Hybrids, hybrids, hybrids. That's all you hear about in the mass media. Car magazines haven't paid much attention to them, but turn on the TV or radio and that's all they talk about, usually while accusing anything bigger or faster than a Camry of being the greatest threat to humanity.
Freiburger's column a few months ago pointed out a contrary opinion to the general public's notion that hybrids are the saviors of all mankind, but the fact of the matter is that they're only going to increase in number in the next few years. Hybrids like the Toyota Prius lost a little luster when the information came out that they're really not that much more fuel-efficient than a Honda Civic, but the people who buy them don't care-they're saving the planet and want everyone to know.
Hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles are not a bad idea for general transportation, and people buying them theoretically funds the research to either make them better or to develop better takes on the same idea. I'm still confused about how a hydrogen fuel-cell car works, but it seems like a logical next step in commuter-car technology. And I'm sure that eventually, battery technology will make the electric car a feasible device for a short-distance commuter-maybe even a performance car, who knows? Go to www.commutercars.com, and you'll learn about the Tango, a weird little electric thing that is claimed to outrun a Corvette on the dragstrip.
I think the hysteria surrounding hybrids and similar cars is mostly a knee-jerk reaction to the environmental scare tactics employed by the Al Gores of the world, but the fact is, they get really good gas mileage, something that appeals to a lot of people in the days of $3-per-gallon gas. My only fear is that some stupid politician somewhere will use this as an opportunity to pass laws effectively banning any car that's not a hybrid. That means no gas engine unless there are electric motors or fuel cells also driving the wheels. That will really suck.
It also got me thinking about a hybrid hot rod. I know, I know-blasphemy! But I'm constantly hearing it from my wife, who thinks HOT ROD magazine should figure out how to either hot rod an existing hybrid or turn a traditional hot rod-a musclecar or maybe a street rod-into a form of hybrid. Even new guy Campbell brought it up. He was riding with me as I borrowed the Camry hybrid from Motor Trend's vehicle pool and drove it to shoot the photo for this column. He commented, "I wonder if I could put this drivetrain in my Falcon?" You'll be happy to know that my first impulse was to punch him in the mouth and my second was to fire him on the spot, but it did get me thinking.
A hybrid still has a conventional internal-combustion engine to power it when the load increases or the batteries are low. Most of them are tiny little four-cylinders, and they are slower than dog doo, but Lexus has a 400hp sedan with a hybrid drivetrain, so performance hybrids are coming. Why couldn't GM build a Camaro with an LS7 and a hybrid setup as an option? The weight, complexity, and cost would be killers-and who buys a V-8 Camaro with fuel mileage as a factor anyway-but it could be done. It might make more sense in a Monte Carlo, though.
I'm not sold on the idea of sticking a hybrid drivetrain in an early Camaro or street rod, but eventually someone will do it. Keeping the power of a modern V-8 and adapting it to the electrics from an existing hybrid car would require OE-level engineering, but it could be interesting. GM Performance Division, Ford Racing, and Mopar Performance could do it and create quite a buzz, but I'm not sure if it would be positive or negative.
Am I completely insane to even be thinking about this? -Rob Kinnan