We've been refining these for some time, and now we're ready for your
comments/suggestions. In particular, it took us years to come up with a
simple way to explain PHEVs and their benefit in one sentence -- now that's
Point #2.

This document is available in 3 flavors:
PLAIN TEXT/FORWARDABLE: below; URL is:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/calcars-news/message/135
INTERACTIVE: posted for responses at my blog, Power, Plugs and People:
http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power/10-talking-points-for-plug-in-hybrids
PRINTABLE: latest version of 2-page PDF file will always be at:
http://www.calcars.org/calcars-phevtalkingpoints.pdf

10 Talking Points for Plug-In Hybrids

1. Today's hybrids are still 100% gasoline-fueled. They're more efficient
than non-hybrids because they don't idle, they use smaller engines, and
they recapture braking energy into a battery for use later. It's a great
improvement. But tapping the full potential of hybrids can save much more
gasoline along with many other benefits.

2. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) simply add a second cleaner, cheaper, and
domestic energy source for your car: electricity. It's like having a second
small fuel tank that you always use first. You fill this one at home with
electricity from an ordinary 120-volt socket, at a cost equivalent to less
than $1/gallon. Assumptions:
* Toyota Prius: 260 Watt-hours per electric mile at "off-peak" (overnight)
electricity rate (8.8 cents/kilowatt hour) equals a cost of 2.3 cents/mile.
Multiply this by the 45 miles per gallon of a typical Prius and you get the
equivalent of $1.03/gallon.
* Typical Non-Hybrid SUV: 400 Watt-hours per electric-mile at the off-peak
rate of 8.8 cents/kilowatt hour equals a cost of 3.5 cents/mile. Multiply
this by this less efficient vehicle's average of 18 miles/gallon and you
get an even better $0.63/gallon. (SUVs get low mileage, so they can improve
more!)
Here's another way to think about it: At $3 for a gallon of gas, driving a
non-hybrid car costs 8-20 cents a mile (depending on its miles/gallon).
With a PHEV, all-electric local travel and commuting can drop to 2-4 cents
a mile.

3. If your batteries have a longer range than your average daily commute,
you'll rarely need gas. But if you forget to plug in or you have to go on a
longer trip, you still have the same extended range you've always had from
the gasoline engine -- and you're still driving a relatively clean and
efficient hybrid.

4. Using electricity for your daily local travel improves "energy
security." PHEVs have been endorsed by a "neo-con-green" alliance of
environmentalists and national security conservatives who see it as the
best way to rapidly reduce consumption of imported oil. They want car
makers to add the "flex-fuel" feature (at a cost of $150) so PHEVs can run
on biodiesel or cellulosic ethanol. This is how PHEVs can get 500
miles/gallon of gasoline (+ electricity + biofuels).

5. PHEVs can provide emergency backup power. Suitably equipped hybrids and
PHEVs can serve as mobile electricity generators after natural disasters,
providing low-emission 120-volt power for days to emergency centers and
individual homes.

6. Electricity is cleaner than gasoline and addresses global warming. Even
though over half of the nation's electricity is produced from coal, when
you count all the emissions from the oil well or mine to the car's wheels,
an electric vehicle produces about half the greenhouse gases of a gasoline
car. These excellent numbers improve as laws increasingly require the power
grid to get cleaner and more renewable. California's new law requires 30%
greenhouse gas reductions in new vehicles within 10 years; PHEVs could
double that goal starting in two years.

7. The troubled auto industry needs new solutions. American car makers
missed the boat on hybrid technology and are playing catch up. PHEVs offer
them the opportunity to leapfrog their competitors. Getting car buyers
excited about clean, advanced technology cars could save one or more
beleaguered car company. Component suppliers see the opportunity and have
formed an Advanced Hybrid Vehicle Development Consortium to demonstrate
performance and to speed an automaker's path to commercialization.

8. Mass-produced PHEVs can pay for themselves in higher fuel savings and
reduced maintenance costs. Car makers could sell mass-produced PHEVs for
$3,000 more than current hybrids, and $5,000 more for hybrid SUVs. Early
adopter buyers will pay extra for this "feature," just as current car
buyers pay for larger engines or leather seats without expecting a return.
The bonus? Projections based on real-world experience from electric car
fleets demonstrate that PHEVs have a lower lifetime cost of ownership than
any other vehicle type.

9. PHEVs already exist. Dr. Andy Frank pioneered at UC Davis turning Ford
and GM vehicles into PHEVs. The Electric Power Research Institute worked
with DaimlerChrysler to design small numbers of PHEVs based on the Mercedes
Sprinter (15-passenger commercial van), using lithium-ion and nickel-metal
hydride batteries. They'll be delivered by early 2006 to Federal Express,
The New York Times and electric utility fleets. Last year, non-profit
CalCars built the first PRIUS+ conversion. Then for-profit EnergyCS built a
more advanced version, and launched EDrive Systems to sell installed
conversions to Prius owners in 2006. CalCars is now looking at the Ford
Escape and other hybrids to meet a fleet market demand we estimate at
10,000-100,000 vehicles.

10. Fleet buyers can lead the way; government can play a role. A local
Plug-In Austin Campaign has launched and a national 50-City Plan for a
large fleet buy is in the works. And, motivated by high battlefield fuel
costs and attracted to the no-heat "footprint" of electric vehicles, the
military may be the next big buyer. Former cabinet members and current
Senators from both parties endorse PHEVs as the fastest way to
significantly cut gasoline use. New hybrid tax credits (not deductions)
help buy down extra costs. Some companies are starting to subsidize
employee purchases of hybrids. Other legislative initiatives, including
incentives to car makers and buyers, will come from all levels of government.

These points are by The California Cars Initiative, a non-profit group of
engineers, environmentalists and entrepreneurs that combines technology
development and advocacy. Our goal is to get car companies to build PHEVs.
Want to know more -- or see links for topics mentioned? One place to start
is at CalCars' Frequently Asked Questions. There you can find a 2-page
printable flyer version of these Talking Points, and a "recommended packet"
of articles about PHEVs and Calcars.

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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/calcars-news
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/priusplus
http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power
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