Comments on: Why Can’t Obama’s New Presidential Limo be a Hybrid? http://earthfirst.com/why-cant-obamas-new-presidential-limo-be-a-hybrid/ A Sharp Eye -- With a Green Edge Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:39:18 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Stu http://earthfirst.com/why-cant-obamas-new-presidential-limo-be-a-hybrid/comment-page-1/#comment-5757 Stu Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:30:50 +0000 http://earthfirst.com/?p=2771#comment-5757 Simple. Money, reliability, and power. The presidential limo likely weighs as much as a commercial truck. In a world of RPG's, IED's, and .50 calibre rifles, do you want Obama in anything less? We dont need the weight.... HE DOES. There are no readily available proven hybrid drivetrains that can move that kind of weight in a rapid fashion and can fit under the hood of a limosine packed with armor and electronics. They cant just develop a special unit, their almost bankrupt. Simple answer, put a truck diesel engine in it. Big, simple, and RELIABLE. The presidential limo is as special a case as there is. get over it. Simple. Money, reliability, and power. The presidential limo likely weighs as much as a commercial truck. In a world of RPG’s, IED’s, and .50 calibre rifles, do you want Obama in anything less? We dont need the weight…. HE DOES. There are no readily available proven hybrid drivetrains that can move that kind of weight in a rapid fashion and can fit under the hood of a limosine packed with armor and electronics.

They cant just develop a special unit, their almost bankrupt.

Simple answer, put a truck diesel engine in it. Big, simple, and RELIABLE. The presidential limo is as special a case as there is. get over it.

]]> By: Art Vandelia http://earthfirst.com/why-cant-obamas-new-presidential-limo-be-a-hybrid/comment-page-1/#comment-5102 Art Vandelia Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:41:21 +0000 http://earthfirst.com/?p=2771#comment-5102 I have a 1983 Mercedes which is modified to run on vegetable oil. On top of it, I live within three miles of work and school and ride a bike the vast majority of the time. My green credentials being established, let me say that this is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The hybrid systems currently found on GM trucks are BAS (belt alternator starter), otherwise known as "mild hybrids". All they do is shut the engine off at a stoplight and quickly turn it back on when the gas pedal is depressed. A full out hybrid such as Toyota's synergy drive or GM/Mercedes' two-mode has yet to be applied to a large vehicle. So, what is being advocated here is to plop a very complex drivetrain into a brand new application for three vehicles. If the tens of millions of dollars in development costs were spent on carbon credits instead, Cadillac one would probably not only be carbon neutral, but carbon negative. Yet more damning for treehugger's intelligence, is the fact that the presidential limo itself is only a small part of the white house's carbon footprint. I believe the presidential motorcade has something like 35 vehicles in it. And a GMC top-kick's mpg pales in comparison to that of a 747. A hybrid limo would only be for the press to eat up. I'd rather see my first black president be a hypocrite in an Abrams tank, than a target in a Prius. I have a 1983 Mercedes which is modified to run on vegetable oil. On top of it, I live within three miles of work and school and ride a bike the vast majority of the time. My green credentials being established, let me say that this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. The hybrid systems currently found on GM trucks are BAS (belt alternator starter), otherwise known as “mild hybrids”. All they do is shut the engine off at a stoplight and quickly turn it back on when the gas pedal is depressed. A full out hybrid such as Toyota’s synergy drive or GM/Mercedes’ two-mode has yet to be applied to a large vehicle. So, what is being advocated here is to plop a very complex drivetrain into a brand new application for three vehicles. If the tens of millions of dollars in development costs were spent on carbon credits instead, Cadillac one would probably not only be carbon neutral, but carbon negative. Yet more damning for treehugger’s intelligence, is the fact that the presidential limo itself is only a small part of the white house’s carbon footprint. I believe the presidential motorcade has something like 35 vehicles in it. And a GMC top-kick’s mpg pales in comparison to that of a 747. A hybrid limo would only be for the press to eat up. I’d rather see my first black president be a hypocrite in an Abrams tank, than a target in a Prius.

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