Originally published July 29 2005
Americans are relapsing to a need for speed over fuel efficiency, editorial says
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
An Idaho Mountain Express editorial expresses the opinion that Americans may kill off hybrid technology before its benefits are fully realized because of a returning need for speed over gasoline efficiency.
The alternating gasoline-electric power system of a hybrid car is designed to save gasoline and improve mileage.
The result is that fuel savings are shrinking in new hybrids while zero-to-60 mph acceleration is increasing to satisfy drivers who've forgotten about gasoline prices---and want speed and power.
It's all very discouraging to those who'd hoped hybrids would provide American drivers with a way to put the nation on the road to sensible fuel conservation and to reduce its dependence on foreign oil.
Making matters worse, government tax credits for purchasing hybrid cars now in force may become more generous.
President Bush last month mentioned a $4,000 tax credit per car as an incentive to pump up sales of hybrids.
For example, Consumer Reports found that a new Honda Accord hybrid averaged 25 miles per gallon---only slightly better than the 24 miles per gallon for a standard four-cylinder model and the 23 miles per gallon of a non-hybrid V-6.
The Alliance to Save Energy concluded new hybrids are marketed for their power and acceleration, not fuel conservation.
With automakers abandoning the original dream for hybrid technology to the unregulated demands of the marketplace, what has been true all along is being validated once again.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if today's cars had the same weight and acceleration as those in 1987, the nation could achieve a 20 percent improvement in fuel conservation.
The reverse evolution of the hybrid car from gas-saver into a powerful machine demanding more fuel shows that even good ideas for conservation can go bad.
It's time for Congress to re-think the tax deduction for hybrid vehicles that do little to conserve compared to their gas-guzzling cousins.
Tax incentives should be applied only to vehicles that help America toward a future of energy independence.
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