Hi e1p1,
I fully agree with you on your points. I went off on a rant because everyone around here and their extended families are buying a hybrid because they're thinking they can save big bux at the pump. It also seems very fashionable to drive one just like it was when SUV's were so popular on everyone's driveways. I think that's the wrong approach. One should buy a hybrid because of other reasons knowing they can get a similar gas-guzzling car for less $$.

The problem with oil is it's the only source of energy that has a high enough energy density to satisfy our energy demand and it's so widely available--for the time being. We also have a huge infrastructure to have it available anywhere we travel, so much that we don't think twice about worrying about finding a gas station.

Some folks think running a hydrogen car is the solution for the future also--it emits water and heat as exhaust--what can be better? Well, the problem with that is, it takes energy to extract hydrogen and it's not something we can just pump out of the ground like we do with oil and natural gas.

No doubt that hybrids are more efficient than regular gassers. That's a given, but they cost more.

I'm not a solar expert nor do I want to be :-), but the highest efficiency solar panels in mass production today can get about 10Whr/sqft per day, best case. If it takes an average of 30hp to drive a car for 30minutes, 30*748*0.5 = ~11.2KWhr is needed. Assuming roughly an 80% power conversion efficiency from the solar panels, one needs about 14KWhr for that 30 minute drive.

Assuming an average of 8hrs of solar insolation all year round (which is never the case depending on where you live), one therefore needs a solar panel system with about 1.8KWhr capacity. Figure about $5/KW for materials only, your solar panel would cost approx $10K just to let you drive a modest car 30minutes everyday for "free". Ignoring inflation, foregone investment oppurtunities, electric rate hikes, etc, it'll take about 6-8yrs at best to break even in electric savings if you just plugged into the wall instead.

Unfortunately land where I live costs a premium, so I don't have the privilege of having a huge lot where I can setup some panels :-( Otherwise I'd do it just for fun simply because of the geek factor and I think it's totally cool. Panels do wear out, and their efficiency drops over time.

Someone kick me if my math is wrong :-)

On that strap-on battery pack for extended running on the Prius--a cheapazz like me could get a couple and go plug in at work or anywhere there's a electric recharge station. I could theoretically drive free of charge and never have to pay a dime for fuel, and I can claim tens of thousands of mpg. If there's extra charge left at the end of the day, I could run my whole house in the evenings and cut my electric billz. LOL!