Hybrids Cars

What is hybrid tehnology?

A car is considered a hybrid car if it is powered by at least two different energy sources including a non-polluting. These non-polluting sources are: battery type rechargeable energy storage system “or RESS, hydrogen, compressed air, wind, human interaction, liquefied natural gas or solar energy. Currently, the most popular alternative energy sources are: hydrogen, electric batteries and solar energy.

What is the difference between a hybrid and an electric car?

The difference between a hybrid and an electric car is that the hybrid is equipped with two engines: one electric and one with fuel. These engines can work simultaneously on the go. Unlike a hybrid, electric vehicle is equipped with one engine that runs on batteries which can be charged with electricity. Hybrid cars reduces CO2 emission and electric cars does not emit pollutants.

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How can we recognize a hybrid car?

Hybrid car began to proliferate. There are more and more models and colors, more sizes and options. The question for which I try to give an answer is “How can we recognize a hybrid car?”. Below we have tried to offer some relevant answers:

1. after the reduced noise made by the car when it passes near you on the street

2. you may recognize a hybrid car by a special simbol placed behind the car

3. you don’t feel smell and do not see noxious

4. has a relatively new design as technology used is a new

5. you see it less often than the rest of the cars at filling stations

If there are other indicators, do not hesitate to bring completions.

How does a hybrid works?

The answer is relatively simple.
Hybrid cars are usually equipped with two engines: one normal running on fuel and one that uses battery power. The latter is usually used when the car runs at a speed between 1-80 km / h and when this speed is exceeded the transition is made automatically on engine that uses fuel. Thise driving conditions are quite justified considering that the areas with the highest degree of pollution are the cities and city travel speed is approximately between 1-80 km / h.
Batteries for Hybrid uses two sources of charge. The first source is the normal outlet and the second source is the energy of moving parts on the car (a principle similar to the dynamo).
Being a new technology, you can be sure it will enjoy steady improvement from car manufacturers.

 

Read more on hybridscars.net

Tesla Roadster: The Future Of Electric Cars Looks Bright

Through an odd set of coincidences my dream car was eligible for huge tax rebates so I “had” to take a look. The Tesla Roadster is an all electric car produced by a small company in California called Tesla Motors. It is one of the first production scale electric cars available in the U.S. It is expensive by everyone’s standards but so is a Porsche, or any other high-end sports car.

Given that I own two hybrids you would think that I feel pretty good about my carbon footprint concerning transportation but it would be better to have one less car, take the bus more or better yet own some sort of electric car that doesn’t burn gas at all.

I guess nobody ever thought electric cars would materialize or be considered luxury, so when the State of Colorado wrote the rebate tax code they probably didn’t expect people making claims for an electric car in the amount of a ,000 credit!  Add ,500 from the federal government and you could see why I was more than a little interested.

When I went to test-drive the car, the weather was lousy due to the fact that a massive snow storm was on its way, so time was short. With the sales rep in the passenger’s seat I drove the car around the block. It took a while to get used to how the car handled given that it is a true sports car. After a couple of minutes my sales rep copilot suggested that I let the car drop down to 20 MPH and then punch it. It didn’t take much convincing because no matter who you are that is the very first thought that runs through your head when you sit in a car like this. The moment before I took her up on the suggestion I made a pact with myself to play it cool and not make a big fuss when the car accelerated. At least that was the plan; which lasted for less than 2 seconds. I didn’t even get the pedal to the floor when I blurted out “Holy *$ % that’s fast!” Now I have been in some fast cars before but this was almost unnatural. There was zero delay between pushing down the petal and being thrown forward at unbelievable speeds. You have to do some quick planning with a car this fast because you are on top of the car in front of you in no time at all.

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In the end, even with the huge incentives, I decided that saving for my kids’ college was more important, but I did walk away knowing that the future of electric cars looks bright. If you consider acceleration, top speed, travel distance, cost, MPH and fun as some of the major categories people consider when deciding to purchase a car, this one hits 50% of the categories out of the park. Cost and traveling distance are big barriers. The car can go at least a couple hundred of miles on a charge. Its top speed is only 125 MGH, but I am guessing that 125 MPH is fast enough for most people. Remember that nobody thought people would sacrifice music quality for portability yet digital music players have dominated retail over the last couple of years, so a couple of inconveniences will likely be overlooked by those purchasing this car.

Being green with an electric sports car like this one makes you feel kind of guilty because it is so easy. Maybe if more products were as good as this car, making changes to more environmentally-friendly products would be easy.

Reasons Why People Buy Electric Cars

Copyright (c) 2010 Will DeJarnette

Electric cars of the past were nowhere close to as innovative as they’re these days. Nowadays’s cars have lengthier ranges, are quicker, and are more resilient owing to battery cell technologies improvements. Additionally to this, the batteries could be charged inside a shorter time frame. Gas driven cars are substantially more pricey to operate than electrical cars. This may be the primary reason why electrical automobiles these days are fast gathering curiosity between big amounts of people.

The financial crises we are all having to deal with is affecting the whole world economy, not simply the American people. With gas prices permanently fluctuating and as people need to save as much money because they can, many individuals are now doing aside with their gasoline driven automobile and exchanging it for electric automobiles.

An additional cause why individuals are now obtaining electric vehicles would be to revel within the tax breaks and other advantages how the federal and state government are providing. Like a method to lessen the reliance of the country on foreign oil items, the US Government is encouraging people to purchase electric automobiles by offering broad tax breaks on people who own and use electric automobiles. In some states, they likewise provide advantages to individuals, such as immunity from carpool lane requirements and free of charge car parking on meters and spend parking places.

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Should you consider it, you will be in a placement to save a good offer of money on taxes and likewise get a great deal of comfort as you is going to be inside a placement to use the carpool lane any time.

You likewise have to recognize that many people are preoccupied about the environment. More and more people are actively getting engaged in giving, in their own way, to ease planetary warming and climate change, and one of the best ways to do it is to go electric.

Gas powered automobiles or cars that burn fuel through the internal combustion engine, generate CO2, which stays within the atmosphere. This greenhouse gas, adds to planetary warming and as a result, climate change.

As people are getting preoccupied about the environment, increasing numbers of people are now buying electric cars as these vehicles do not emit anything detrimental to the environment.

These are the 3 factors why people are now purchasing electric cars and why electric automobiles are obtaining growing numbers of popular than actually before. From saving cash, government and state incentives to assisting the planet, buying an electric vehicle creates sense, whichever way you look at it.

Electric vs Hybrid Cars: A Short Guide

The world’s natural resources are diminishing at such a rate that demand for fossil fuels will soon far outweigh supply. This is nothing new; the motor industry has been working on alternatives to the combustion engine for years. Electric and hybrid cars could be the vehicles to reduce the impact of carbon emissions on the environment.

Electric cars, as the name suggests, are run solely on electrical power via a lithium-ion battery. With electric car technology, the engine requires no air filter or oil changes and the battery engine is said to last at least 120,000 miles before being replaced. The number of electric cars on the road has not only risen due to an increased production number but also the fact that conventional petrol cars are also being converted, which is an attractive bonus in terms of recycling vehicles.

Whilst electric cars run solely off your power supply, a hybrid car uses both electrical energy and petrol for power. Your hybrid car is filled at the petrol station just as your conventional car and looks similar on the outside, but look under the bonnet and the similarities end. The hybrid car is more efficient than a standard combustion engine in that it uses an electrical battery and combustion energy in tandem to increase fuel efficiency. In series hybrids, a standard fuel engine produces electricity to generate the electric motor and propel the car. In parallel hybrids, the car is set in motion by the engine or battery. The great advantage of the hybrid car in terms of energy efficiency (resulting in reduced emissions) is that when the engine loading is low, any excess energy is stored and when the energy output needs to be increased, both the lead engine and stored energy work together to power the car. In fact, when the car is idle in electric mode it actually turns off. In addition, to conserve energy, the intelligent design of the hybrid switches to electric power when travelling at low speeds and remarkably even the residual energy produced when braking is fed-back into the lithium battery as reserve energy to be used as and when required.

Many countries are making it more attractive to use alternative fuel with government incentives such as lower road taxes for vehicles with low CO2 emissions; and with the running costs for hybrids alone being 15-30% less per mile than conventional cars, that hybrid car is looking more and more attractive to the general public. Currently, the price of a hybrid is slightly more than a new conventional car, but as demand increases, prices will proportionally decrease.

Nevertheless, with the initial outlay being slightly higher, this extra cost will be reaped with savings in fuel consumption and reduced road costs. In terms of whether the electric or hybrid car suits your individual needs, it is a case of weighing up your driving needs, where you live and what is available in your area. In the end, regardless of the extra cost or savings (on your wallet or the environment) of these new types of vehicle, you will still have to carry out the same general upkeep and maintenance of your vehicle – the cost to replace your windshield, for example, will still be the same no matter what car you drive! Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.

A Look at How Hybrid Cars Work

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) also known as the hybrid car is quite the economic wonder. Even as a work in constant progress, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology has truly done a lot to improve the gas-dependence situation. Hybrid cars has also saved consumers from having to spend so much on fossil fuels and has even helped save some taxpayer money.

What is it under the hybrid car hood that is seems to set it apart from the other cars? Let’s take a peep and try to take a look at just how these wonders called the hybrid cars work.

A Combination

The keyword in all of this is the word “hybrid.” An HEV basically brings out the best in both electrical power and fuel. By incorporating both an electrical motor and a gas engine, it allows the vehicle to switch back and forth between energy sources. Of course, the usual case is that the car really depends solely on the battery and electrical motors to run the vehicle.

So what is the gas for? Well, the vehicle will still need fuel to run a motor that charges the battery which in turn runs the whole car. But the beauty of this set up is that not much fuel is needed to charge up those batteries; thus, hybrid cars really only need so much fuel to fill their significantly smaller gas tanks and therefore it saves people from having to spend so much money on gas.

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Go The Distance

To fully comprehend and appreciate how a hybrid car works, a spin in one with a full tank to compare results in terms of mileage and distance would be required. Definitely, you will see a lot of difference in vehicles running on electric motors. Going long distances is achieved in the way how a hybrid car operates. Generally-speaking, there are 3 technologies that allows this to happen.

The first innovative technology used in hybrid cars is the regenerative braking that applies resistance to the drive train. This in turn causes the wheels to slow down. The energy from the wheels turns the engine which in real time acts as generator which converts the energy wasted during coasting and braking into electricity. The electricity is then accumulated in a battery until such time when it is needed by other functions in the electric motor.

The next hybrid car technology used is the elect motor assist which gives additional power to aid the motor in acceleration like in speeding up or ascending higher terrains. This simply means that the smaller engine or electric motor is used. This motor is more efficient that the internal combustion engine that needs and uses up more gas.

Another hybrid car technology is the automatic start and shutdown. When a hybrid car stops for a stoplight, the whole engine shuts down as well. This helps the engine in conserving energy and fuel from running idle. When the vehicle is accelerated again, the engine automatically starts up. When combined, these three hybrid technologies create a vehicle that is simply to reckon with!

The History of Electric Cars

We’ve all seen the commercials talking about how technology was all going to be about flying cars and cold fusion. In reality, though, we have our very own science-fiction-turned-fact in looking at hybrid vehicles which are taking over. They truly are efficient and are money-saving at some levels, but most consumers assume that the concept of electric motors is brand new, but the first experiments with electric motors began in the mid-1800s. Going as far back as 1832, locomotives and carriages were already using electric motors, considering that lead-acid batteries were already being used.

In the 1890s, though, the first electric cars were actually built at home in the U.S. and actually shown to the general public. To thank for that first electric car we have William Morrison, whose electric car was one of the first to be successfully tested. By the time 1893 had rolled around, there are already several models of electric-powered cars that were showcased in Chicago.

If you have the impression that electric cars are solely known to the public as the new economic fad, think again. Made by Pope manufacturing company in New York City, 1897 saw electric taxis around the city. In fact, by 1899, Thomas Edison was also involved with these ideas, even though he never saw his developments come to fruition.

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In 1900, 28% öf vehicles in the U.S. were powered by electric motors, and over one-third of the driving populations in New York City, Boston and Chicago were actually driving electric cars. Had Henry Ford’s new automobile, the gas-powered Model T Ford, not come along eight years later, the electric car could have possibly been the more common vehicle. Unfortunately, Henry Ford’s Model T had taken over electric cars by far by the 1920s.

Around 1966, environmental awareness actually became a concern, prompting the US Congress to actually pass legislation regarding pollution, air cleanliness concerns, not to mention rising gas prices. As a result, the popularity and demand for electric cars has increased.

While most consumers think of old hybrids as being the 1998 Toyota Prius, the first actual hybrid vehicle was constructed from a Buick Skylark by a man named Victor Wouk in 1972. The Federal Clear Car Incentive Program in 1970 brought forward this need for hybrid cars, and Wouk’s hybrid was no different, having been built specifically in response to this Act. Later, in 1974, Vanguard-Sebring built an electric vehicle known as the CitiCar, and was another attempt to respond to the Incentive Program. Unfortunately, the company and program were both out of the picture by 1980.

Although there was an actual act passed by Congress to research and develop hybrid vehicles in 1976, General Motors didn’t actually start its research on their first hybrid vehicle, the EVI, until 1988. Thankfully, the entire country got a kick in the pants when California passed a Zero Emission Mandate in 1990 that required at least 2% of vehicles be ZEV compliant by 1993, and then 10% of those vehicles by 2003. Unfortunately, both of those goals had not been met by 2003, which still left the country in a position to research hybrids.

Finally, in 1997, Toyota was able to make a breakthrough, and the Toyota Prius was released to the commercial mass-market, selling over 18,000 vehicles in one year alone. It didn’t take long after that, and in the next three years, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and GM began to release hybrid vehicles, but they were full of kinks and problems. By 2004, most of them were scrapped and recycled.

In 2006, hybrid vehicles began to see a resurgence in production. This time, the kinks were worked out and now, hybrids will soon become the new standard. The fact of the matter, though, is that while the packaging may be new, the actual technology behind the hybrid has spent a century being developed.

Discover The Latest Developments In Electric Cars

Cars pollute, kill the planet and generally are not that green are they not? Here is the latest news from the world of the eco-friendly electric cars trying to prove the car hater wrong. The limited edition Micro-Vett electric 500 is an electric, eco version of the famous Fiat 500. This little green-mobile has a maximum speed of 60mph, a range of 70 miles, and takes 6-8 hours to charge.

Transmission is manual 5-speed but there is an automatic option. It weighs around 1050kg, has four seats, and standard kit includes a radio, CD, MP2 player, Bluetooth and USB, air con, remote central locking, ABS with EBD, 15-inch alloy wheels, drivers airbag, drivers knee airbag, passenger and window airbags. You can also pay extra if you want auto climate control, an electric sunroof, reverse parking sensors, 16-inch alloy wheels, and a metallic paint finish to your motor. As with many electric cars price unfortunately is on application. But if you have to ask, you clearly cannot afford.

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Lotus introduces an electric car that ROARS! The wonders of modern technology, a car that glides seamlessly along with hardly any noise at all. Well that is great if you are the driver or the passenger, but the quiet hybrid or electric cars of today are not so good for pedestrians as people simply do not hear them coming. Lotus has decided to create a technology to bring that oh so thrilling sound, the roar of a well tuned engine, to eco conscious drivers.

The car manufacturer explains that its safe and sound hybrid technology simulates the growl of a combustion engine, making it instantly recognisable that the vehicle is in motion. It has already put the system into a Toyota Prius, which is one of the most popular hybrid cars on the market. The system produces a pitch and frequency designed to help pedestrians identify the speed and distance of the car. Lotus claim their technology increases pedestrian safety, while retaining the environmental benefits of electric cars.

Shown off at the 2008 motor show, the Lighting car is designed to turn all the heads. Why because it is fast and it is electric. The company claimed the Lightning GTS, which is built in the UK, claims the Lightning can hit 60mph (97kmph) in under four seconds. Instead of one single motor, each wheel has its own giving the most effective power.

Special batteries are used to give the car the power when it needs it rather than a constant speed and you will be able to do a fast charge in around 10 minutes to get you back on the road. The CEO of the company said they are trying to change the perception of what people expect from electric cars. The car will cost around 120,000GBP when it goes on sale so it is up against some real supercar competition.

Top 7 Disadvantages of Electric Cars

Soaring gas prices and environmental concerns, electric cars are becoming popular as an answer to some of the problems of the auto industry. However, do electric cars have a spotless reputation?

The following are their disadvantages of EVs voiced for some time now.

1. Charging Woes: Electric powered vehicles require charging stations, and for people to travel long distances there needs to be a network of such stations located strategically. Also recharging of batteries often takes about 3 hours, which nowhere matches efficiency of a gas refuel. And of course there’s the charging equipment you need to carry along.

2. Travelling distance (Range): The cars can travel only about a 100 miles on an average, and on a single charge. The technology of Chrysler’s proposed EVs is supposed to have the cars run longer, though.

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3. Lack of power: In general electric cars are still behind gas powered vehicles in their ability to to accelerate and climb quickly.

4. Overloaded batteries: At the heart of electric automobiles are the car’s batteries. At the same time, as all other car accessories viz. radios, car air conditioners, etc. use up electric power from batteries, they’d drain quickly. And recharging them takes time!

5. They are expensive: Batteries that power these cars are a costly affair. Consider this: The promising and long-lasting lithium-ion batteries cost about US,000 each, which for the most part make these cars expensive. And if the batteries last only about 4 years, they could add to the maintenance costs.

6. The cause pollution: Yes, the ‘clean & green’ electric cars cause pollution too, albeit indirectly. While themselves being clean, there are toxic elements within batteries and which could spew toxic fumes. Further, the car’s engines are powered by electricity, and all of which isn’t generated from renewable energy sources. Which means electric power production per se entails pollution.

7. They’re Heavy: Batteries are what makes these vehicles heavy. A battery pack of an average electric car can weigh up to a 1,000 pounds or 450 kg (approx.) This a disadvantage because weight puts pressure on batteries and they drain out faster.

While the prospect of electric vehicles seems promising, electric vehicles don’t appear to be a pancea and have their own share of shortcomings. Consequently, a purchase decision in favor of EVs or hybrids might not be all that simple.

Domestic Versus Imported Hybrid Cars

Deciding to buy a hybrid is the easy part, choosing which hybrid you want to choose is going to be a bit more difficult. Although you might have one in mind you might not have taken a look at all the facts which are crucial to making the right choice for you. One question that you need to ask yourself is do you want to purchase a domestic or imported hybrid? Some people might be able to answer that question easily but for others this can be a very hard question to answer. Here is a list of thing you should know and consider when it comes to choosing a hybrid car.

1. Imported Hybrids have been around a while: The Toyota Prius has been on the market since 1998. It is the one hybrid that has really has a chance to be tested being it is the longest running hybrid available. Domestic hybrids on the other hand have only been on the market for a few years, some as little as 2 or 3 years. The imported hybrids have been available for 5 years or even longer.

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2. You will pay about the same price: With the exception of luxury sedans such as the BMW and the Lexus, both imported hybrids and domestic hybrids cost about the same amount. You will even find a few imported hybrids that cost less than a domestic hybrid.

3. All the technology came from an import: Although Toyota patented the technology of the Prius Hybrid which is what game them the upper hand in the hybrid industry, many companies are leasing this technology from them. Ford is one of these companies so whether you purchase an imported or domestic hybrid the technology all came from an import car either way.

4. Imports are harder to repair: Conventional imported cars can be difficult to get repaired so the same goes for a hybrid import. Some makes and models will make it hard to find a qualified mechanic to do the work correctly. This is true more so with the expensive models such as the Volkswagen and the Porsche.

5. Both of them still come with an owners manual: Conventional car or hybrids still have owners manuals that you need to read when you purchase a vehicle to understand it so you know that your new domestic hybrid doesn’t need water and your import can not use unleaded gasoline.

6. Domestic hybrids are built on volume: Domestic cars tend to be built by volume which means that the factors are expected to manufacture a large amount of cars in a very little amount of time. Imported car manufactures take longer to make the car because it requires more car to make them last much longer than the domestic car.

No matter whether you choose to purchase an imported or domestic hybrid in the long run just buying a hybrid is better for you and your budget. And better for everyone and the environment.

Electric Cars And The Price Of Gas

The price of gas is on the rise again, in august of 1990 the nationwide average price of a gallon of regular gas was 9.10. The lowest price seen since then was in feb 1999, when it was an astounding 88.5 cents a gallon. Just over a year later in march 2000 it went over .50, four years later it broke the .00 mark, just over a year later it went over .50, and just one month later over .00. April 2008 topped .50 for the first time, and two months later it went over a wallet crushing .00 a gallon. At the present time (Aug 2009) the national average is .647, and on the rise again. Here are some gas price milestones:

Feb 1999 88.5 cents (you will never see this again) March 2000 1.1 May 2004 2.6 Aug 2005 1.9 Sept 2005 3.7 April 2008  6.6 June 2008 0.7 (ouch!)

 

In the 1990’s electric cars were more of a novelty, something tinkerers with a lot of time on their hands built, but that had little practical use. At  the beginning of the new millennium there was a new realization that maybe electric cars were something that had real value, by 2008 the idea of having an electric car was becoming quite popular. The problem for most people was that it was very difficult to buy an electric car, companies that build these cars have been increasing, but the very high cost of these vehicles put them beyond the reach of most people.

Today it has become practical to convert a car to electric power, all you need is a car and a good manual to guide you through the process. A good manual will have links to various sites that are parts suppliers, chapters on motors, controllers, batteries, and wiring schematics. It should be completely illustrated and be written in a clear and easy to understand manner. Gas Prices may seem to have stabilized right now, but think about this, prices have risen over 250% in the last ten years, has your income risen by that much? This is not going to change, the time of cheap gas is over and will never be back, so don’t you think it is about time to do something before -0 fill ups return.

Now is the time to join the thousands of people who have already converted to an electric car, It is not as difficult as you may imagine with the right Electric Car Manual, so get started today and in a short time you can have your own clean running zero emission car.

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