| What is a Hybrid car anyway? | | Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2006 5:29:57 PM by Alex Molin | 
A “hybrid car” or “gas-electric hybrids” – are 2 concepts you must have heard of by now, but do you know what they means?
Every vehicle has some kind of fuel source for getting power on the road. Most common is the gasoline use.
The rising demand for clean air and the need to reduced oil consumption forced the cars manufactures to think of other solutions and the hybrid car was born.
A hybrid car uses a combination of at least two different fuel sources for its propulsion. Most combinations include the use of:
- A gasoline internal combustion engine
- An electric motor (the cleanest and most efficient energy source).
- Or a battery that powers the electric motor and stores energy for future use.
That means that a hybrid combines a gasoline engine and an electric motor to provide adequate power with minimal fuel usage and low emissions. Due to the special use of technology the gasoline engine can be quite small and they come first when talking about fuel economy in the categories of: two-seaters, compact cars and mid size cars.
Hybrid cars charge themselves by using energy normally lost during coasting and braking, and can also be charged by the car's gasoline engine. (There is no need to be plugged in to an electric outlet.
If you are considering buying a hybrid car you should be aware of one major different when driving this kind of car - when the hybrid car stops for more than a few seconds, the gasoline engine is shut down automatically and an the regular engine noise is gone. You find your self sitting in an unusual silence. Stepping on the accelerator gets the electric motor running and the car starts rolling until the gas engine cuts in. This is not a problem, just something you need to get used to, since other then that driving this car is no different than a regular car.
Some examples of current hybrid cars include the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid (HCH), and the Honda Insight.
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| | | Electric cars turning on the juice | | Posted Monday, March 12, 2007 2:48:42 PM by Blog57 Team | | March 9, 2007 - Automakers' record in producing electric vehicles has been spotty at best. In the mid-1990s, for example, General Motors launched the EV1 electric car in California. That early electric had to be plugged in every 60 to 90 miles in order to continue running. After the initial leases ran out, GM recalled the EV1s and scrapped them.Now GM is motoring down Electric Avenue again. The automaker is charged up about its new Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle it introduced to great fanfare at Detroit's North American International Auto Show in January. Unlike the EV1, the Volt will be capable of traveling more than 600 miles on a single charge. Before purchasers of Chevrolet Volts can turn on the juice, a lot of creative juices will have to be expended to make this concept an assembly line and dealer's showroom reality.... | |
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| | | Debnam offers rego saving for green cars | | Posted Tuesday, January 09, 2007 12:55:08 PM by Blog57 Team | | Owners of LPG or hybrid/electric cars will receive a $50 registration discount and be permitted to drive in transit lanes if the coalition wins the March 24 NSW election. Opposition Leader Peter Debnam has used the start of a four-week tour of the state to announce a $40 million, four-year, plan to promote the use of "cleaner" cars and fuels. Under the plan, owners of environmentally-friendly cars will get a $50 reduction on their annual car registration. They will also be able to drive their vehicles in transit lanes, which are reserved for buses, taxis, motorbikes and vehicles with multiple occupants. "We will cut the price of registration for the average small LPG and hybrid/electric car by almost 25 per cent and for businesses by 15 per cent," Mr Debnam told reporters in Sydney.... | |
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| | | 2008 Honda Accord On the Way | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 6:48:42 PM by Blog57 Team | | While Honda is working on its new Accord other cars in its class like the Toyota Camry are booming in sales. Toyota's new Camry has been accepted by sports sedan lovers and the hybrid version is being applauded by enviromentally concious drives. That being said and competition from the new Nissan Altima (with a coupe version on the way) the new Honda Accord has a lot to live up to. So far there have been some photo renderings of the 2008 Honda Accord but the official production design is due in 2007. The car will have a larger wheel base with some design elements of the new Civic. Other then that the car is expected to be close to these photo renderings you see here. There will also be a new coupe launched as well.There are also rumors of a new Honda Accord hybrid due out by 2009. Check out some images of the concept for now.... | |
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| | | General Motors to build hybrid cars in China by 2008 | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 6:52:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | SHANGHAI - US auto giant General Motors announced Monday a plan to build environmentally-friendly hybrid cars in China by 2008, while it paraded its latest hydrogen-powered vehicle before Chinese officials. The hybrid would go into mass production at the Shanghai GM plant, a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, the company said in a press release. The GM Hybrid System is flexible and cost effective and is ideal for high volume global applications, which include its introduction in China in 2008, said Martin Murray, head of GMs Asia Pacific hybrid engineering. The announcement was made as GM was parading a series of energy-saving cars, including the Saturn Vue hybrid and the Chevrolet Sequel hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. The release did not say which hybrid car would be built in China, but GMs hybrid system was currently under development with DaimlerChrysler and the BMW Group.... | |
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| | | Toyota's operating profit to top two trillion yen: report | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 10:52:11 AM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO (AFP) - Toyota Motor Corp. projects a 17 percent rise in operating profit to a record 2.2 trillion yen (18.6 billion dollars) for the year to March 2007 on brisk sales of fuel-efficient cars and a weaker yen, a report has said. It would be the first time that a Japanese company has posted a two trillion yen operating profit, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. Initially, Japan's largest automaker had forecast an operating profit of 1.9 trillion yen, but the weaker yen and robust sales of fuel-efficient cars such as its popular hybrid cars have helped boost its profit further, the business daily said. Toyota's sales for the full year are forecast at 23 trillion yen, up nine percent from the previous year, as sluggish sales in Japan and some parts of Asia have been offset by increased sales in the United States and Europe.... | |
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| | | BERKELEY JOINS CLAMOR FOR PLUG-IN HYBRID VEHICLES | | Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 12:52:00 PM by Blog57 Team | | Berkeley is the latest Bay Area government to promise purchase of a fleet of plug-in hybrid vehicles once an automaker begins producing such cars commercially, city leaders announced today. Berkeley's "soft order" for 40 plug-in hybrids is similar to a decision last month by Marin County to place a "soft order" for 22 of the vehicles. The order is called "soft" because carmakers don't currently make plug-in hybrids. "With Marin, Berkeley and other soft orders being placed around the country, automakers can no longer deny the growing demand for plug-in vehicles," said Jodie Van Horn, coordinator of the advocacy organization Plug-In Bay Area. To make a plug-in model, the Palo Alto-based California Cars Initiative has individually modified hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius by adding additional batteries and a conventional power plug.... | |
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| | | Hoogendyk, Rogers share little common ground | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 2:51:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | Julie Rogers fills her hybrid car with gas every couple weeks. Jack Hoogendyk drives two cars, a Buick and a Chrysler, with a combined mileage of 405,000. She likes funny, edgy movies, like ``Thank You For Smoking.'' He said he'd like to see that one, but prefers classics, especially Bette Davis films. Rogers just read ``Peace is the Way,'' a book by Deepak Chopra, that says people in power use fear to control the citizenry. Hoogendyk praises ``In Mortal Danger,'' a book written by a congressman who says illegal immigration will destroy America. Rogers, 31, and Hoogendyk, 51, live very different lives and have different ideas about how to represent the 61st state House district. In an hour-and-a-half meeting with Kalamazoo Gazette editors and reporters, the candidates didn't find common ground very often.... | |
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| | | Gas-guzzlers to be charged more for parking | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 2:48:35 AM by Blog57 Team | | A Liberal-Democrat controlled council in London is set to become the first local authority to charge higher parking tariffs for gas-guzzling cars.Richmond upon Thames council has drawn up plans for a sliding scale of residents' parking permits based on the amount of carbon dioxide a vehicle emits.Cars that emit less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre, such as the Honda Insight hybrid, will pay nothing. The next band, which includes the Toyota Prius, would get a 50 per cent reduction, .... | |
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| | | Doubling Funds to $3 Million for Hybrid Electric Rebate Program Fuels Success | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:48:20 AM by Blog57 Team | | Pennsylvania already has awarded more than a quarter of the $500 rebates available this fiscal year under a first-come, first-serve program for state residents who purchase new hybrid electric vehicles, Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty announced today. "More and more Pennsylvanians are making a difference by demanding cleaner cars that get better gas mileage," McGinty said. McGinty stressed that while Governor Edward G. Rendell is working to promote increased efficiency and fuel conservation to improve air quality and help break America's dependence on imported oil, many legislators are taking the opposite approach. The General Assembly currently is considering legislation that would override a recent decision by the state's Environmental Quality Board to enhance the state's Clean Vehicles Program, which sets new emission standards for new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in model year 2008.... | |
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| | | (AFX UK Focus) 2006-10-16 13:29 GMT: Delphi wins systems contract for new Ford hybrid cars | | Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 10:48:58 PM by Blog57 Team | | DETROIT (AFX) - Auto supplier Delphi Corp said it has won a contract to provide Ford Motor Co with electrical powertrain systems technologies for two hybrid cars. Details of the order were not disclosed. Delphi said it will provide the battery pack systems and cooling systems for the 2008 Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid vehicles. The company said it will also provide hybrid vehicle electronics for several other yet-to-be announced vehicle customers. Delphi, the former parts division of General Motors Corp, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection almost a year ago. newsdesk@afxnews.com ks COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.... | |
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