Toyota Exec Tempers Expectations for Plug-Ins
 Plugging in is not exactly new... Nestled in a new book called "Historic Photos of Cincinnati" is a 1912 shot of a woman plugging in her electric car. It worked then, it works today. |
Washington DC June 13, 2008; The AIADA newsletter reported that a top Toyota technology expert this week urged people to temper expectations for what plug-in hybrid vehicles can accomplish.
Bill Reinert, national manager of the advanced technology group for Toyota, said that the demands of real-world driving, such as rapid acceleration on freeway entrances, could dramatically reduce the all-electric range of plug-ins, whenever they hit the market.
"When we see the (claims of) 100 mile-per-gallon stuff, not everybody's going to get 100 miles per gallon," Reinert said. He was on a panel at a Washington conference on plug-ins and afterward spoke to Automotive News.
Proponents contend that an all-electric range of 40 miles would satisfy the daily needs of most drivers, giving them the equivalent of 100 mpg or more and dramatically cutting petroleum demands. But just as some consumers have been disappointed by the real-world mileage of regular hybrids, plug-ins may not live up to those high hopes, Reinert said.
But Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, said at the conference that big changes in policies are possible because "people in this country are mad."