards, 100mpg!
Just, the section on hydrogen fuel cells is worth the purchase of the book! You will find that the production of hydrogen requires more electricity than if it were just used to charge the batteries in a hybrid. Several shocking statistics like, "60% more windmills would be needed to run a car on hydrogen compared when running an electric car." throughout this section of the book. Another factor about hydrogen fuel cells is their cost and the problem of storing enough hydrogen in the car.
I do have one difference of opinion with Sherry. Her essay "Beating the bushes for batteries" on page 82, makes no mention of AGM or Absorbed Gas Matt Lead Acid batteries. AGM's offer an internal resistance as low as 5%, life cycles exceeding 1000 and need no maintenance. 700lbs worth of AGM's can hold 22Kw worth of power enough to power the typical hybrid EV and costing just $1200 at wholesale prices! NiMH and Li-ion cost much more than this and cannot be bought in sizes larger than D-cell in the consumer marketplace. I feel that since AGM's are widely available, more reliable and cost less they should have been considered as an alternative for hybrid conversions.
You will find a few pictures scattered throughout the book set in black and white inline with the text. The second printing of this book should have these pictures full page and in color to give the story more depth and realism.
Hybrid News As Of March 2008
Several friends told me that Toyota was offering PHEV's this year. I dug deep into the wild world of the internet and here is what I found out about major automaker offerings this year:
Toyota
No vehicles offer plug-in capability in the year 2008. Toyota claims that PHEV's (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) will "have a negative effect on the life of the batteries". I found this statement most disturbing because it indicates Toyota is against the technology even after the release of this book and mounds of scientific data against their position. Further, Toyota feels that the grid electricity used to charge the vehicle from the grid could be derived from coal negating the environmental benefits. The book on page 118 in a section entitled "The Plug Versus the Pump", makes a rather convincing argument against this conclusion notably "Cleaning up a few thousand centralized power plants is simpler than trying to control emissions from 200 million cars...".
Ford
No vehicles offer plug-in capability in the year 2008.
Honda
No vehicles offer plug-in capability in the year 2008.
Chevrolet
No vehicles offer plug-in capability in the year 2008.
Sherry Boschert's website has updates to the book: http://www.sherryboschert.com
Summary
The book Plug-In Hybrids The Cars That Will Recharge America does an excellent job giving us the background behind EVs and hybrid politics. You will learn why battery technology has become the only excuse automakers have left to hold on to. For those who already understand these facts, Plug-In Hybrids also serves as a who's who of the EV activist community by covering people like: Andrew Frank, Dean Taylor, Chelsea Sexton and Felix Kramer. For all these reasons and more I encourage you to read this book to become aware of the possibilities to change the world around you.
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