The Technology Context – B101

The Lexus-LS 600H Hybrid Car

Personally, I find this a disgrace to the automotive world. With the backing of the government, they have deceived an already manipulated society into thinking that hybrid cars are better for the environment. When in real life situations hybrid cars can potentially damage the environment. Being a driver for almost 3 years and trying to keep an active stance on the rapidly deteriorating environment I find this argument and research compelling, connecting directly to the subject of sustainable technologies.

The technology behind hybrid drive can be simplified into a car having two engines, one engine is a conventional petrol engine and the other engine is an electric engine. They co-operate in such a way that, when the car is at slow speeds (around jogging pace) it runs solely on the electrical engine. When the car exceeds this pace, the petrol engine is engaged and the car is run solely from the petrol engine. The electric engine uses a battery as its power source. The electricity to charge the battery is gathered from the petrol engine and also from the otherwise wasted kinetic energy of rolling down hills.


The Lexus-LS 600H is said to be fit for the business man to travel long distances in luxury. This is where one of the two main problems of the Hybrid drive technology lies. If you embark on long distance travelling than only the conventional petrol engine is going to be used, the only time the electric engine is going to be engaged is at the beginning and end of the journey. The extra weight that is needed for the hybrid technology such as the large battery and other large components may mean that the petrol engine has to use (only if slightly) a larger amount of petrol. To back this point, I took statistics taken directly from the EPA (US – Environmental Protection Agency) comparing the Lexus-LS 600H Hybrid to the non-Hybrid Lexus-LS 460. The reason i chose this car is so that the comparison would be valid, this is because the engines are very similar and the power to weight ratios of the cars are identical. The statistics revealed that the MPG (Miles Per Gallon) of the non-Hybrid car on the motorways was 24MPG, whereas the Hybrid car was 22MPG.


The other key issue lies in the very fundamentals of hybrid drive technology, the battery. As stated before, the electric engine is used when the car is at low speeds, this means that an electric engine has to move a 2.8 (1.d.p) [2] Tonne car from stationary. Obviously this would require a large amount of energy, energy that is stored in the large battery. I researched into these batteries and found that in some instances, the batteries lost their power capacity [3], forcing a replacement. The environmental damage caused by manufacturing the batteries is bordering catastrophic. As stated by Mr Elton – “Electric hybrid engines use several large batteries. Creating these power cells requires a couple of hundred pounds of heavy metals-- not to mention the copper used in the large electric drive motors and the heavy wires they require. Mining and smelting lead, copper and other heavy metals is an energy intensive process that generates both air pollution and deforestation. Disposing of the batteries when they outlive their usefulness also raises environmental challenges.”– An automotive engineer for over 30 years who has worked with the three biggest car manufacturers “Ford, GM and Navistar” [4]




Plan of Inquiry:
• The issue being raised by sustainable technology.
• Reflect a personal opinion on the topic chosen.
• Short Introduction outlining what Hybrid Drive technology is. In a simple format so that fellow peers understand and that the main question isn’t adverted.
• State problems with the hybrid technology being good for the environment. (Making the most important point last).
• I will be using a quantitative method for this paper. Showing the following:
Cause Effect – What causes the problem (i.e. CO2 Emissions).
Forecasting – Using a model to predict the future (using numerical information e.g. Miles per gallon and CO2 Emissions).
Simulations – If hybrid cars take over and replace single petrol cars, what will the figures for CO2 emissions, by cars, be like in 10 years time and would the relationships between the factors and outcomes be the same.
• I also plan to find the exact resources and environmental issues raised on the process of making the battery.
• Plan to e-mail companies asking about the problems that have been brought up in this paper in an interview style format. These are the questions i plan to ask:
*Do they know how much CO2 is given off by the production of the battery and what they plan to do with the battery after its lifecycle.
*Ask them about their stance on the government lowering the congestion charge on a V8 engine car (Hybrid) Vs a 700cc minicar!?
• Using a questionnaire, I plan to find out:
*How many people know how hybrid drive technology works (basics)
*How many people drive hybrid drive vehicles.
*How many people drive long distances daily.
*Do they know the environmental issues due to CO2 emissions.
• To analyse my findings I will use two subcategories:
Numerical – Does the Technology help the environment (CO2 emissions).
Social Policy – Government incentives and people’s perception of the technology.


At the moment I believe that the hybrid drive technology is still in relatively early stages and that it has been implemented into the world too early. I believe that hybrid cars could help the environment but more research is needed. If your still not convinced then I’ll leave you with this fact. The government has made an incentive by lowering the Congestion charges on the hybrid cars to £0, where as a Smart car which produces half the CO2 emissions (compared to the Lexus-LS 600h) costs £8, surely that money could be put into renewable energy schemes such as wind farms or hydro power?

[1] http://www.lexus.co.uk/
[2] http://autos.aol.com/lexus-ls-600h-2008:9548-specs
[3] http://www.allhybridcars.com/hybrid-car-problems.html
[4] http://www.motorists.org/ma/1100027274.html