Hybrids Are a Pretty Good Compromise

They Save on Gas but Won't Leave You Stranded

Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Today is a slightly new format. Instead of three very general categories of SCIENCE, FINANCE, and FAITH, I’ve made the sections slightly more definitive: SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY, FINANCE and INVESTMENTS, and FAITH and CHRISTIANITY. If none of those fit, I also occasionally write about DIY (Do-it-yourself) PROJECTS, or, if all else fails, just under the byline “MY TWO CENTS”. No cracks, please, about “You get what you pay for”, implying two cents is a stretch…even though if I charged for subscriptions, that would be 24 cents a year. Also, if you’re new, the regular type is me talking; the italics are quotes. (That’s new today too.) And if you see something underlined, you can click on it, see the link, and then click on the link to be taken to the source. Like anyone else, I do appreciate a ‘Like’, a Comment, and a ‘Restack’. I will always respond to a comment unless my internet is down, like it was for 4 days last week.

SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY

You can save money on gas if you have a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), especially if you have a short commute at modest speeds, which is when you’re power comes mostly from the battery. In some ways, an HEV is the best of both worlds. You’ll have less CO2 emissions than an all gas vehicle, if you’re worried about emissions (I’m not). With the gas engine you can still get around during a power outage, or on steep hills, or during extreme cold, all of which are serious problems for all-electric vehicles.

Caveat - although still rare, hybrid vehicles do have a higher rate of battery fires - perhaps because the battery and gas engine parts are fairly close together by necessity.

hybrids - Consumer Reports speaks highly of them and explains how they work

“At Consumer Reports, we often get asked if a hybrid car is gas or electric. In simple terms, the answer is yes to both—hybrids combine a gas engine, a battery, and an electric motor to get the benefits of both gas and electric propulsion.

In addition, through their braking systems, hybrids can “recycle” kinetic energy that otherwise would have been wasted. (I really like this idea.) Unlike fully electric vehicles, hybrids give off some tailpipe emissions, but they don’t need to be plugged in. (I like that, too. No need to go to the large expense of installing a charger in your garage, or waiting in line for a charger that works.) That makes them a good choice for drivers who want to save fuel without going 100 percent electric….Hybrids combine a gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a battery pack. The electric motor drives the car at low speeds (typically up to 30 mph, depending on how much charge the battery has) or under low power demands, while the gas engine kicks in at higher speeds where it’s more efficient and makes most of its power, or when you need to accelerate quickly or climb hills. Hybrids can drive on electric power alone for short distances, but often the engine and motor(s) operate together. (That reminds me of my electric bike, where I can be pedaling at the same time that the little motor is also helping me get up a hill.)

There’s no need to plug the car in, because the gas engine recharges the car’s battery. Hybrids are also equipped with regenerative brakes that capture momentum to create electricity as the car slows down or coasts. That electricity is also used to recharge the battery. By comparison, a regular car’s brakes just create friction that turns into unusable heat. By supplementing the engine with an electric motor, the gas engine doesn’t need to be as big in order to achieve an overall combined horsepower rating that’s comparable to a gas-only car, which further increases efficiency. “Hybrids are so fuel-efficient because they utilize energy that would otherwise be wasted,” says Jake Fisher, senior director of CR’s Auto Test Center. In fact, hybrids’ emissions are up to a third lower than comparable non-hybrids, according to CR’s calculations.”

from MechanicBase.com - “On average, you may spend between $2,000 and $4,500 to replace the high voltage battery in your Toyota Prius…Beginning in 2020, Toyota extended the warranty coverage. Now, all newer models include the 10-year/150,000-mile battery warranty” This is impressive, because the average EV needs a new battery in about 8 years.

according to caredge.com, the Toyota Highlander has the best trade-in value among hybrids, with the Honda Fit, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Prius ranking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. This too is important. Most all electric vehicles have lousy tread-in values.

When I first heard about hybrid vehicles, a number of years ago, I thought they would have higher maintenance, because they have more parts - so more things that could go wrong. But apparently I was wrong, because they have a good track record and good trade-in value. (I’m most familiar with the Toyota.)

A hybrid vehicle doesn’t have the excess weight that all-electric vehicles (EVs) have, because the batteries don’t have to be as big, with the gas engine that can take over when the battery is run down. The gas engine isn’t as big either.

more trouble for electric buses

Although EV fires are statistically rare, they’re very dramatic.

hybrid electric dbl decker London bus fire - not much left!

There were two dbl decker bus fires in two days in London - one was a BEB (Battery Electric Bus) and the other was a hybrid. I did a whole post on lithium-ion battery fires recently, and another one on BEBs (Battery Electric Buses) Jan 4th.

FINANCE and INVESTMENTS

When I want to limit my risk in the stock market, I often hedge my investment decisions. One reason is because whatever I think the market is going to do, I know I could very well be wrong. So if I think I ought to sell a certain stock, I often just sell half of it instead of selling the whole position. That way, if I’m right, I cut any potential loss at least in half, but if I’m wrong, at least I still own some of the stock that went up when I thought it was going to go down.

The same principle works when buying. I might buy half of a normal position size and then wait to see how it goes, before jumping all in. No one knows what the market will do tomorrow or the next week or month. All we can do is watch closely.

There’s a scripture that might apply to a retired person like me who depends on stock dividend income (I was always self-employed, so don’t have the luxury of a pension).

“Know well the condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds; Proverbs 27:23

Brent Johnson of Santiago Capital was on the Stanberry Investor Hour podcast Dec.28th, and noticing “that the bulls were making fun of the bears again… he concluded “I'm not smart enough to know if [the] market will turn lower now. But I'm smart enough to know this is what happens right before [the] market turns lower.”

So you can probably see where I’m going with this - an HEV is a half in, half out position when it comes to automobiles. It’s conservative and quite safe as a purchase decision, whereas getting stranded in a blizzard with an all-electric vehicle because of a dead battery could cost you your life.

bitcoin (BTC) - another investment that has potential, but is not without risk

Two things have pushed crypto higher in the past few months: the scheduled “halving” of BTC in 2024, and the approval last week of BTC exchange traded funds (ETFs) for investors. However, after the hype on the ETF approvals pushed the price of BTC to a high of about $47,000, there was obviously some profit-taking by traders, dropping it back to about $41,400 last week. And today I see it has dropped further, below $40,000.

unrelated item worth mentioning - real estate - as reported by Diana Olick, CNBC

• “December home sales were 6.2% lower than in the same month a year earlier.

• Inventory fell 11.5% from November to December, but was up year over year.

• Full-year home sales for 2023 came in at 4.09 million units, the lowest tally since 1995.”

economic impact - Panama Canal drought

This combined with the blockage of trade through the Suez Canal is not good. I got this from “1440 Daily Digest” Jan.19.

“Panama Canal officials announced Wednesday they would reduce the daily number of vessels allowed to transit the shipping passage to 24, down from the average of 36 this time last year, amid severe drought conditions. Estimated losses from the cutbacks are expected to cost Panama nearly $700M this year and have domino effects on global shipping. The 50-mile canal across the isthmus of Panama is one of the world's busiest trade routes, seeing roughly 5% of global maritime volume and 40% of all US container traffic, a total of roughly $270B in cargo annually (watch overview). First opened in 1914 to facilitate faster trade between the east coast of the US and Asia, the canal requires roughly 50 million gallons of fresh water for each of the 15,000 annual ships using its lock system. Track real-time ships here. The reduction further strains global trade as the world's other major canal, the Suez in Egypt, sees drops in traffic amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.”

FAITH and CHRISTIANITY

This is very different from compromising on cars or investments. In Christianity, there is no halfway position. You might try to stay on the ‘fence’, but actually that is a decision against following Christ. So you’re either all in, or all out. No hedging. Jesus is the only way to heaven.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6