"Intelligent" cars as fuel-efficient as hybrids - AFP

Source: Agence France-Presse

"Intelligent" cars as fuel-efficient as hybrids

Tue May 8, 8:19 PM ET

PARIS (AFP) - So-called "intelligent" cars fitted with sensors
to predict traffic flows can deliver the same fuel efficiency as
vaunted hybrid vehicles, according to a study published on
Wednesday.

Hybrid vehicles such as the highly popular Toyota Prius have an
electric motor and a fossil-fuel engine, which are deployed at
different stages of the driving cycle to deliver fuel economies.

In contrast, "intelligent" cars are conventional vehicles would be
fitted with telematics.

These are sensors and receivers that work in a network, swapping
information about the traffic ahead in order to speed up the car
or slow it down so that the ride is smooth and avoids the stop-
start phenomenon that so drains fuel.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070509/sc_afp/scienceautoenergyclimate_070509001943

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Engineers estimated fuel savings in the range of 15-25 percent
over an ordinary gasoline-powered vehicles.

I'm not sure I want to cede too much control to the computers, but it strikes me that a cruise control that cross indexed frequently travelled routes with a GPS and adjusted speed within a 10mph window to optimize fuel efficiency for hills might make a huge difference in my prius. Of course I live in hilly New England -- it probably wouldn't be so useful in the flatter parts.