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Mermaid Owner Gets A Hybrid SUV December 2004As a member of the Clean Cities Coalition, Stephen Klein would like to see Americans using less oil and driving vehicles that spew fewer pollutants into the air.As the owner of Mermaid Transportation, a business that depends on gasoline and must control fuel costs to maintain profits, Klein is naturally interested in conserving oil. Klein has found a way to put those mutual interests into action. He recently purchased a Ford Escape hybrid SUV that uses a conventional gasoline-powered engine, supplemented by - and sometimes replaced by - an electric motor. He believes it's the first mass-produced hybrid to make its way into commercial use in Maine. Hybrids are increasingly common on the roads. The technology has improved and costs have come down to the extent that more efficient, cleaner vehicles have become practical for most car buyers. Hybrids use the gasoline engine part of the time, when extra performance is needed. The electric motor powers the Escape hybrid in city driving and supplements the engine on the highway. The gasoline engine and a system that captures the power released in braking charge the battery for the electric motor - no plug-in required. The system shifts from one power source to the other seamlessly. The only apparent difference is the sound - when the electric motor is powering the car in city driving, the loudest noise is the hum of the heater fan. Klein has been interested in hybrids for months. His wife is on a waiting list for a Toyota Prius hybrid and Klein was intrigued when he saw an Escape hybrid idling - silently - next to him at a stoplight near his home in Kennebunk. "I ran out of the car and said to the guy, 'How do you like it?' and he said, 'I've only driven it five minutes, I don't know,' " he recalled. Klein called a local Ford dealer the next day to learn that the car had sold the day before, so apparently the test driver was impressed. A few weeks later, Klein tried again, calling local dealers to find out that the waiting list for the Escape hybrid was as much as a year long. But Rowe Ford in Westbrook had one that a customer had ordered but decided not to buy. Klein pounced. The hybrid costs several thousand dollars more than a conventionally powered Escape, but Klein said he doesn't consider $32,000 for the four-wheel-drive vehicle, equipped with leather seats and a complex navigational system, out of line. Especially with a $1,500 federal and $500 state tax break for buying a hybrid, plus the possibility of a break on the access fee he pays Logan Airport for driving an alternative-fuel vehicle. "Over the life of your vehicle, you'll be saving a lot more money in fuel," he said. With gas hovering near $2 a gallon, Klein's savings will probably total in the thousands, since his Escape should get more than 30 miles to the gallon on the highway, and even more in stop-and-go city - or airport - traffic. And Klein doesn't mind being cutting edge, as long as it's for a good cause. "Environmentally, it's a contribution because you're not running the gas engine all the time," he said. "In addition to that, I think this is the way of the future and we may as well start to embrace it as it comes along." SOURCE: Maine Today | ||
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