[mojo]

Comments from the chief say so

Lexus Europe chief Alain Uyttenhoven:

The next big discussion will be about particulates. CO2 is not behind us, but we have to go to 99g/km by 2020. So, diesel has been growing because that CO2 average is easier to achieve with diesel. But the cost of purifying a diesel car is going to rise, so in the future, these engines are going to cost a lot more… For us, [petrol] hybrid is the answer.

 

[mister]

The better hybrids get the closer they will get to pure electric cars. Really the gasoline is just there to increase range. If you can increase range without gas and also shorten charging times, that's where the money is.

 

[Thai]

Battery tech needs to be a lot better for a pure electric to become "keeper."

I stare at my phone's battery lifespan...and get sad....

 

[Kennedy]

and now they have supercapacitors that will eventually make their way into EV's and even hybrids which should really kick things up a notch.

 

[mister]

They must be focusing on this now though. It seems like something that is just a matter of time. They just need to continually improve batteries, it doesn't seem like they are waiting for a big break through.

Maybe we will be totally surprised by fuel cell technology from Toyota though.

 

[Thai]

Well...i wonder what the interest in luxury hybrids are...now that fuel prices are falling like a rock!

 

[mojo]

yes but you're never really eliminating petroleum from the equation, its just gets shuffled out of view. It will still play an integral part of how you fuel your vehicle its simply relocated behind the plug instead of staring you in the face at the pump.

Its utopian to think we can escape oil when everything we have now is built on the back of it. It goes, this goes...

 

[mister]

There would need to be a shift to green energy as well. Wind mills, hyrdo energy, solar energy. Its not impossible, Europe is doing a pretty good job of it, especially Germany.

But you are right that electric cars don't really matter if all the electricity comes from coal.

 

[FSport]

^ yup, that's the problem, they need to shift to more environmentally friendly methods of getting electric power. Starting at the top is what the focus should be but who know's if that will happen and when it will.

 

[mister]

The sad thing is that to make a real difference China and India would have to participate and I don't think that is really part of their plan right now.

 

[Kennedy]

One think i have noticed with the NX hybrid is how much more it is in price, which can be quite discouraging to get one. Not sure what that will do to sales but, I expected it to not be as much as it is.

 

[mister]

One think i have noticed with the NX hybrid is how much more it is in price, which can be quite discouraging to get one. Not sure what that will do to sales but, I expected it to not be as much as it is.

The other thing is that with gas prices going down you don't even get as much savings in fuel costs. It is a big issue working against hybrids generally right now.