Posts Tagged ‘hybrid cars’

Hybrid Vehicles In The Early Twenty-First Century.

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

You would probably be surprised to know that hybrid cars have been with us since the very earliest days of automotive history, but you will not be astonished to be told that the technology has come on in leaps and bounds for the last ten years. In fact, the technology in hybrid cars has reached the degree where fuel consumption in a hybrid can be half that of in a conventional internal combustion engine only car.

Half or even less than half under sure circumstances like driving in town, especially in busy traffic. In fact, when a hybrid is either cruising on electric or stopping and starting in heavy traffic, there will be no use of petrol or diesel whatsoever, which means that you are driving ‘without cost’.

I put without cost in parentheses because a hybrid vehicle is still substantially more expensive than a car with a traditional engine. However, even given the added price of a hybrid vehicle, you can save that excess cost during the average life time of the vehicle because of the saving on fuel. Of course, the higher the price of fuel, the sooner you will recoup your extra initial outlay on the price of the hybrid.

Maybe you are thinking that hybrid vehicle manufacturers are profiteering on the backs of car drivers who want to do their bit for the environment. Well, you would not be alone in thinking that, yet the cost of developing hybrid technology was and still is expensive and someone has to account it.

That is you and me, the end-users. Well, that is standard, but in some countries, the government has stepped in to subsidize individuals who purchase a hybrid vehicle, because governments all over the world are under an oath to reduce their country’s carbon footprint.

That means that now is as good a time as any to purchase a hybrid vehicle.

There are other reasons why a hybrid is costly though. The hybrid actually has two engines. A hybrid has a traditional engine run on traditional fuels, and it also has an electric engine which runs off costly batteries. It is not that you have to replace the batteries as with a radio. The batteries are costly because they are very heavy duty rechargeable units.

The technology for recharging these batteries is also ground-breaking. The car uses traditional alternators to recharge them but it also uses braking power to recharge them too. Not just that but the car’s on board computer switches between the two motors automatically, depending on the quantity of power that is needed by the driver.

Keep an eye on the hybrid car market because prices are declining and together with subsidies, the time to buy a hybrid car may come sooner than you imagine.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with how to compare tyre prices. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Car Tyres For Sale.

Hybrid Cars

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

In essence, hybrid electric cars have two engines: a conventional petrol or diesel engine (the same as you would find in any contemporary car and an electric, battery powered engine, as you may see in a milk float or a forklift truck. The magical difference is that the car’s on board computer judges which engine is necessary to provide the power required by the driver and turns it on.

Therefore, if you are accelerating to cruising speed for motorway driving; going up hill or overtaking, the car will probably use its liquid fuel engine but then as you ease off the accelerator to, say, cruise down the motorway; go down the other side of the hill or to drive in slow traffic, the computer will turn off the liquid fuel engine and turn on the electric engine.

The electric engine can be regarded as free to run, because it runs off batteries which are recharged by the car while it is using petrol or diesel and at some other times, such as whilst it is braking (and the alternators are recharging in both modes). You should never need to recharge your car’s batteries overnight as they do with forklift trucks.

There are in essence two types of hybrid cars: the semi hybrids and the full hybrids.

The semi hybrids have the same sort of set up: two engines, one running on liquid fuel and the other running on batteries, but the electric motor is not capable of running the car on its own. It is there to ‘assist’ the petrol or diesel engine.

In this type of hybrid, the electric motor is known as an ‘assist’. These semi hybrids will save money on fuel, but whilst the car is moving, you are burning fuel all the time.

The biggest difference when it comes to the full hybrid is that both engines are capable of powering the car independently. Whilst you are running on electricity, you are running at zero cost to your wallet and at zero expense to the environment, unless you are really pushing the car and then both engines may be working in union.

This switching of power sources is done robotically without any intrusion from the driver. In the case of the Prius, for example, this extraordinary achievement is accomplished by what Ford calls its Hybrid Synergy Drive. Other businesses have their equivalent to the HSD.

In order to gain the most out of these full hybrids, you really have to be doing an ‘average amount’ of driving under ‘average’ or ‘mixed’ circumstances. For instance, if you are driving in traffic, the car will try to use the electric engine, but if all you do is drive in inner city traffic jams the batteries will soon become depleted and you will be driving on liquid fuel all the time, which sort of negates the foremost reason for spending a great deal extra on a hybrid in the first place.

The car has to travel on open motorways in order to recharge its batteries so that it can use them when it gets back into town. If you only drive in town traffic, you may be better off buying a little run about instead.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on several topics, but is now involved with how to compare tyre prices. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Car Tyres For Sale.

The Fiesta’s Fuel Economy Rivals That Of Hybrid Cars

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

The Fiesta has skyrocketed in popularity recently and with good reason; this car packs a ton of value in a compact car with a really low price. There is a sedan version available and a hatchback model. The Fiesta stands out as a remarkable small car with a gorgeous interior and it’s so much fun to drive. The sedan features a prominent three bar grille and dragon’s eye headlamps. The Fiesta’s popularity in the States says a lot about its value since Americans tend to prefer bigger cars in general. The Mazda competes with other small affordable cars such as the Mazda 3, Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit. It is available in 5 different trim models; S, SE, SEL and SES.

Let’s take a closer look at the engine that powers this car. It’s a V4 1.6 Ltr with 120 HP. A very unique feature that the Fiesta has is its manual mode which utilizes clutches in order to switch to the appropriate gears. Fuel economy is extremely impressive for the Fiesta, it receives approximately 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the freeway. This is almost as good as some hybrid vehicles. A finely tuned suspension allows the Fiesta to navigate curves with ease.

The upper level trims come with great features such as Ford’s SYNC and temperature controlled seats. Sync is compatible with Bluetooth enabled smart phones and allows you to make calls without using your hands and change your music by using your voice. There is also super cool ambient lighting available which illuminates the interior and instrument panel with a total of seven color choices to select from. Another really cool feature that the Fiesta offers is its capless fuel filler system. You can just insert the gas nozzle into the tank to fill her up without screwing any bothersome caps.

The extensive air bag system offers solid protection with front, side and knee bags. The Fiesta was built around a safety cage made out of tough boron steel. The driver side mirror contains an integrated blind spot viewer which helps to reduce blind spots. The electronic stability control system automatically adjusts pressure on the brakes as needed.

What the Fiesta brings to the table is excellent value, great gas mileage and features usually found in more upscale cars. The gas mileage is comparable to that of hybrid vehicles plus fancy amenities such as heated seats and the advanced Sync System are available on upper level models. It’s obvious that this isn’t your average small car. A lot of thought has been put into the Fiesta in order to make it one of the most competitive small autos in its class. The cost of the 2011 Fiesta is around thirteen thousand dollars and will vary depending on the options selected.

Written by Jacqueline Star: Dallas Ford, Ford Dallas

Hybrid Car Myths

Monday, February 15th, 2010

If you are considering a hybrid car, you may be hearing quite a bit of “gossip”. Some people think the hybrid car is the best thing since sliced bread. Some people say it will just pass. Yet other people again say they think they can save a lot of money, but you’re not sure it’s really worth it. What’s the truth, and how do you separate myth from fact with all of the stuff that is being thrown at you? Below, you can read and consider the usual hybrid car myths.

Hybrid cars are just the same as electric cars: This is not true because hybrid vehicles are fuel-powered most of the time. But they have what are called ‘battery assists’. The assist is powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack that is rechargeable.

You are guaranteed to economize with a hybrid vehicle: If you are doing city motoring, you may save fuel and you may not. The same goes for motorway driving. There are just too many different factors involved. It has been said that if everyone bought hybrid vehicles, the gas consumption would decrease by just 10%. That’s not a very big difference, is it?

A hybrid vehicle’s battery can run flat: A hybrid car battery should not run flat while you are actually driving it. The engine of a hybrid vehicle does not idle when stopped (at a red traffic light for example). What does it do then? Well, it recharges its battery. So there is no need to worry about a hybrid vehicle stopping on that score.

A hybrid vehicle’s rechargeable battery lasts only for two years: A hybrid vehicle definitely would not be worth purchasing if this was the case. A hybrid vehicle’s rechargeable batteries usually come with an 8-year guaranty.

If I run out of fuel, I can continue driving on the hybrid vehicle battery: Keep in mind, a hybrid car’s battery is an assist. That means that hybrid car’s still run on fuel. After you run out of gas, the battery could keep the car running for a short while. However, the vehicle will stop running very soon.

Hybrid vehicles will soon put normal car dealers out of business: This probably won’t happen very soon. The reason for the delay has to do with the how much hybrids cost. Many people simply can’t afford one. Furthermore, people just aren’t certain whether they will really save money by buying a hybrid car. Therefore, they are slow to join the rush of people who want to buy a hybrid vehicle.

Hybrid cars will only save you about 88USD per annum: I did hear something on the news the other day, but it may not be true. If there’s something you really want and there’s a lot of gossip surrounding it, you simply have got to start digging around and do some research yourself. There are many different types of hybrid car, and many different manufacturers make them. This means that there may be much more involved than we have discussed here. A hybrid car may help you, and it may not, but the final decision is up to you.

Therefore, please don’t worry a great deal about what people say. They probably have only listened to others passing on rumours Do your own research and think it out for yourself. Try the Internet to get your information. The manufacturer’s advertising is also rather useful, if you stick to reading the facts and gloss over the gloss. Check that what the literature claims is also in the warranty.

If you are interested in the working parts of New Hybrid Vehicles, just visit our website on http://new-hybrid-vehicles.com

Myths about Hybrid Cars

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

If you are considering buying a hybrid vehicle, you may be hearing quite a bit of “gossip”. Some people think the hybrid car is the best thing since sliced bread. Other people say it’ll just pass. Yet other people again say they think they can save a packet, but you’re not sure it’s really worth it. What’s the truth, and how do you separate myth from fact with all of the stuff that is being thrown at you? Below, you can read and consider the usual hybrid vehicle myths.

Hybrid cars are the same as electric cars: This is untrue because hybrid vehicles are fuel-powered for the most part. But they have what are called ‘battery assists’. The assist is powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack that is rechargeable.

You are guaranteed to save money with a hybrid vehicle: If you are doing town driving, you may save gas and you may not. The same goes for long-distance driving. There are so just many different factors involved. It has been said that if everyone bought a hybrid car, the gas consumption would decrease by only 10%. That’s not a very big decline, now is it?

A hybrid cars battery can run out: A hybrid car’s battery should not run flat when you are actually driving it. The engine in a hybrid car does not idle when stopped (at a red light for example). What does it do instead then? It recharges its battery. So there’s no need to worry about a hybrid car stopping on that score.

The hybrid car’s rechargeable battery lasts only for 2 years: A hybrid car definitely would not be worth purchasing if this was true. A hybrid car’s rechargeable batteries usually come with an 8-year guaranty.

If I run out of fuel, I can keep driving on the hybrid vehicle battery: Keep in mind that, a hybrid’s battery is an assist. That means that hybrid vehicles still run on fuel. After you run out of gas, the battery may keep the car running for a short while. However, the car will stop running pretty soon.

Hybrid vehicles will soon put conventional car dealers out of business: I’m sure that this won’t happen anytime soon. The reason for the delay has to do with the how much hybrids cost. Most people simply can’t afford one. Furthermore, people just aren’t sure whether they will really save money on a hybrid car. So, they are loathe to join the stream of people who want to own a hybrid vehicle.

Hybrid cars will only save you about $88 a year: I did hear something on the news once, but it may not be true. If there’s something you really want and there’s a lot of gossip surrounding it, you simply have got to do of your own research. There are many different types of hybrid vehicle, and many different manufacturers make them. This means that there may be much more involved than we have time to discuss here. A hybrid car may be of use to you, and it may not, but at the end of the day, is up to you.

So, just don’t worry too much about what other people tell you. They probably have only heard others passing on gossip. Do your own due diligence and make up your own mind. Use the Internet to get your information. The manufacturer’s literature is also rather useful, if you stick to reading the facts and skip over the gloss. Check that whatever the literature claims is also in the guarantee.

About the Author:

The Energy Crisis and Hybrid Cars

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

It has been said that not enough people are doing all they can do to struggle against the energy crisis. Hybrid cars can help, but definitely not enough people are driving them. Here are a few problems related to the energy crisis and how hybrid cars can help.

The U.S. isn’t doing enough really. The United States consumes more fossil fuels than any other country in the world. However, most people think that all of our energy problems can be solved if we would only look further into the oil deposits in Alaska or if we exploited the latest oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico more.

Hybrid cars can result in us not having to use other sources of energy to keep the economy growing. Hybrid cars won’t cause Americans to use an excessive amount of fossil fuel. Instead, hybrid cars make Americans use less fossil fuel.

Fuel consumers just accept increasing fuel prices. People used to be concerned that fuel prices are much higher now than they were a few years ago. Now, however, people just accept the higher prices. Furthermore, in the meantime, cars are being made bigger and bigger. Car manufacturers are making trucks and SUVs, which consume more petrol at the higher prices.

These cars use more gas, but you would never believe just how many people will not give up their petrol-guzzling SUV. Hybrid vehicles do eventually cost their owners less to own than conventional cars do. So there is no need to worry about settling for being swindled by the oil companies.

Soon there could be an end to the “cheap oil period”. Soon, we could all be in too deep, because not only will we have an fossil fuel crisis, but a peak oil crisis as well. During the peak oil crisis, there will be gas shortages and natural gas shortages too. The major countries will need to compete against one another for whatever fuel is left.

Therefore, everyone could have some problems, and countries may have to fight for who gets oil and who does not. The peak petrol crisis can be put off, if more people just drove hybrid cars. Hybrid cars ensure that people are not always having to be looking for oil. Additionally, there are advances being made in hybrid cars all the time.

The plug-in hybrid vehicles, for example, might not even need oil at all one day. So, just in case we do have an energy crisis, Americans ought really to be spending the time to finding a solution to the impending oil crisis in the U.S. Hybrid vehicles are the way to beat the energy crisis, and if countries still want to fight each other over fuel, at least America will know they attempted to stop the impending crisis by buying hybrid vehicles.

So, that’s it. The United States’ mass use of hybrid vehicles would make it so that Americans need less petrol. But Americans also still have yet to gain from the large amount of money being made from hybrid cars. The majority of popular hybrid cars come from Japan. So Americans ought to bring that money back into the country as well as do something about the current energy crisis.

About the Author:

Honda Hybrid Cars

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Most of us have heard of the various Honda cars on the forecourt today. You can add to this range of cars the Honda hybrid cars. These hybrid cars include the Honda Accord Hybrid, the Honda Civic hybrid 4 door car and Honda Insight, which is a two seater. These are not the only hybrid cars in Honda’s stable, there are others but these are the more well-known models.

You will find that Honda hybrid cars are available in different versions of their popular regular Honda cars. The Honda Civic hybrid is one such hybrid car that is much in demand. This four door compact car is one that you can choose either as new or as a second-hand car.

The hybrid Honda Civic has a 5 speed manual transmission drive. This particular Honda hybrid car is known as an assist hybrid car. The Honda Civic hybrid is the only hybrid vehicle to have won a top award for the best international engine.

While you can obtain details about the various models of Honda hybrid cars from the Honda dealers’ websites on the Internet, you may want to go along to the showrooms in person. This will furnish you with a better understanding of whether a hybrid car will suit you. Having looked into this information, you can then decide which Honda hybrid type is right for you.

Thus, you can ensure that you are getting a good deal And, speaking of money, you may want to check out the price of other cars that catch your eye in the hybrid Honda car line. For those who like the appearance of the hybrid car from Honda, you have a choice of previous year’s models or the new batch of Honda hybrid cars. Since there are lots of details you need to check, when it comes to buying cars, it is probably best if you have the questions you need answered dealt with by a qualified Honda dealer.

By doing this, you can be (sure|assured that you have picked a Honda hybrid which is not only affordable but is also able to meeting your requirements. The hybrid cars that you are able to buy will furnish you with lots of benefits both in the long term and the short term in terms of keeping your fuel costs down.

Because there are many different vehicles on the market, you can always be sure that you will find one that you like. The trusted Honda hybrid is the absolute choice for the knowledgeable hybrid car driver.

About the Author:

Hybrid Car Battery Packs

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Those thinking about purchasing a hybrid car may be more than a little concerned about what lies under the bonnet. Hybrid cars have partially battery-powered motors. Since a battery powered engines is not something that typically comes to mind when you think about what is powering a car, it’s a good idea to get some sort of an understanding of hybrid car battery packs. You will find a few salient details about them underneath.

Hybrid car battery packs do not require to be replaced like flashlight batteries do. They are made to last over the lifetime of the vehicle, and therefore a hybrid car’s warranty covers the battery pack for a time period that runs between eight and ten years. In terms of mileage, a hybrid car battery pack is expected to last between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, and it probably will last even longer than that.

The toxicity of hybrid car battery packs is a worry, but not a major problem, since hybrid car batteries use NiMH batteries, not the cheaper rechargeable nickel cadmium ones. Nickel cadmium batteries can be detrimental to the environment if not disposed of correctly, but the NiMH batteries that are sold in in hybrid car battery packs are very safe and fully recyclable.

Hybrid car battery packs contain hundreds of cells. Hundreds of cells means that hybrid cars have a complex battery underneath their hoods, and complexity does usually mean expensive, but with the generous warranty car manufacturers are giving on these cars, there is little risk of additional massive expense from the battery pack involved in purchasing a hybrid car.

The number of hybrid car battery pack failures reported has been really very low. When I say low, I mean negligible. If failure does occur, it is usually before the hybrid car even leaves the lot. Toyota has even declared that some of its first Prius hybrid models have battery packs that have gone more than 300,000 miles.

The cost of replacing hybrid car battery packs isn’t really even an issue. It isn’t an issue because the hybrid car battery packs are built to last. The Department of Energy inspected hybrid cars, but stopped its tests when the capacity was determined to be “just like new” after 160,000 miles. So, very few people really seem to know for sure what it costs to replace hybrid car battery packs.

Hybrid car battery packs are being developed very quickly. If we look into the near future, we can see the next generation of hybrid car batteries is already in the works. The goal is, naturally, to develop a technology that gives lots of power, lasts for the hybrid car’s lifetime, and costs less to make than it does today.

If your hybrid car battery pack does develop a problem, there is an easy solution. Toyota has put out some advice on what to do, should your hybrid battery pack run out after the warranty has expired. Their advice is to have the battery reconditioned. This solution works well because if something does go wrong, the problem usually lies with only one of the 28 modules that make up the battery.

So, if you simply replace the problematic module with one that matches the chemistry of the other 27 modules, your hybrid car’s battery should be back in good shape. You can find a match by getting a battery pack from another car that has a similar mileage and age.

About the Author:

The History Of The Hybrid Vehicle

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Just where did a hybrid car get it’s start? Well, read on to find out. Hybrid cars are very popular to today’s car buyers, and there are many reasons why. But before you even think about choosing a hybrid car to buy, you might want to know a little bit about the history of the hybrid car first.

Surprisingly, hybrid cars were around even before gas-powered cars. Back in about the year 1665, a Jesuit priest by the name of Ferdinand Verbeist began plans for a certain type of vehicle. That vehicle would be very simple, nothing complex, or intricate. Simple was all he wanted.

So it was that Ferdinand designed a vehicle that would have four wheels and would run on steam. It took roughly fifteen years of work for Ferdinand to go through with his plan. He worked to perfect his dream car. But no one knows for certain if he ever finished it because there is no physical evidence that his concept ever came into reality.

Then in 1769, a man with the name of Nicholas Cugnot designed and developed a carriage that was powered by steam. This vehicle really did go and it went at six miles per hour. This project was all well and good, but it was difficult to get the amount of steam needed to make the car to go any significant distance.

A break through in hybrid car design finally came when Robert Anderson developed an electrically powered car in 1839. It was the first of its breed and was built in Scotland.

This electric car was a highly applauded innovation of its time. However, the only problem was that it was very difficult to recharge the car’s battery. Some pioneers came after Anderson, but they too had a hard time getting the battery recharged easily.

Eventually, in the year 1898, Porsche developed an electric and fuel combination combustion engine that was the first of its type. The car was called the Lohner Electric Chaise and it could go for up to 40 miles just using its batteries.

Within a short space of time, pioneers combined both gas and a battery powered engines to power what would become today’s hybrid vehicle. In 1999, Honda made its jump into the US market. It came out with the Honda Insight, which was a lightweight two-door hybrid. Since then, hybrid cars have been evolving and improving into what we see on the market today. Hybrid cars are no longer just for the techies who think it’s nice to combine battery and fuel power to get them where they want to go. Hybrid cars started out simple, and they are still quite simple today.

These days hybrid vehicles are becoming more and more popular as people understand them better. In the 21st century, hybrids saw a boom in sales when the Toyota Prius came out on the market. It was the first hybrid with four doors that was marketed in the USA.

Soon after, the Ford Escape hybrid became the very first SUV hybrid ever made. So there it is in a nutshell, the history of the hybrid car – today’s modern car.

About the Author:

Electric Hybrid Vehicles

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

People use various forms of travel. Among these is the choice of the electric hybrid car. The various makes of electric hybrid car allow people the choice of having a stylish looking vehicle which at the same time conserves gas.

Furthermore, the environment benefits from an input of less pollution from electric hybrid cars. The kinds of hybrid cars you will see in the range of electric hybrid cars will be the popular SUVs, sports cars and pick-up trucks. You will be able to see the latest electric hybrid cars due to come on to the forecourt. As there are many types of electric hybrid cars you should try to see whether there are any comprehensive reviews available.

This information will help you when you are trying to make up your mind about which electric hybrid car to buy. You will need to understand that some of the electric hybrid cars are not be that easy to repair or have their components replaced. This is one major fact that you ought to bear in mind while you are shopping for the electric hybrid car that suits you.

Sure, there will be occasions when you will not be able to find the exact model of electric hybrid car that you want. In order to reduce this frustration, make a list of several different models of electric hybrid car. Tip: include some of the better known electric hybrid car types.

You may also want to make a list of the other most important qualities that you are looking for from an electric hybrid car. Don’t forget that you should visit the car showrooms to see the electric hybrid car of your choice, as I’m sure you may appreciate seeing what sort of cars are available before you buy one.

Because there will be occasions when you can not get hold of the details of all of the electric hybrid cars on the market, you ought to find some other way of getting this information. Out of the many ways that you can use to look up the many models of electric hybrid car, the Internet can provide you with pictures, specifications, descriptions and reviews of the different makes of electric hybrid car. For instance, you can access the information for the currently available batch of hybrid Honda cars or the previous models too. Amongst the plethora of information that you can look up are: the number of seats and the safety and engine specifications of these hybrid cars.

There are, as you can guess, many different kinds of hybrid car on the forecourts. These will, for the most part, be from the well-known car ,manufacturers. You will find that Honda, which is a world-renowned manufacturer of cars using modern technology has their own versions of hybrid cars too. One of their most popular hybrid cars with the general public is the electric hybrid car.

About the Author: