Toyota plug-in Prius Hybrid for the Big Apple

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With the past news of the few runaway Toyota Prius, one would wonder, that with the handing over of five Prius to the New York City Department of Transport , it would be in the news. Well at least a litle more. On December 2nd Toyota handed five Prius to the city, of the five two will be given to the NYCDOT and the other three will be given to the Port Authority as an addition to their fleets. That is a great initiation by Toyota, since with the crowded city of the Big Apple, the last thing they would want in more CO2 in the atmosphere. It is a hope that the city will try to use more vehicle with a smaller carbon footprint like the Prius.

These cars are among the 160 plug-in that Toyota is distributing across the States and a total of 600 globally. With the plug-in cars, one only have to wait 3 hours for a full charge on  a regular 110v outlet and 90 minutes on a 220 outlet. With that charge, the car will go about 16 mile on full electric and after the system will switch to regular hybrid mode. Thirteen miles is not a really long distance but for NY, it will help a great deal.The Prius is by far the most sold hybrid in America and it seems Toyota wants to keep it that way. New York and its Mayer also are very ambitious and they have the plans to back it.

“New York City has one of the world’s most aggressive and comprehensive sustainability plans – PlaNYC, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030,” said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Reaching our goal means having a more efficient vehicle fleet, and Toyota continues to be a great partner for City government, which has the world’s largest fleet of hybrid vehicles. I want to thank Toyota for making us a part of the Plug-in Hybrid vehicle program and generously providing these cars at no cost to the taxpayer.”

“We’re charging down the road to a greener, greater New York, and thanks to Toyota’s innovative new plug-in technology, we’ll be able to charge up along the way,” said NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. “Working alongside our car-sharing pilot, we hope this demonstration program will also help reduce the environmental impact of our operations on New York City’s streets.”

“Toyota and New York City share a commitment to building a more environmentally sustainable future for New York, making this Prius Plug-in Hybrid partnership a natural fit,” said Yoshi Inaba, President and COO of Toyota Motor North America, Inc.  “As we strive to bring advanced-technology and alternative-fuel vehicles to market that will not only benefit our customers but also the environment, these real-world partnerships are critical to the success of the program.”(Toyota.com)

This is not the first time Toyota made a splash in the big city, they have been in partnership for the past five years. The Big Apple has purchased more than 2500 hybrid form the company and the JFK airport is benefiting from 10 fuel cell vehicle delivered by Toyota. It seems like a perfect match for the most loved green car and the busiest city in America.

Is there really an alternative to fossil fuel?

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What is fossil fuel anyway? According to the University of Michigan, this is what it is;

Fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas, are a non-renewable source of energy. Formed from plants and animals that lived up to 300 million years ago, fossil fuels are found in deposits beneath the earth. The fuels are burned to release the chemical energy that is stored within this resource. Energy is essential to modern society as we know it. Over 85% of our energy demands are met by the combustion of fossil fuels.

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Before I should say anything else, I do not agree with the “300 million years ago” as stated above. So, first, fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy, that means one day they will run out.  The issue with oil. There a roughly 3500 oil rigs on our coasts, and each year the amount of oil that is spilled is countless. The world has been using oil in an increasing amount each decade, and the more vehicle are being built, the more oil and gas they need to keep them going. Yes, the car manufactures are in the fight to build automobiles with better fuel consumption, but with the technology available they should be farther along. It seems they were too busy with record sales in the gas guzzling states they were in and some are still in it. The Toyota Prius is leading hybrid car available, but their should be better.

Knowing that fossil fuel will expire one day, the manufactures should be ahead in the green movement. Is there more than what we know,or are the car makers hands tied by the oil companies? Or, if we use less oil, will there be fewer jobs? I think we are brilliant enough to find a way around it. Whatever the leading source of energy is, there will be jobs. The citizens of each vehicle driving country has a roll to play. We are the people who go to the pumps, we are the one who, on a daily basis use the fossil fuel. If it is used as petroleum jelly, or fuel to propel our vehicle to the next destination, we are a part of the solution. I have a passion for cars, though I wish I knew as much as some people, but I still want to see a cleaner environment.  I know oil and petrol is used in many other ways, but the automobile use more than all.

Now, coal is said to be a very  abundant  fossil fuel, but is the dirtiest. It was used to power trains and now is used for electricity. The voices of environmentalists are still ringing out over this dirty fuel. With the emission of nitrogen oxides, mercury and sulfur in the atmosphere, one could understand why. Mercury among the other emissions can cause birth defects, gives symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and it also affects the liver and the immune system. So you, may understand why the tree huggers may be standing and waving placards at every coal-burning plant. For more information on the effects of mercury click here

Although coal is abundant, until the emission issue is taken care of, the environment will suffer. I never came across an article, hear someone or see any documentary talking about powering a car with coal, so I will not talk of it except that if it is done, there will have to be a lot of work getting coal to be liquid.

I know there are cars that are powered by natural gas. Take the Honda Civic NGV® for example. It basically get the same mileage as gas burning cars in its category, but the natural gas cost a little less. As with coal, there is an abundance of natural gas, but like coal, it is not a renewable source of energy. So with fossil fuel running out, is there an alternative?

There is, hydrogen fuel cell. It is clean, but at present it is expensive to make. I think we would live on a cleaner earth because the emission of HFC will only be water.. The same way people were skeptical of the combustion engine, scared of driving around with a flammable liquid, the same is now with the development of the fuel cell. Environmentalist would be happy and we could get to drive good-looking cars. The smog would clear and we would breathe better. Still I have a question, what if there were no combustion engine?

Walk, why do it when there are cars?

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There are more than 200 million cars on the US roads, so there is a lot of driving going on. On a typical day, the rush hour traffic on some roads is a nightmare, and that horror is creeping out of the city and into the peaceful outskirts. People like cars, so much so that some houses are built with four car garages, but there are only two people living in some of them. Cars are becoming more fuel-efficient, a lot more stylish, and consumers are buying, though the economy is not at its best. However, the more cars are bought, the less people walk.

We are very independent and do not want to sometimes share the same car with another person. We want to go where we want, when we want, without having to wait on a taxi or someone else for that matter. That is all good, but are we spending too much sitting in the driver’s seat?  There are times when the grocery store is about a mile or less away, is that too far to ride a bicycle? Americans are getting more overweight and food and the cubicle are not the only culprits. Sitting in traffic is understandable but driving to the end of a quarter-mile subdivision for a party is not. Sometimes we need to pull down the bicycle of the rack in the garage and take it for a spin. I know,  we are very busy people and every second counts, but how long can one live with such a life? We need to talk the time to walk, walk the dog, with a friend or family member. If no one is there, go walk the same, it is a change from the long sitting that is done on a daily basis.