The Central Vermont Public Service donated a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a modified Toyota Prius, to University of Vermont (UVM) for research in two projects. Researchers will test the plug-in vehicle for its adaptability to cold weather conditions and hilly terrain. As plug-in hybrids contribute less to carbon emissions by 30-percent or more, UVM hopes to find out how they compare to non-hybrid vehicles in similar conditions.
Meanwhile across the states in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom is requesting city and county leaders to voice a commitment to purchase plug-in vehicles from auto makers if they start making more of them. He will share his efforts at the U.S. Conference of Mayors this summer. Currently a local garage converts hybrid vehicles to hybrid plug-ins for the city.
Plug-ins are more beneficial now than when they were first on the scene as a potential vehicle of the future. Oil plays a miniscule amount in the production of our electricity then it did years ago; not to mention that gasoline is hardly needed in a plug-in as well.
While PHEVs cost more, mostly due to the battery size needed per vehicle, the cost is offset by the money you’re saving in gasoline and service costs. As more plug-ins are produced it is believed the cost of batteries will decrease as well. More communities could reap the benefits of vehicles that get cleaner as they age. The cost savings and reduction in greenhouse gases alone are enough to rally for increase production of PHEVs.
So from Vermont to San Francisco support may be garnered for this upcoming vehicle of the future. It is likely that UVM’s exercise in testing the plug-in as a reliable vehicle in harsher conditions and San Francisco’s mayor drumming up support to increase production for communities ready to commit to using plug-in hybrids, are a step in the right direction to ask the auto industry to reach its goals sooner rather than later.
