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Testing Hybrid Cars in Vermont

Burlington, Vermont - November 5, 2009

In spite of the higher cost of hybrid cars, you see more of them on the road -- as consumers react to the latest gasoline shock a year ago when gas went above four dollars a gallon. Now, a group of researchers is trying to find out just how good a deal hybrids are -- especially with Vermont's long, cold winters.

This past summer the University of Vermont began a comprehensive study of hybrid cars. The Transportation Research Center converted a standard Toyota Camry into a hybrid -- powered by a combination of electric and gasoline. A second Camry was left intact.

Karen Sentoff, a UVM Transportation Center graduate student, said, "We can really do a side-by-side comparison of these vehicles and what you're gaining, say, from having a hybrid system."

Sentoff and Mitch Robinson, another grad student, hook up the hybrid to equipment that monitors the entire performance, like the flight data recorder on commercial aircraft. After they're broken in, the cars will be road tested in real Vermont conditions. "We're getting second-by-second data," Sentoff said, "so we can really see what the effects of going up and down hills, or when you run into colder weather, we're really getting those variable effects and how that translates into emissions."

Common sense tells you that hybrids use less gasoline. But how well do they actually perform in bad weather? The UVM study will provide answers, through technology.

From the beginning, cars were the product of technology, the most significant being Henry Ford's innovation, the assembly line. By 1960, it may come as a surprise that BMW already was building the first Smart Car, now on display at Hemmings Motor News in Bennington.

As technology evolves, some antique car enthusiasts believe the romance of the car -- the old status symbol of having the latest muscle car, for instance -- is receding into history. Maybe so. But the UVM researchers suggest that the younger generation may have a similar way of looking at the next generation of cars.

Robinson said, "With these hybrids, I think a lot of times people just feel good about just the fact they're driving a hybrid, and it's a status symbol to a certain extent. You're saying, I actually care about the environment and about what's coming out of my car."

The cars just recently arrived at UVM and so far, they've hardly been noticed. But that will change. They will be noticed when the hit the road for performance tests this fall.

Transportation Center director Richard Watts said, "The promise, the vision here, is that we could actually be running our transportation systems on renewable energy resources."

Perhaps the car will never be the same. But the next generation is on its way. In one form or another, the car looks like it's here to stay.

Andy Potter - WCAX News

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