Malaysia looks to build plenty hybrids
Malaysia is fast becoming the nation to watch when it comes to alternative fuels. After sending a large shipment of biodiesel to Germany and the country's commitment to biodiesel in general, what else can we expect from the South East Asian country? Well, now the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has said the country's automakers needs to build more hybrid cars and other alternative fuel vehicles. The reason, as always, is high gas prices. The Prime Minister said that, "Under the 9th Malaysia Plan, the Government has outlined the need to encourage the use and development of sustainable and renewable energy resources", the Malaysian newspaper The Star reported. The hybrid in question will be assembled locally by Johor-based LM Star Autoworld Sdn Bhd and offer 50 percent fuel savings with a new technology called hydroxene, The Star wrote. I was skeptical of this gasoline-water hybrid news when I first heard of it the other day, but if the country's Prime Minister is involved, it can't be a total snow job, can it? The Prime Minister commended the automaker's plan to export eighty percent of the hybrids it builds. [Source: The Star]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Howard Lee Harkness 12:10PM (8/18/2006)
"I was skeptical of this gasoline-water hybrid news when I first heard of it the other day, but if the country's Prime Minister is involved, it can't be a total snow job, can it?"
Yes, it can. The PM is a politician, not an engineer or scientist. Politicians are remarkably easy to convince of nearly any utter nonsense using pseudo-technical buzzwords, and they also tend to be profoundly innumerate. Almost any energy storage or conversion scenario that I can think of involving gasoline and water would work better by leaving out the water part.
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