When the British rock band Queen recorded "I'm in Love with My Car" -- its sensual, satirical
paean to the muscle machines popular in the 1970s -- it sure as Shinola wasn't singing about the
Toyota Prius.
Times have changed, and so has the feel most consumers have for their automobile.
Pumpin' pistons are out, energy efficiency and low emissions are in. So in January, Notre Dame
took an experimental step toward an all-hybrid motor pool when it took delivery on a Toyota
Prius after nine months on a waiting list.
"It's not a bad small car," says Marty Ogren, the manager of Notre Dame's transportation
services.
The car's computer makes power decisions for you, switching back and forth between the
electric motor and the gas-powered engine. Electricity covers most around-town driving, which
accounts for much of a hybrid car's high fuel efficiency, while the engine takes over on the
highway, recharging the battery along the way.
The local fuel efficiency is one of the reasons the cars are especially attractive for use
around a college campus. Longer hops are fine, too, Ogren says. A Domer could get on the
highway to Chicago and even get lost in city traffic for an hour and count on 50 miles per gallon.
Ogren expects this will translate into fuel cost savings as high as $700 to $1,000 each
year, possibly more if gas prices continue to climb.
"We're using it to experiment and see where we can use this vehicle," he says.
One result is already in. "It's not strong enough for the demands that Security would put
on their vehicles," says Ogren. But Notre Dame's 18-vehicle motor pool, available on a rental
basis to anyone traveling on University business -- and currently the domain of mid-size sedans
and minivans -- is a real possibility. Ogren already has several repeat customers for thePrius.
"The wave of the future: Maybe we'll have half a dozen Priuses three to four years from now,"
he says.
Is the hybrid worth the higher up-front purchase price? Ogren sees the market changing
quickly, perhaps as soon as the 2008 market year, bringing hybrids into line with other cars in
their class. In the short run, he says, the environmental benefits cover the difference.
Meanwhile he's keeping a close eye on other developments, such as UPS's "Green Fleet"
foray into hybrid delivery trucks. If more companies follow suit, the cost-benefit ratios could one
day lead to hybrids of all kinds -- cars and light trucks -- in regular use across campus.
"The University is investigating all opportunities to conserve energy and reduce its
ecological footprint," says James Lyphout, Notre Dame's vice president for business operations.
"The use of more efficient cars is just one of a number of opportunities" to get this done.
For now, Notre Dame's eco-magnanimity has reasonable limits. In March, Ogren's staff
test drove DaimlerChrysler's GEM car, an electric vehicle that a local dealer dropped off in
hopes of a sale. Ogren says it will take some years for the price to drop and the car to go far
enough between battery recharges before it could be employed by University maintenance,
parking services or food services.
Photo by Matt Cashore
(October 2007)
