Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America

By Sherry Boschert

A politically polarized America is coming together over a new kind of car--the plug-in hybrid that will save drivers money, reduce pollution, and increase US security by reducing dependence on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865715718
• ISBN13: 9780865715714
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Length: 231 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A rare combination of facts and intrigue that will recharge the reader

Sherry Boschert brings her science-writing skills to bear on the thorny problem of efficient transportation on the highways. While informing us about the details of hybrid vehicle technology, she also manages to weave in the gremlins that have interfered with improving car efficiency for many years. Her portrayal of the problem of hydrogen hype is well documented and clearly explained in Chapter 3. I recommend this book highly to the environmentally concerned driver as one of the best books in the field, because it gives the reader the inside story with scientific balance.

very practical, myth-busting discussion of the facts

This book --which in some ways begins where the video "Who Killed the Electric Car" ends, but is yet independent of it --is a very practical, myth-busting discussion of the facts about the capabilities of alternatively-powered vehicles. As one might guess from the title, the book concludes that of all the possible alternatives for fueling cars, plug-in hybrids are the most practical. In fact, as the book reiterates, practical plug-in hybrids were produced and leased by the auto companies about a decade ago --and then recalled and destroyed. Today (July, 2007), news reports say Toyota and GM and perhaps Ford and others "hope" to have an electric car available by 2010. The news stories say Toyota and GM are having trouble getting much more than a range of 40 miles out of the batteries, even though this book points out GM produced electric vehicles in 1999 with a range of about 140 miles! This book is a good primer on how plug-in hybrids work, and also explores other alternative technologies such as hydrogen and fuel cells, though for several reasons it returns to plug-in hybrids as being immediately available technology.

This book ranks right up there with An Inconvenient Truth.

This is a mind-blowing book. With technology available today, we could start mass-producing cars that run both on electricity and gasoline (or biofuels). You could plug your car in at night and charge it while you slept. Then you could drive 40 or more exhaust-free miles before the car switched to gasoline. Since 50% of Americans drive 20 miles or less per day, and 80% drive 50% or less, most of the driving in a plug-in hybrid would be on electricity. (Plug-in hybrids average 100 mpg.) Happily the plug-in hybrid now has many enthusiastic and influential supporters, from environmentalists to conservatives worried about America's dependence on foreing oil -- R. J. Woolsey, former CIA director and the NY Times colulmnist Thomas L. Friedman, among them. Another intersting fact: plugging in your car at night could tap otherwise unused electricity from wind farms, because wind farms don't have a way to store the energy produced at night. So wind power, could end up running our cars.

This is a must-read for the environmentally conscious

This book is deligently researched and compellingly written, full of good history and vivid portraits of the major players. It contains easy-to-understand explanations of complex issues and technology. Sherry Boschert has made the subject a page-turner. For the environmentally and politically conscious, this should be your next book. I'm convinced that a plug-in hybrid should be my next car.

Good book on the subject

This book gives a positive explanation of how and why this automotive "revolution" is happening. It makes a positive case for PHEV's, but it does not get too technical. It has a good set of references in the notes, in case you want check anything for yourself. I enjoyed the book, but I`m a bit biased. I go to things like the Hybridfest and have a CalCars bumper sticker on my car. I'm an electrical engineer and following Plug-in Hybrid vehicle progress is my current passion.