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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg "It's kind of a reality check for a lot of people to realize we don't need to worry about hydrogen fuel cells and solar-power-fueled cars." (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/openroad/post/2009/06/68187699/1)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Hymotion_PHEV.jpgUSATODAY (http://content.usatoday.com) - June 17, 2009

Okay, that's great... but how much electricity did he use? --Ed.

A Florida car dealer found a dramatic way to show off the benefits of a plug-in hybrid car this month.

Toyota_DC097His mission? Have a mechanic drive 1,100 miles in a Toyota Prius modified as a plug-in hybrid burning as little gas as possible. Open Road's Michelle Walbaum reports:

A sign on the car explained it all: "North Palm Beach to Washington D.C. on One Tank or Bust." The result was that a Toyota dealer mechanic completed the 10-day journey last week on 9 gallons of gas, averaging 123 miles a gallon.

Florida Toyota dealer Earl Stewart sponsored the trip to show the need for clean-emission vehicles. He called the car the "Electric Green Machine." The car is fitted with a custom A123 Hymotion lithium battery that was installed at the Advanced Vehicle Research Center in Raleigh, N.C. "You can go 40 miles on one charge of a battery, you don't need to use gasoline," Stewart says.

Even with that juice, he still was dependent on the car's gas engine, which charges the battery. But a lot of the power came from a plug in the wall. "It's a more pure form of hybrid car," says Rick Kearney, Stewart's technician and driver. The electric motor can achieve to 50 miles per hour. But if one needed, or wanted to... http://content.usatoday.com/communities/openroad/post/2009/06/68187699/1

So, how long until a cross country trip is made on a single tank?

Ten days? Did he go 30 the whole way?

Hi Sean:

___This is pretty cool! I wish they would have asked Jay to do the drive in his Hymotion conversion as he would have made it on less than 5 gallons ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

This is a start, but that 10-day trip is a little long.
1100 miles / 10 days = 110 miles/day??

Ten days? Did he go 30 the whole way?

The article says top speed of 50MPH for battery only. I'm guessing this is part of the conversion.

As to how much electricity used, while I'm curious myself I think it's a tertiary question at best. If we get to the point where we can plug cars in at night, we can finally start to use all of the wasted "base load" that goes unused in the dark of night. :)

Exactly! The arguments that plugins and electric cars will overload the grid are missing that point.

...
___This is pretty cool! I wish they would have asked Jay to do the drive in his Hymotion conversion as he would have made it on less than 5 gallons ;)

During their recharge-stop planning on PC, I chimed in that you should drive it, as you could get there without refilling the tank and the battery.

You'd get there sooner too!

They didn't listen.

Hi Dean:

___It is too bad they did not do their route planning here and used Jay as the driver as it would have gone off a lot better ;)

___Either way, it is great to see the tech actually proving its worth even though the Hymotion conversion is still nowhere near where it has to be for the general consumer to pull the 100 + mpg promise.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Sean:

___This is pretty cool! I wish they would have asked Jay to do the drive in his Hymotion conversion as he would have made it on less than 5 gallons ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne
He's a fairly regular PriusChat member, and started a thread (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/61836-north-palm-beach-fl-washington-d-c-one-tank.html) there that served as a travelogue. I suggested this to him:


You might consider posting on CleanMPG too. I bet the folks there would be quite interested in this. Wayne (aka Xcel, the forum owner) has done several marathon runs, including Chicago to New York in a stock Prius on one tank (flying solo) and most recently getting 1446 miles on one tank in a stock Fusion hybrid with multiple drivers making loops on the George Washington Parkway in the DC area. Of course, he might say that Florida to DC on one tank with a PHEV is child's play. ;)

I offered my outside outlet for a recharge, but we couldn't get our schedules in sync and he made other arrangements.

Hi Jim:

___Thank you for the details and supporting his PHEV drive! I hope we have quite a few more drives like this actually as it really is needed to get us moving towards an all-electric or mostly electric propulsion :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

There is no way I would do this with a short range PHEV. A short range PHEV is better suited for your daily commute which I will prove here in a few weeks. I will not be stopping every 30 miles on my way to Hybridfest to recharge. I just don't have that kind of time and even if I did I still would not do it for such a long trip. If I had plans to stop every 30 miles for 5 hours I would try to plug in but when I want to get somewhere a long ways away I want to spend as much time on the road to get to my destination. I will however recharge at the hotels if they allow it.

I'm just curious what any of these drivers (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showpost.php?p=163028&postcount=1) could do with a plugin hybrid. I have a feeling 1100 miles wouldn't be a problem.

I'm just curious what any of these drivers (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showpost.php?p=163028&postcount=1) could do with a plugin hybrid. I have a feeling 1100 miles wouldn't be a problem.

Considering Larry has hit that mark with an non-plugin Prius... yeah! :D

Hi Aether glider:

___I just pray one of us can accomplish the same with the 2010??? Jud has the car but maybe not the drive and now that we know the 100 mpg pop is there, it should only be a matter of time...

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I'm just curious what any of these drivers (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showpost.php?p=163028&postcount=1) could do with a plugin hybrid. I have a feeling 1100 miles wouldn't be a problem.

Considering Larry has hit that mark with an non-plugin Prius... yeah! :D
My record tank of 101.1 would have allowed me to go a bit over 1253 miles if I had pushed it closer to empty. That was the tank where I started my original attempt at my 1225 mile goal that got cut short when I had to go pick up my wife's current car in Ohio. I think with a Hymotion, I could almost get by without using gas. At most only a couple of tanks a year or so.

Exactly! The arguments that plugins and electric cars will overload the grid are missing that point.

Department of Energy did a study on it two and a half years ago. There is enough capacity to power electric vehicles for the United States in most areas, other areas would just need to boost output. A similar study was concluded in the European Union and it was found that there was more capacity available than would be required.

Links to DOE Study:

http://energytech.pnl.gov/publications/pdf/PHEV_Feasibility_Analysis_Part1.pdf
http://energytech.pnl.gov/publications/pdf/PHEV_Economic_Analysis_Part2_Final.pdf

I saw a PHEV Prius yesterday, but it drove by me so fast all I had time to see was the PHEV decal on the back bumper and the outlet.

Hi Voodoo:

___Definitely one of those pulling 60 mpg or less with their $35,000 PHEV :ccry:

___Good Luck

___Wayne