Eat This, Toyota
With all this hype about hybrid vehicles and the realization that they don't actually give the mileage promised by their manufacturers, there's still a desperate scramble to look for other types of fuel, other kinds of cars that will help consumers save on gas, as well as help the environment.That's why it makes me really curious and it amazes me to hear about new technologies like the one in the CoolFuel Roadtrip website. Check it out!
posted by Cathy at
9:20 AM
5 comment(s):
Um, so if you had a choice between a comfortable, fully optioned Toyota hybrid that delivers consistent (but sometimes lower than as-advertised) mileage, has extremely low maintenance, and (after your done with it) has high-resale value over a rickety, unproven, "Coolfuel" vehicle with questionable reliability with almost zero resale, I think the choice is painfully obvious.
Implementing alternative-fuel technology in consumer vehicles is an extremely expensive proposition that requires incredibly deep pockets to research, build, test, sell, distribute, and create an infrastructure to support end consumers with mass market commercial products. Unless it is backed by global automotive manufacturers (for example, BMW with their hydrogen-powered vehicles or VW with their continued push towards highly optimized diesel engines), any effort in this area are, at best proofs-of-concepts that may hold some entertainment value.
The only thing that Toyota (and Honda) will be eating is a huge chunk of $$$ as these companies continue to blaze the trail of creating, selling and maintaining true, cutting edge commercial high-mileage consumer products.
By
Anonymous, at
September 29, 2005 10:17 PM
Jodee, who peed in your wheaties this morning?? I agree with you but c'mon THIS IS CATHY'S BLOG.
By
Anonymous, at
September 30, 2005 8:32 AM
True, these alternative solutions have yet to be refined and their cost-efficiency is still questionable. That was however not my point. I was merely pointing this out as a far cry (in terms of gas mileage anf fuel efficiency) from the technology that big companies like Toyota have been able to implement. So no conflict here, people! Relax!
By
Cathy, at
September 30, 2005 9:42 AM
Valerie, sorry, but your point is?
I think the fundamental objection that I have, Cathy, is that "Eat this" sounds like a knock on Toyota when comparisons are made between actual production models to one-off prototypes listed on CoolFuel. The CoolFuel protos were obviously built to fulfill a singular purpose: to get the most mileage with the least amount of fuel possible. Toyota's current products, on the other hand, have to deal with fuel efficiency as well as comfort, convenience, and a host of other factors.
On the basis of gas mileage, range and efficiency alone, a fairer comparison would have been between prototype vs. prototype from either side. A production vehicle will obviously have less range and efficiency versus a proto due to compromises and concessions that are made when protos are commercialized and manufactured for mass market consumption.
Now that you've clarified your stance, I think for the most part, we're in violent agreement with each other. Your post was quite interesting; thanks for the discussion.
By
Anonymous, at
September 30, 2005 11:15 AM
Here's an interesting article in USA Today...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-08-13-hybrid-cars-tinkerers_x.htm
By
Anonymous, at
October 04, 2005 7:54 PM
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