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      09-28-2012, 01:22 PM   #52
Too much is never enough

Drives: Too Many
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SE PA

iTrader: (0)

Originally Posted by NISFAN View Post
This is post #12

A hybrid can go to the shops on battery power alone...yes

it can also run the aircon when the car is parked.....yes

it can do 40MPG highway......yes


it can't do all of these at once.
In the real world, driving to the shops on battery power, depletes the charge in the battery.
When you next drive the car normally, the petrol engine will be under high loads driving not only the car, but also the alternator to charge the battery back up....this means sh1tty gas mileage until it does that.
So the 'free' ride you had the other night going to the shops gets paid for in the end.
Worse than that, converting energy is a wasteful process, so you end up putting 110% back in to get back to your initial 100%. Laws of physics I'm afraid.
Wait it gets worse.....with an AH3 you get a 335i plus some lead in the boot. As we all know it is weight that makes fuel consumption worse, so a hybrid is starting off on the wrong foot.

Put all the above together and you get a car that is worse on fuel in the real world......great news you can switch the AC on when parked, one redeeming feature. .....but quite an expensive feature don't you think?

Until lightweight, high efficiency batteries are a reality, a hybrid will never work.
This is very well said. I don't intend to rain on anyone's parade, but the benefit of hybrids is pure marketing hyperbole. The nail that you so effectively hit on the head is the fact that battery technology isn't advanced enough to support effective hybrid implementation.

The mass of the batteries is a huge detriment for the 98% of the time that they're just along for the ride. The losses incurred in recharging the batteries via the engine are another strike. Every time energy is transferred from one state to another there are losses. So why not just use it in it's natural form? In the real world, it's highly unlikely that regenerative braking will account for much in the way of useful charging. Newer, more efficient batteries MIGHT help this, but will never be 100%. The biggest opportunity for making hybrids viable would be some sort of PV solar integration that charges the batteries. THIS would make the technology more attractive. But alas solar PV isn't advanced enough yet either.

That run to the store on batteries alone isn't a "free ride" as it seems everyone is being led to believe. It's just energy that was stored in the batteries after they were charged by the gas engine previously. A simple aftermarket remote starter can also start your car from afar with HVAC heating/cooling the car for you.

From a pure economic standpoint, a hybrid never makes sense. The marginal increases in economy are far outweighed by the front end capital cost. In a leasing scenario, it is helped by a high residual, but this is an arbitrary number that the manufacturer has set in an effort to help get them out on the road. There's obviously no basis for the values they've projected.

The bottom line is that everyone is free to choose as they wish for whatever reason they wish. Just be very careful when weighing your options not to blindly follow the assertions offered by the one trying to sell you the product. Very rarely does a manufacturer highlight the downsides of a product/technology that they wish to market. I would not own/lease a hybrid for the reasons sited. But hey, to each his own! We're all here because of a shared passion for a great marque. No harm intended!

Please be sure to keep us apprised of your experiences with the car once you receive it!

As an aside - I'm actually surprised to see just how few have indicated they ARE getting an AH3. I wonder why?