When gas prices started to rise, along with the concern about the long-term availability of fossil fuels, interest in hybrid cars increased quickly. They have significantly higher fuel efficiency compared to their standard gasoline counterparts, and make more effective use of the energy produced by the engine. In the early 2000’s several celebrities started driving hybrids, which also helped make them fashionable to own in addition to practical. Now most car manufacturers have one or more hybrid options, including cars and SUVs. Hybrid cars have more efficient engines, save the owner money, and reduce one’s carbon footprint. First, one needs to know what a hybrid vehicle is and how it varies from a standard gasoline vehicle. The essential difference between a gasoline and a gas-electric hybrid vehicle is “Regenerative Braking” where the electric motor uses energy from the turning wheels that is normally lost and converts is to electricity which is then stored in a battery (US Dept. of Energy). The battery powers the electric motor and can take over the operation of the vehicle from the gasoline engine. At times in a hybrid car, the gasoline engine will turn off completely and run on electric only. Because the battery stores energy that would normally be lost in a gasoline engine, the efficiency is increased dramatically. “Only about 15% of the energy from the fuel you put in your tank [in a gasoline vehicle] gets used to move your car down the road or run useful accessories, such as air conditioning. The rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies and idling” (US Dept of Energy). The first hybrids offered were mostly variations on existing vehicles, like the Honda Civic hybrid, as well as a few original ... ... middle of paper ... ...d vehicles provide a significant cost savings in gas and an environmental benefit to the owner. Works Cited US Dept. of Energy. (n.d.). How Hybrids work. Retrieved from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridtech.shtml. (02/2011). Ford's Michigan Assembly to Build Electric, Hybrid, and Plug-In Vehicles. Welding Journal, 90(2), 11. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Johnson, J. (9/26/2005). Ford Plans Big Hybrid Push. Waste News. 11(11). Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Kelly Blue Book. (2011) New Cars. http://www.kbb.com/new-cars. Frankel, E. (2008). Oil and Security: A World Beyond Petroleum. Netherlands: Springer Netherlands. 52. Grase, M. (9/12/2005). Toyota’s Prius hybrid finds favor in Hollywood. Advertising Age. 76(37). Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Davenport, C. (2/12/2011). Automakers Having Second Thoughts on Fuel Standards. National Journal. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
the beginning of the twentieth century. Moreover, it explains the differences between hybrid cars and standard cars. Also, it mentioned some
An R.L. Polk survey of 2003 model year cars showed that hybrid car registrations in the United States rose to 43,435 cars, a 25.8 % increase from 2002 numbers. California, the nation's most populous state at one-eighth of the total population, had the most hybrid cars registered: 11,425. The proportionally high number may be partially due to the state's higher gasoline prices and stricter emissions rules, which hybrids generally have little trouble passing.
Toyota was the first corporation to expose the very first hybrid car, the Toyota Prius. The Prius has been the most commonly profound hybrid since year 2000. The name Prius is virtually tantamount with the word Hybrid, as most would agree with. As demonstrated by their numbers, the Toyota Prius is by far the most well-known, with over one million cars sold solely in the United States to this day. Statistics show that most buyers that pursue this type of vehicle are mostly all for eco-friendly and/or economic trepidations (The Corvallis Advocate, 2012). When the Prius was initially presented, the car was costing Toyota $40,000 to build, and they were selling it for a low cost of just $20,000 at the dealer. Some of the perks this vehicle carries with them is the fact that the Prius does an outstanding job of receiving high gas mileage. Proving a greater MPG of 62, reporters all over the U.S. have met th...
What exactly is a hybrid vehicle? A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that is known to be able to function on both electricity as well as gas. There are also many famous people out in the world that own a hybrid vehicle such as, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and many others.
Did you know that you can receive a maximum of a $7,500 tax credit for just owning an electric or hybrid vehicle? The United States government values citizens that buy fuel efficient vehicles because it gets the United States one step closer to not buying outsourced oil (Jones par.14). Hybrid vehicles are vehicles that are mostly powered by gasoline, but switch over to electric at stop signs or at coasting speeds. Electric cars are cars that are solely powered by electric from start up to shut down (Motavalli par. 6). Most cars and trucks on the road today are powered by gasoline or diesel engines, which are expensive to operate, bad for the environment, and use resources that are non renewable. To achieve better fuel economy, lower operation cost, reduce the pollution on the environment, and operate vehicles with renewable resources, this world needs to take a better look at using alternative fuels to power vehicles. Alternative fuels for motor vehicles are better for the environment, are renewable resource, and are cheaper for consumers.
Romm, Joseph J., and Andrew A. Frank. "Hybrid Vehicles Gain Traction." Scientific American 294.4 (2006): 72-79. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.
Throughout time gasoline fuel has been the major fuel used in order to power cars. Even today the majority of people who have cars they are typically gasoline powered cars. Although gasoline has been improved throughout time, the world today now needs alternatives to gasoline since it is hurting the world. The world is in need of an alternative that will help the environment. One major and successful alternative is the hybrid car.The creation of the hybrid car will greatly affect the world positively.
Schwartz, A 2011, ‘EVs Gain Traction as Toyota Prius Sales hit 3 million’, Fast Company, 9
When the 1970s rolled around and the oil crisis struck, gas prices rose tremendously and people were very concerned about the dependency for oil and the idea of hybrid cars once again came up. The main financial support came from the U.S. Department of Energy, with a few automobile companies also investing some money. By the early 1990s Volkswagen was the only automaker that considered marketing a hybrid vehicle, only in Europe though. 1993 sparked a major event for the advancement of hybrid cars. The Department of Energy signed a five-year $138 million development agreement with General Motors and a $122 million agreement with Ford to design and build preproduction hybrid prototypes that could be marketed in less than 10 years. Four years later brought about a new generation of hybrid vehicles with the introduction of the Toyota Prius (Sperling, p. 101).
The hybrid or “hyper” car uses a combination of two or more supplies of energy to power itself. The typical hybrid car is a cross between a normal gasoline powered car, and an electric car. The gasoline engine in a h...
Most American cars are not hybrids or fuel-efficient, they are usually big SUV’s or trucks that get eighteen to ten miles per gallon. Most of Hondas, Toyotas, and Hyundai’s get around 20 to 30 miles per gallon, and hybrids get 50 miles per gallon. Peoples demand fuel-efficient cars because oil is i...
There are 3 popular hybrids on the market today which are the Honda Insight coupe, Toyota Prius four door hatchback and the Honda Civic hybrid Sedan. There are 6 new hybrid models on the way to the market which will give families a larger selection to choose from. These cars will allow consumers to save on gas. The consumer gets more miles per gallon with the Hybrid car. These cars can go 600 miles before having to refuel with gasoline which will decrease the amount of money that the consumer will have to pay for filling the gas tank. Also, these cars produce about 90 percent fewer smog-forming tailpipe emissions compared with the average new car, according to Dave Hermance, head of Environmental Engineering for Toyota. Purchasing these cars will also allow the consumer to receive a tax break of $1,500. The price of these cars are no...
It may seem odd that it took Toyota so long to develop a hybrid variant seeing that the Ford Escape Hybrid was offered a decade ago, although it has been replaced by other models.
Hybrid cars use both gas and electric. The gasoline engine is the primary source of power, while the electric motor is used at low speeds. Emissions levels are reduced because the gasoline engine shuts off at low speeds. An additional benefit of the parallel configuration is that no outside source of electric power is required because the engine itself generates the required electricity. A Hybrid Electric Vehicle known as HEV have several advantages over traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles: Regenerative braking capability, which helps minimize the energy lost when driving. Engine is sized to average load, not peak load, which reduces the weight of the engine. Fuel efficiency is greatly increased, while emissions are greatly decreased. HEVs can be operated using alternative fuels; therefore they need not be depended on fossil fuels (http://www.ott.doe.gov/hev/what.html#hev). Another great thing about these machines is the mpg; on the average, a hybrid car gets anywhere from 55-70mpg on the hwy. This is what makes the car all worth having. Now all this sounds good, but there are some issues that must be addressed.
Vehicles in this day and time are nothing like what they used to be. Over half of the car manufacturers are now trying to build new cars and trucks to be as fuel efficient as they can be. Although hybrids conserve more gas than standard vehicles do, they use gas, also. Hybrids do not use as much gas as the ol...