AutoEnthusiast.ca

Much has been made of the (potential) impact of hybrid vehicles and the actual impact they are having here in Canada – both from the perspective of the environment and from the perspective of the automotive industry.

An interesting article in the Globe and Mail recently examined the launch of Ford’s provocative Edge HySeries fuel cell plug-in hybrid. While the premise is sound – much of the talk coming from Ford and others as far as Hybrid vehicles may be more for public relations purposes than it is for everyday production. From the article:

Okay, now let’s be clear: Ford has no plans to put the HySeries into production. This $2-million (U.S.) prototype exists for two reasons.

First, it is a useful showcase for the state-of-the-art in alternative-fuel vehicles. Second, this Ford is a pure public relations tool. It exists to demonstrate that auto makers such as Ford are hard at work trying to create the cleanest, greenest cars possible.

You’re right – I’m sure it reads well in the press release.

Make no mistake, the HySeries is clean. It uses no petroleum-fuelled power and it can, in fact, be plugged into an ordinary household outlet to recharge.

Here in British Columbia, that power comes from clean hydroelectric power. However, if we were in Alberta, where most electricity comes from coal-fired plants, generating that electricity would create pollution. So let’s not forget that electric cars aren’t always clean cars — just cars whose “tailpipe” emissions have been moved to somewhere else.

The hybrid vehicles that Ford, Toyota and others currently have on the road are certainly a great step towards a more sustainable automotive fleet for Canadians – but it will prove very interesting to see if the next generation of hybrid vehicles can actually make it into production and make a real difference to the environment.

We’ll be watching…