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Source: Chicago Tribune)Q. There’s been a lot of interest in plug-in hybrids, but little evidence of how much CO2 reduction they are providing. Since that is the object, the obvious proof of the pudding is CO2 per mile. The mathematics and science are quite straightforward.
If a person has passed high school chemistry, he can master these calculations.
Consider the Toyota Prius plug-in with a 187-pound, 5-kilowatt-per-hour battery, which, when fully charged, runs for 35 miles before it’s depleted. The amount of CO2 produced by a gallon of gas is a well-calibrated number, as is the amount of CO2 the electric company creates to produce each kW-hour of electricity. Knowing this, it’s easy to determine the CO2 impact of the conversion process: 216 grams per mile for Prius, 223 grams per mile for a plug-in Prius and 227 grams per mile for a plug-in Prius with a gas engine producing electricity while the batteries recharge.
_ R.E., Holliston, Maine
A. For those of us who didn’t take or pass high school chemistry, or who don’t have the amount of CO2 produced by burning a gallon of gas or by the electric company producing a kilowatt hour pasted on the fridge door, you could have sent along the formula and then all would know how to measure the carbon footprint.
Q. A few weeks ago I saw a truck with a snowplow blow through a four-way stop sign. I have to think this was a potentially very dangerous situation. Are plows exempt from obeying stop signs?
_ T.O., Chicago
A. A snowplow running a stop sign is “potentially” very dangerous. You think? We called a friend who owns a snow-plowing business who said those piloting a plow have to obey the same traffic laws as everyone else.
Q. The Bugatti Veyron goes zero to 100 mph in 7.3 seconds, not 9.6.
_ P.A., Orland Park, Ill.
Q. OK, I know I’m another in a string of Sunday-paper car weenies gleefully alerting you to the misprint regarding the Bugatti Veyron and its zero-to-100 performance in 9.6 seconds. It’s more like 5.7 seconds.
_ D.T., Northbrook, Ill.
A. Thanks, the zero-to-100 time of 9.6 seconds was a typo. The claim from Bugatti is 8.6 seconds, not 9.6 _ or 7.3 or 5.7.
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