According to the following ABC story (unfortunately, no media release yet from his holiness) Jon “Eco” Stanhope wants to see some of the ACT Government petrol powered vehicles changed for electric cars. This follows an announcement in June from US electric car company Better Place, that Canberra will be the first city in Australia to have city wide roll out of electric vehicle infrastructure.
Environmentally it makes sense for the ACT Government to take this route, and it would probably increase the incentives to work for the local government if they start buying Tesla Roadsters. Alternatively, wouldn’t it make more economic sense (and similar environmental benefit) to purchase hybrid vehicles, like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to simply set a CO2 target and allow any vehicle to be purchased by the ACT Govt that met or exceeded it? Then we could just let the best technology win the day.
It wouldn’t be hard to work out, seeing as every new car sold has a windscreen sticker telling you its CO2 output.
I agree with Rosencrantz, but base it on the actual tested output and fual usage figures. It has been proven time and again that Toyota are not exactly upfront with the Prius and it actually uses significantly more fual and has a higher CO2 output then most of the small European diesels. Plus it is ugly and not really practical, I just looked at the Prius and ordered the new golf diesel instead, more room, better economy and better for the evironment.
Besides, its not what you drive but how you drive it. I have seen a Smart roadster run out of fuel quicker then a BMW M5, purely because of the way they were driven. The test was done at Eastern Creek and the Smart was given the mission of trying to keep up with the M5. They were not to exceed 110km/h and had to accelerate as fast as possible to that speed.
And based on the way I see most of the cars with ACT Govt plates on them being driven. You could give them suzuki cappacinos and they would still use more fuel then a drag car.
The ACT government has already bought some Prius’s for the fleet, pretty sure it was covered here.
Whether a hybrid or a high-efficiency diesel uses more fuel depends on the environment – with a lot of stop-start driving the hybrid’s regenerative braking gives it the advantage, whereas with more highway-style driving the diesels win out.
The ACT government should just buy a fleet of electric golf buggies, and require all ministers to where clown costumes when driving them. This would improve the public perception of the Gov’t considerably.
I talked to an ACT Gov fleet director at a function last year. The Priuses they had were a bit of a disaster and as far as purchase and maintenance costs went. They cost nearly double what a Mitsubishi Colt did, with about the same fuel/emissions.
Not that I want to poo-poo electrics, this particular initiative look slike it has some potential.
@p1
The image you created has caused me to spit my coffee all over my keyboard…love the idea
If the Better Place project takes off, I’d love to see the MLAs all driving Tesla Model S sedans ($US46,500 or so, four door sedans).
Grail said :
Much nicer than the Prius, and soon there will be other options – so I hope it all works out!
Considering that the government wants us to embrace public transport, don’t give them a car at all.
Prius? Economically effective? Ha!
If economics are an issue, buy a fleet comprised of the Hyundai Getz (4 door $14,990 drive away), and keep them for the full 5 year warranty period. The flog ‘em off for a few thousand bucks when the warranty is finished.
Buying hybrids and diesels is nice and touchy feely and all, but it’s not an economic choice. With diesels, servicing costs are typically higher than petrols, especially for European models. If the govt wants to drive hybrids or diesels to make a statement, or support the manufacturers then that’s a separate matter.
Developing electric cars is a good thing, though, and I think the govt should support it.
The trouble with hybrids is, they mean owners think it’s OK to drive as much as they did – sans guilt – when they should be catching the bus.
Who the hell would want to drive an electric car? Did we lose a war?