Hybrid cars in real life

I thought that it was time to do something about my "Anti-Prius attitude". This is not supposed to be a car review, even if it might seem like one.
I asked an aquaintance of mine, a local car dealer, if I he was selling hybrid cars and if I could borrow a Prius for an afternoon drive. Fortunately, he had a Prius among his vast sortiment of one hybrid car. Compared to the US the hybrid market in Europe is still undeveloped because of the strong performing European diesel powered cars.  It was an unused Toyota Prius V from 2013 and ready to drive. So I had a go. It is said to do around 42 mpg (overall), g
et from 0 to 60 (mph with 138 hp) in 10 seconds and on to a top speed of 115 (mph). Well, it doesn't. As most cars don't live up to one or to things in their description, the Prius is just a liar. I really tried to drive economically but only managed to get 40 mpg , which is weak for a Hybrid. In terms of speed the Prius is lacking too. It took me more than 11 seconds to get from 0 to 60 mpg. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to try to reach its top speed due to Austria's 80 mile speed limit on the motorway. Unofficially, I have to say that I couldn't reach it because the car would only go 109 mph.
Although those statistics don't matter they give you the general impression that the car is just not as good as you thought it would be.

The hybrid car engineers, especially at Toyota, really need to think about developing better engines. As it is now, they produce relatively weak engines that use too much fuel to be called "efficient".
Personally, I would never change my petrol engine (159 horsepower, 40mpg) for an engine that is not only more expensive, but also worse, for just a little bit of fuel economy.
I think that the most relevant reason for the development of a hybrid market was the attitude of the American car byers. And it still is. Americans tend to buy cars based on performance rather than fuel economy or practicality. For years the Ford F-150 (a large Pick-Up truck) was one of the best selling cars in the whole US. Those unnecessarily big cars used an astronomic amount of fuel and therefore, it was only a matter of time until the public opinion shifted. Whereas, in Europe the diesel car market flourished, Toyota introduced the hybrid car in the US. The problem I see is not the hybrid technology itself but the attitude of the hybrid byers. Instead of choosing the most economical hybrid, built in the US (less pollution because it is engineered and built without unnecessary transport) they choose the Prius because of its symbolic value.

Source:
http://www.treehugger.com/cars/test-drive-ford-c-max-hybrid-vs-toyota-prius-v.html

Abstact-WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK!:! MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION! !

WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK!:!

MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF

ZOMBIE INFECTION! !

Abstact:

This paper intends to demonstrate the flexibility of mathematical modelling by theoretically analysing an outbreak of a pandemic, in this case a zombie infection. The focus lies on the classical zombies, being slow and imbecilic, instead of the more autonomous ones, which were introduced by the film industry in the 21st century. At first, the paper treats the origin of the word zombie and the different cultural beliefs related to zombification around the world. The paper describes different possible scenarios of an an outbreak of a zombie infection, using mathematical theories and formulae, such as Euler's Method. Using mathematical modelling the author(s) show(s) that in any case, an outbreak of zombies infecting humans would have disatrous results for the human civilisation. Even a quarantine or a cure would, not suffice to eradicate all zombies. Furthermore the paper states that human births and deaths would provide the infected with limitless reinforcements. The paper concludes by advising the only strategy with a high chance of success: A series of attacks, with increasing force, which are carried out as fast as possible.

Your personal guide to kill the leader of the Third Reich in 9 simple steps

Your personal guide to kill the leader of the

Third Reich in 9 simple steps:

Step 1.

First you need to acquire a time-machine of some sort that enables you to go back in time and learn how to operate it.

Step 2.

Now, you’ll have to decide on wheter you would like to kill that bastard in ranged or melee combat.

For the first type we would advise you to use some sort of high-powered sniper rifle with explosive ammunition, to ensure a quick and definit end for the future leader of the Third Reich. Be sure to also purchase a nigth--vision scope.

If you prefer the “getting your hands dirty” method, the internet offers an unimaginable amount of possible tools for killing, which can almost all be acquired legally. So take a few hours to browse through the net and find the weapon that suits you best (knife, sword, morningstar etc.)

Step 3.

Whatever weapon you chose, learn to handle it properly.

Step 4.

Now it is time to choose the exact time period and location you want to go back to. You wouldn’t want to kill a helpless child in some Austrian village, so your best shot is the time when he was already an antisemite, but was still “preaching” to his followers in Bavarian pubs.

Step 5.

Depending on your choice of time-machine, it might not enable you to travel back in time AND space. If you have one that does not allow both, get to Munich first.

 Step 6.

Ready your weapon and enter your time-machine, set the date, hour and if possible location you researched and hit the “start” button.

Step 7.

Guten Tag, you have reached Germany in the 1920’s.

• If you chose the rifle we suggested, just climb onto the roof of a building nearby.

• If you chose the melee weapon, position yourself behind some dumpsters or around a dark corner.

In both cases it is necessary that you watch the pub’s exit closely.

Step 8.

Sitting on the roof of a building, wait for Hitler to get out of the door and aim right for the moustache in his face.

As a marksman you have two options :

• Take your time and wait until no one is blocking the path of your bullet, take a deep breath and shoot like a real sniper.

• Do not wait for anything and shoot as soon as you are certain that you will hit Hitler. Do not be afraid that your target might survive. Your bullet will travel through other people as if they were made of straw. You might kill bystanders, but they are standing close to Hitler and therefore, they are nazis who deserve death.

As a melee assassin:

• Wait behind the dumpster/corner until Hitler leaves the building, jump out and beat him to death/slice him up. We would advise you to kill all bystanders as well, just to be on the safe side. (someone could try to save him or take revenge). To justify this action, just look at option 2 of the sniper instruction.

Step 9.  Got back to your time machine and travel back to a future you might not recognize anymore.

Congratulations, you have now changed the world's history.

The Napalm Girl

The Napalm Girl

Photo description 

The photograph shows a flat scenery where only grass and small shrubs and bushes grow. Right through this flat wasteland runs a broad street and a small house can be seen in the background. The background is filled by an enormous wall of smoke, like the ones caused by huge explosions. In the foreground you can see 5 children, of which three seem to be crying, one completely naked, one dressed in a shirt and underpants, one dressed in what seems to be pyjamas, one dressed in a shirt and what seems to be either long, airy pants or a skirt and one smaller child apparently in just a shirt. Behind them, there are five American soldiers in full Vietnam war gear, seemingly completely unfazed by the suffering children as they do not seem to have any intention of intervening or helping them. The soldiers also do not expect any attacks as three of them carry their weapons at least partly concealed.

Group Instructional Feedback/Criticism

 Group Instructional Feedback/Criticism

Our group agreed that the instruction is helpful, yet there were several things that would need improvement to turn this into a good instruction sheet. First of all, there should be a short explanation on what a camera lucida actually is and what it can be used for. At the top, a list of all the materials needed to build the camera would be useful, otherwise people who start reading the text before having a close look at the pictures might encounter problems. Moreover, the units of length are illegible, therefore it is hard to find out if the author meant centimeters, millimeters, or a completely different unit. Another thing our group would change is the structure of the two paragraphs as we would rather use bullet points to describe the building process. While we think that the pictures are very helpful and that the author obviously put a lot of effort into these instructions, we are convinced that the individual steps could be structured better.

Group: Nitsche Fabio, Pelich Katharina, Tieber Martin

Hybrid cars and their semiotics

Hybrid cars and their semiotics

As some people might know semiotics is the study of symbols and symbol systems. This post focuses on the symbolic meaning of hybrid cars, and explores why this meaning is important to consumers. In short, people buy Hybrid cars because of their image.
Different vehicles send radically different messages to our peers. A Rolls-Royce for example defines its owner as sophisticated and wealthy, while a HEV owner might appear to be more socially responsible. There are quite a few studies showing that the average HEV owner/buyer see themselves as more "socially responsible" and "green" than others, which leads to a feeling of moral superiority. In fact, over half of all HEV purchases are motivated by the symbolic meaning of HEVs, rather than the actual performance of the car.
Its all about connotations:
Many car companies have a certain reputation that is unique to their range of vehicles creating stereotypes. For example "all Volvos are very safe cars". However, this creates a very dangerous phenomenon. We tend to transfer the properties of a car onto its owner extending the sterotype. "All Volvos are safe cars, therefore all Volvo owners mustbe very interested in safety". As a result many people decide to buy hybrids, just to be considered "responsible" and "green" even if they did not believe in any of those values.

In 2005 a study conducted on HEV owners yielded the following connotations for the Toyota Prius:

-Prius-Hybrid
-Future Technology
-Good for the World
-I care about the World
-I am a moral person
-I am a good parent

A supporting factor for these ridiculous connotations is the fact that almost every celebrity in the US owns a Toyota Prius to prove their climate awareness etc. Personally, I think that there are much better HEV cars on the market, but the Prius was the first of its kind.
A study on car buyers decisions from the year 2004 showed that many HEV buyers knew very well that they were buying an expensive, bad performing car that would, even on the long term, cost them more than its petrol powered version. Yet, they still chose the HEV (in most cases the Prius) to be seen as their idols, popular singers or Hollywood stars.

Hybrid cars- stupid trend or real alternative? Part 2

Hybrid cars- stupid trend or real alternative? Part 2


Last time I wrote about reducing fuel consumption with Hybrid elcetric vehicles as a part of economic reasons for buying a Hybrid. This post will elaborate another aspect of those reasons: vehicle emissions

This seems to be closely related to the last post, as more consumed fuel results in more emissions.
But CO2 is not only produced by the engines of our cars, but also by their construction and the transport of resources. Well, one might argue that all cars need to be assembled and the materials for all vehicles have to be delivered to a factory from some distant country.

 

While this is true for all conventional cars, the different parts needed for a Hybrid travel longer and much farther. Especially the production of battery cells for Japanese HEVs, not built in the EU,
takes such a huge toll on our environment that some studies proved it to be more "green" to buy a conventional, locally produced/assembled car instead of a Hybrid that had to voyage across the seven seas.
If you really want to own a hybrid an alternative would be to buy one that was completely manufactured in your own or a neighbouring country, which of course limits the range of cars to chose from.

Hybrid cars- stupid trend or real alternative?

Hybrid cars- stupid trend or real alternative?

Motor vehicles are a core technology of our modern life and economy. Unfortunately, they pollute our air, soil and water, depend on oil supplies and are to some extend responsible for global warming.
In response, some car companies have introduced a range of Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to reduce emissions and fuel use. The world's biggest car manufacturer Toyota introduced the first HEV for the common man, the Toyota Prius, in 1997/98. After 16 years on the market the HEV car has conquered almost 2 percent of the US market. If the recent development continues the HEV car will replace the conventional engine in about 40 to 50 years. At first this might seem remarkable but this rise has a number of reasons and only a few of them are actually thanks to the hybrid car itself.

Manufacturers like Toyota boast with their superior technology, the better fuel consumption and less pollution of HEV cars. Hybrid opponents however, claim that the figures are unrealistic and could never be achieved in real situations. There are in fact, about as many studies proving the superiority of HEVs in terms of pollution and fuel economy as there are studies displaying the opposite.

The reasons for buying a HEV can be separated into two types:

• Economy related 

• Image related (Semiotics)

This post is focused on one aspect of the first type -> fuel economy.

The most important argument for an HEV is fuel economy. By assisting the petrol engine with an electric one, fuel consumption can be reduced to up to 40%. When the Prius was introduced, in 1997, this was true, but in recent years there have been quite a few remarkable diesel engines that could match the reduction of HEV cars.
Additionally, a "normal" driver (someone who doesn't look at the revolution counter) will always ruin an HEV's fuel consumption, because they would use the petrol engine 80% of the time. I think current HEV cars excel at only one thing: commuting (in cities). No petrol or diesel powered car can match a Hybrid on a congested road. Slowly advancing at around 10 to 20 mph will allow the HEV to use its electric motor efficiently.

The general description of my CAJ: Non Fossil fueled cars (hybrids and electric cars)

The general description of my CAJ: Non Fossil fueled cars (hybrids and electric cars)


My CAJ intends to show the incredible advance in the development of non fossil fueled cars. The focus is set on electric cars and electric hybrids.
In the 21st century the technology behind cars using electricity in addition to fossil fuel, so called hybdrids, is almost considered general knowledge. Or so I thought, until I talked to some of my female colleagues (not sexist, but my few male colleagues are petrolheads) who had literally no idea how a hybrid or even a conventional engine works. Therefore I inserted this definition:

"A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle.
The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors. However, other mechanisms to capture and utilize energy are included."(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle)

Over the next few weeks I intend to look past your everyday Hollywood star driving his new Prius in Beverly Hills to show off his climate awareness. I do not want to ridicule a person who is aware of man-made pollution and tries to reduce his own ecological footprint, but I will show that hybrids, as well made as they can be, only form one step on the journey to the goal of complete independence from fossil fuels for personal transport.
 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Bu5GMIp4U -> simpsons extract