Re: John M. Haines’ Jan. 17 commentary, “Hybrid cars don’t really work�:
Evidently when Mr. Haines went to engineering school, he missed the classes on data gathering and integrity. Most of his wild assumptions could have been corrected with a little effort on his part. Instead, he just went off with no data and bad assumptions.
Let's take the case of the Toyota Highlander. He says the hybrids weigh 1000 pounds more than conventional autos. Wrong! The hybrid Highlander weighs 365 pounds more than the standard Highlander, about the weight of two men. This represents a 6.4 percent increase in gross weight.
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The highway mileage is only about 10 percent better, 28 compared to 25. I have a Highlander, and I get about 23.5 miles per gallon on the highway, but I drive 70 to 80 miles per hour, which is not the standard of the test. If I slowed down, I would get closer to the mileage estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
In the city, the increase is much more. The EPA gets a 73 percent improvement, from 19 up to 33 miles per gallon. Again, I get with my Highlander about 17 mpg around the city. If I tried, I could probably get that up to 18 mpg. The 33 mpg may be high, but I would expect the percentage improvement to be close, which would give 29.5 mpg in the city for the hybrid Highlander.
Next, I expect Mr. Haines will preach that we could get all our electricity from ocean waves. Forget it. A little engineering analysis shows there is very little energy in ocean waves compared to other sources. Likewise with tides. Leave that to the French — they’ve been trying for years to make it pay. They ended up going 85 percent nuclear.
— Paul Lux, Thousand Oaks
Re: John Haines' Jan. 17 commentary, "Hybrid cars don't really work"
I have been giving Mr. Haines commentary published in The Star on January 17, 2006 some serious thought over the last few days. Having been a Toyota Prius owner since March of 2004, and having averaged 50-60 mpg during that time, I am very disappointed in the Toyota Prius.
One thing Mr. Haines forgot to mention is that the world is flat and that NASA never landed a spaceship on the moon. Satellite photographs of the earth, photographs and television images of moon landings, and all other photographs and evidence are simply part of a Federal Government conspiracy designed to mislead the entire world.
I am ashamed to admit that Mr. Haines is right: The world IS flat, and the Toyota Prius and hybrid mileage claims are a scam. Anyone who believes otherwise is a sucker. After averaging 50-60 mpg since I purchased my Toyota Prius in March of 2004, I am ashamed to admit that I have been dooped.
Thank goodness for people like Mr. Haines who have the courage to reveal the truth.
Dan Wilkinson
2004 Toyota Prius Owner