HYBRIDS FUEL DISCUSSION VENTURA COUNTY WEIGHS MERITS, CONSIDERS BUYING MORE.Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer An experiment into whether hybrid vehicles This is a list of hybrid vehicles in chronological order of production: Early designs
With widely fluctuating fluc·tu·ate v. fluc·tu·at·ed, fluc·tu·at·ing, fluc·tu·ates v.intr. 1. To vary irregularly. See Synonyms at swing. 2. To rise and fall in or as if in waves; undulate. v. gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by prices in 2005, the hybrids have drawn special attention by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Board of Supervisors is the body governing counties in the U.S. , which includes two members who drive them, along with the county's chief executive officer. ``I think we should add more, especially for the high users who drive every day,'' said Supervisor John Flynn, who said he has gotten 50 miles per gallon Noun 1. miles per gallon - the distance traveled in a vehicle powered by one gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel unit, unit of measurement - any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange; "the dollar is the United States unit of at times in his four-door Toyota Prius The Toyota Prius is a hybrid electric vehicle developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation, and one of the first such vehicles to be mass-produced and marketed. The Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997, and worldwide in 2001. . But county administrative and transportation officials say the gas mileage Noun 1. gas mileage - the ratio of the number of miles traveled to the number of gallons of gasoline burned fuel consumption rate, gasoline mileage, mileage ratio - the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient) has to be balanced against the higher cost of buying hybrids and maintenance costs. Other factors that can affect cost include whether the vehicle is used mostly on the highway or in the city, tax credits, insurance costs and the individual driver's skill at reaching the vehicle's best fuel economy targets. ``I think the verdict is still out,'' said Supervisor Judy Mikels, who nevertheless said she plans to get a hybrid for herself some day. ``Right now I can't afford it, but at some point in the future I will get one. They are very comfortable and very efficient.'' County transportation officials say they will have about 50 hybrid vehicles - about 3 percent of their fleet - by the end of the fiscal year in June but need about five years of data to reach conclusions on how they will perform over time compared to regular vehicles. In their 2005 analysis, county officials concluded that the hybrid's gas savings were not sufficient to pay off their higher purchase price compared to compact cars, but compared to medium-size cars the hybrids were more cost effective. Since gas prices have risen sharply, the county officials are in the process of putting together a report on the costs that should be presented to the board early this year. Three years ago, Supervisor Steve Bennett The name Steve Bennett refers to more than one person:
The county evaluation showed earlier in the year that a Prius cost $3,277 more than an average midsize car but would save $5,130 over its lifetime in gasoline costs, based on gas costs of $1.28 a gallon. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. figures Bennett presented to the board, the county was saving about 7,800 gallons of gas per year with its hybrids, and maintenance costs had been about the same as for regular cars. ``The board's decision to institute a hybrid vehicle For other types of "Hybrid Transportation", see . A hybrid vehicle (HV) is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle such as: He said the spike in gasoline prices in 2005 made it all the more important to acquire hybrids when they can be shown to save the taxpayers money. ``Given how prices have gone up, we should push the policy and buy hybrid cars hybrid car, hybrid vehicle hybrid n → Hybridfahrzeug nt or -auto nt unless there is a compelling reason not to,'' said Bennett, who said he gets 48 miles per gallon in his Prius. The board has a choice of driving a county-owned car, or buying their own vehicle with help from a $375-per-month vehicle allowance to pay for use of the car on county business, officials said. Johnny Johnston, Ventura County's chief executive officer, said he uses two hybrids, one he bought himself for his family and a county car for work. ``I originally got one for clean air and because of dependence on foreign oil, but at $22,000, it was affordable,'' he said. But Johnston noted that hybrids were selling at a premium in 2005 because of their gas savings, and he agreed the county has a long way to go in evaluating the ultimate costs. Dennis Scamardo, the county's manager of transportation and heavy equipment, said the county is trying to be a good custodian bailee (custodian) n. a person with whom some article is left, usually pursuant to a contract (called a "contract of bailment"), who is responsible for the safe return of the article to the owner when the contract is fulfilled. of taxpayer money. ``You have to look at the environmental impact, you have to look at the fuel economy, you have to look at the maintenance. ... You have to be prudent,'' he said. ``The higher fuel prices are, the more the fuel savings come into play, offsetting the differential in purchase price.'' Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com |
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