America... Watch Out!

What we really need in this country to make rail travel practical is to convince the airlines that they are NOT in the airline business, but that they are in the TRANSPORTATION business. See, right now, any attempt to build a useful passenger rail system is going to be blown away by the lobbying efforts of the airlines. Instead, the airlines need to be part of the system. Instead of building a nationwide rail network, what we need is a series of regional rail networks designed to provide high-speed interconnecting service between *airports*. I live in Columbus, Ohio, and it makes no sense at all for me to fly from Columbus to Cincinnati so that I can catch a flight to, say, Portland, OR. Yet that is exactly what I have to do (that, or drive to Covington). Wouldn't it be a more cost-effective solution for me to board a train in Columbus, take that to Covington and connect to my flight there? And because it's integrated into the air network, when I check my bag in Columbus to get on the train, I never have to handle it again until I get to my destination. If my destination isn't Portland, but rather Spokane or Salem, again, a regional rail line might be the answer. But as long as the transportation companies define themselves by their modes instead of by their functions, it isn't going to happen.

Regarding hybrids: First of all, there must be some merit to the hybrid concept because the railroads have been doing it for years. Most of the diesel locomotives out there actually use electric traction motors to move the train, so this isn't exactly a new concept. The biggest new idea is that of using advanced motor controllers to get more efficiency out of the electric motors. Also, someone talked about using a normal car around town and a hybrid for taking coaster trips...dare I suggest that the hybrid is more efficient around town, while the normal vehicle is more efficient on the highway, so in reality your theory is good, but you've got it backward. :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Diesel-electric hybrids could blow ANY gasoline powered hybrid out of the water for fuel efficiency. Too bad it's still far too heavy for your average family car. I'm holding out hope for this to one day be feasible for the general public.

I myself will be switching over to a diesel car as soon as it is economically feasible for my family to do so. We will automatically get much better fuel efficiency while still being able to haul a decent load behind it (camper, boat, etc...) compaired to it's regular or hybrid equivalents. Our end goal is to get a large tank installed on our property (500 gal. or so) and have methyl ester delivered to our house. We can run our cars on this biodiesel without any modifications to the engine and if we ever need to fill up while on the road, you can just fill it up with regular diesel without any adverse effects.

I've done plenty of research in the pros and cons in the diesel vs. hybrid competition and diesel is my clear winner. Hybrids are great for strictly city driving and for lower emissions (vs. running a car on diesel, not biodiesel) but they definately have some limitations. Have I mentioned that you only need to get an oil change (synthetic only) for your typical VW Jetta once every 10,000 miles.

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that is here now. While I don't see our economy ever running solely on this fuel, it can take a very large burden off our reliance on foreign oil. I plan to do my part to make that happen, but then again some would call me an environmentalist wacko. :)

Yeah, the Prius fuel economy 60 MPG city /51 MPG highway oddly enough.

All this knock on hybrids, and yet they are still new to the market. Like any new technology, the price of hybrids will go down in the long run and they will be better engineered. I think in the near future (maybe 2010) hybrids engines will begin to dominate the market as they come down in price. Keyword, is engines , as we will be able to buy our favorite cars, just with more fuel efficient engines. In 10-15 years regular unleaded engines might be outnumberd by hybrids*

This link shows close to 20 Cars, Trucks, and SUV’s with hybrid engines will be out by 2007 . http://www.hybridcars.com/cars.html

Most are traditional cars models, like the Altima or Camry. It even appears domestics are getting their head out of their behinds, like with the Escape and Malibu. Though the thought of driving a car with a domestic hybrid engine is kind of scary at first ;)

(edit got words out of my head mixed up)*** Edited 9/3/2005 5:58:10 AM UTC by Joe E.*** *** Edited 9/3/2005 7:34:39 AM UTC by Joe E.***

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Jeff said:I totally disagree. Detroit hasn't responded to consumer preferences the right way in decades, and that's why Toyota is flirting with the top position now. Toyota hasn't been able to keep up with hybrid demand, and they're introducing 20 new models in the next few years. GM is even licensing their software for hybrids (that's the magic formula that finds where the electric motor stops and the gas motor starts). They aren't marketing the hybrids to niche markets, they've been marketing them to test markets. You don't announce 20 new models because you're satisfying a niche market. Not in the auto industry, anyway.

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I couldn't agree with you more Jeff.

GM keeps on empathize on Gas Guzzling SUVs, when they should be working on fuel economy. They are 2 years behind their competition on bringing out the Hybrid Models. Because of reasons like this Toyota keeps kicking our butts because they know what people wants and they listen. GM doesn't like to listen and that why they have been losing out on sales. An example of this is that did you know that the Chevy Malibu Hybrid was originally scheduled to be built in 06, but for some reason GM moved it back a year.

Also please stop blaming the Auto Unions for the increase in gas prices. We have no control over them. We also don't control what type of cars the Auto Companies make. My dad is a part of an Auto Union and I will be part of it soon. Me and my Dad both don't control the prices, if we did you would be paying 69 cents a gallon.