10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Timely book but not well thought out, October 21, 2007
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles (Mass Market Paperback)
This book appears to have been written in early 2007. He is aware of the coming change to EPA Fuel economy standards but doesn't know the details. It's good that he mentions the coming change at all, since anyone comparing 2008 cars to those he's writing about must be aware of this fact!
The book consists of 12 chapters:
1. Challenges to our mobility
2. Brief history of alternative fuels
3. Green for sale today
4. Gasoline-Hybrid vehicles
5. Flex Fuel/E85 vehicles
6. Natural gas vehicles
7. Clean diesel and bio-diesel
8. New tech gasoline vehicles
9. Electric cars
10. What about my car
11. Which vehicle is right for you
12. Coming attractions
I am primarily interested in hybrids, so I read chapters 1-4 closely (56 of the 189 pages in the book).
In Chapter 1 he proceeds to debunk global warming, and explain that we will never run out of gas (at least not until the next century). I think he's trying to be even-handed and explain all the pluses and minuses to each theory, but his reasoning is pretty un-supported (we'll find more oil reserves in the future, because we always have in the past).
In Chapter 2 he debunks steam cars and turbine gas cars. Again, he doesn't know very much about steam cars, but his general info is just OK.
In Chapter 3 he explains how nuclear power plants might make electricity so cheap they can put charging stations everywhere and not meter their usage. I live next door to one nuclear power plant already, let's pray he's wrong about there being more of these monstrosities (IMHO).
Chapter 4 begins by poking holes in the "bybrid hype". Huh? I haven't heard much of anything about hybrids, much less the hype. He says "sure you can save gas, but what about the added maintenance for all those electric bits" (I paraphrase). Too bad he didn't do a little more research here too. My Prius has no maintenance on the electric bits, no more than my washing machine's motor at home. And he forgot that a car like the Prius has no clutch, no torque converter, no starter motor, etc.
My reading stopped there because I am not interested in diesel cars. You know why? Because here are *no* high-mileage diesels for sale in the USA as of October 2008. The same is true for natural gas cars and electric cars (at least not in North Carolina).
So I have three problems with this book:
#1 - Either he doesn't like hybrid cars, or he has overcompensated in attempting to be even-handed.
#2 - His knowledge is pretty superficial.
#3 - He spends way too much time on things that consumers can't purchase now, or perhaps ever (hydrogen cars, high MPG diesels, etc.)
If you're going to buy a car, go read
The Essential Hybrid Car Handbook: A Buyer's Guide. On the other hand, if you're writing a high-school paper on alternative fuels, this book is for you.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful source of information, November 5, 2007
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles (Mass Market Paperback)
Jack Nerad won't tell you "buy this car" or "this is the answer to all your problems." What he does is far better than that. He provides a wealth of information on the true state of our oil reserves, how car emissions affect the environment, the spectre of global warming, and so on. And he does it by providing, in as unbiased a manner as possible (where unbiased means providing relevant information no matter which "side" it seems to come down on---it doesn't mean the current trend of trying to pretend that every theory out there is equally valid so as to avoid angering anyone), as much information as possible. There's so much packed into this little book that I constantly found myself repeating tidbits to my husband; I'm not a car person, but I found this stuff fascinating.
For instance, it's illuminating to learn a few things about automobile history. I daresay most folks buying cars and arguing over the viability of various types of engines today have no idea that the first cars didn't have gasoline engines, and that this is hardly the first time in history that automobile manufacturers have worked feverishly on things such as electric or hybrid cars. Or that the Prius was operating on the roads in Japan for several years before it debuted in the US. I was also surprised to learn about "clean diesel" technology in use in other countries, that our regulators are having trouble figuring out what to do with. This may not seem relevant right now since it isn't available here now, but if it becomes available I'd like to be able to approach it knowledgeably, rather than with the knee-jerk media-fed "ewwww, diesel" reaction.
Nerad goes into the advantages and disadvantages of hybrids, electrics, clean diesel, biodiesel, flex fuel, hydrogen fuel cell, and other current and proposed technologies---not those advantages and disadvantages that the media likes to tout, but the ones that simply affect your decisions as a buyer, as someone who hopefully cares about the environment, and as someone who has to weigh the benefit to the environment against what you're willing and able to pay. He delves into safety issues with each type of engine, repair costs, operation costs, maintenance costs, purchase price differences, projected savings (or not) over the life of the car (a general analysis that you can plug your own numbers into based on current fuel and car prices), convenience, and so on. You'll be able to figure out what type of car might work best if you have a large family to haul around, vs. what will work best if you have a two-hour commute every morning at highway speeds.
All of this information is provided in as simple-yet-complete a manner possible. I truly feel that when we're ready to buy our next car, this will arm us with what we need to make a choice that will benefit our wallets as well as the environment. Nerad could have stuck to a simple run-down of conventional hybrid vehicles, but I think he would have done the reader a disservice by doing so; by including so much information he made this book more useful in the long term. Hopefully it will help to show people that we don't have to stick to tried-and-true technologies in our search for a better solution.
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