Let's do the math, shall we: A Land Rover (not a high end engine/trim) will have an emissions level of about 260-300 g/km of CO2. If we're talking about 50 km, that's 13-15 kg/day. Methane weighs 0.717 kg/m³. If we give the cow 200 liters, that's ~143 g/day. Now, some claim that methane may be 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, thus one cow is equal to a Land Rover driving 9.5 km/day.
I've heard about what he's referring to, and it does exist, and it's apparently far enough out there that there's a BBC documentary on it already, but it's something that's proposed as a sort of auxiliary solution. I'm not sure what the overall process is in detail, but it seems to involve some sort of exposure to absurdly high heat in an oxygen-deprived environment which apparently causes available hydrocarbons to separate. Supposedly, they claim that just about any waste organic compounds can be made into "biodiesel" this way, but I don't buy that, considering they've only demonstrated with stuff that was already rooted in petroleum (rubber tires, plastics)...
And there goes another point missed completely... The point was that the reported mileage figures are closer to realistic for more people now that the driving schedule for the test has changed. The reality for most Prius owners in the US is that they average mileage somewhere in the low 40s with only brief stints above 50. In Japan, where traffic congestion is more severe, it's normal for people to get about double that kind of mileage.
As long as it performs, I think he'll be okay. The Prius had that kind of effect on him, but if it offered decent performance and got the mileage, he'd probably be fine with it even with the poor build quality which itself is clearly a measure to cut costs elsewhere so that the cost of building a hybrid drivetrain could be offset.
Exactly. And it will. You don't need launch control, as they added that first gear. You get maximum torque from 0 rpm onwards, or any other time for that matter, and maximum power from 5000 to 12000 rpm. He'll love it.
Last but not least, like shown in "Who killed the electric car?", There really are no technological barriers to make all that possible right now. The only barriers are capitalistic (monopolistic, rather) and political.
Hydrogen fuel cells is definitely the most complex and expensive technology, that makes all the current powers the most money. All electric is definitely the thing we consumers should want.
But I'll stop for now.
When you buy a new car (or any other product for that matter) there is simply no way to tell whether the engine will break down after 30 Mm, or last 300 Mm. You can take the manufacturer's reliability history into account, but that only gives you a probability based on what happened in the past. If your parents never had any problems, that's simple luck. The same way it's just luck if you never had any hardware defects.
Yes it is a matter of luck. Most people will never have any serious engine trouble, but there is a certain probability, and it can hit you even if you're the most careful driver in the world and always keep your car in good condition.
Or maybe the manufacturer did something "wrong". No manufacturing process will ever produce perfect parts without exception. Some pieces break earlier than others.
And why would you not be able to replace parts in an electric motor?
expect their cars to last long, and know that their gearbox is one of the more expensive parts that they can avoid having to replace sooner rather than later (all comparatively of course) by being real gentle with the car (though then of course forgetting to rev up the engine enough every once in a while to blow out all the fine-dust particles)
