HELIOLITH

For a couple of years now I’ve been thinking about what next vehicle I might get if our (2) cars run into the ground. I hardly use my car lately, riding most everywhere, including the 12 miles to work, but still, I appreciate the flexiblity and the for transporting kids, it’s pretty key, especially in southern California with somewhat pathetic public transportation options.

So hybrid cars are enjoying a surge in popularity, and subjectively, it appears that the number of Prius Toyotas on the road in the last year has quintupled at least. But no manufacturer is offering a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) yet?

Here’s the basic recipe: Take a hybrid vehicle, extend the efficiency with extra batteries and the ability to charge them off of a 120-Volt outlet, allow it to use biodiesel as its main fuel source, and beat any competition hands-down. This has occurred simultaneously to thousand of green-minded individuals no doubt, but the companies aren’t cranking them out yet.

Treehugger voiced the same demand almost a full year ago and yet we don’t have the results. I didn’t even make an image for this post as theirs really says it all. Their post also mentioned the “concept car” Saab has produced which combines flex-fuel (biodiesel/ethanol) and electric technology, but forgot the allow you to plug it in.

Obviously nothing beats leaving your car home and riding your bicycle, walking, or taking mass transit, but as long as people are driving, let’s make the cars smaller and radically more efficient. These improvements in fuel efficiency are possible with after-market kits, so why aren’t Honda, Toyota, Ford, and Chevy all mass-producing them? We have to wait until 2010 for the Chevy Volt? What are you broke GM? Throw more money at it! Make it happen!

Honda claims to be the manufacturer with the lowest overall miles-per-gallon ratings, yet they have not announced a Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) to my knowledge. They said they were reworking the diesel engine to be vastly more efficient, so slap one of those in the next hybrid Civic for 2008 and put a plug on it to boot! Who wouldn’t shell out a little more for a 100 mpg vehicle?

It’s so painfully obvious that the demand exists already, I don’t quite see why (short of the often-claimed oil-cartel conspiracy theories) the big companies aren’t taking up the gauntlet.