A jolt for hybrids

A bipartisan group of state legislators introduced a bill Wednesday to encourage the production of a “plug-in” hybrid vehicle that would be developed at Minnesota State University in Mankato and manufactured at the Ford Motor Co. plant in St. Paul.

The current hybrid car is a “glorified internal-combustion engine vehicle with an electric assist,” Morris said. Converting them to plug-ins reverses the model and cuts costs, he said. “The fuel cost of driving an internal-combustion engine car is about 10 cents a mile,” Morris said. “The fuel cost of driving on electricity is 1 to 2 cents per mile, resulting in a potential [annual] savings of $600.” To ensure that plug-in hybrids don’t create new pollution problems from increased demand at coal-powered plants, Hornstein proposed that more electricity be created from wind, water and solar sources.

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