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Hybrid Cars Technology
Hybrid cars are familiar to most people in the U.S., but the technology that powers them may not be common knowledge.
HYBRID CARS
Hybrids run on a mixture of gas and electricity, and are similar to traditional cars. The difference, besides an increase of up to 50% in efficiency, is that the hybrid has an electric motor and a battery that can be recharged. The car's computer determines when to use gas or electricity.
The hybrid car operates on gas at higher speeds, but is battery-powered at other times. Gas is converted into energy, and remains in the battery until it is needed.
Hybrids also make use of regenerative braking, in which the heat released when hitting the brakes is captured and stored for later use. Check out the Toyota Prius Hybrid for more information on a good reliable hybrid.
PLUG-IN HYBRID CARS
Plug-in hybrids, so named because they can be charged by plugging in to household electricity, are similar to standard hybrid cars. However, they have larger batteries and smaller gas tanks. For the coolest plug-in hybrid check out the Fisker. Just an amazing car (would love to have one of these).
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The Honda Civic Hybrid is a sharp looking car. It was designed to look like a car not a runner up to the Toyota Prius. The Honda does not get quit the gas mileage as the Prius but the fuel efficiency is very good. The Honda is known for quality and reliability. Their hybrid lineup is no different. One thing that may surprise people is the safety awards that this Civic Hybrid has won.
The price of the Honda Civic Hybrid is comprable to the lower end of the Prius. There is only a few extras options available with the Honda Civic Hybrid. The leather seating and the navigational system. What other manufactures are charging extra for the Honda Civic Hybrid includes. That makes Hybrid car one of the more affordable Hybrids.
Combined MPG of 42 MPG
Has a stylish look
MSRP $22,400.00
Honda Civic Hybrid - Under the Hood
Gas mileage city 40 MPG
Gas mileage highway 45 MPG
1.3 liter iVTEC 4-cylinder engine
20-hp electric motor
110 horsepower
Utilizes a Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) Battery
Honda Civic Hybrid Awards
The Honda Civic Hybrid with vehicle stability assist (VSA), the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named it a 2010 top safety pick.
NHTSA gives the 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid 5 starts for frontal crash safety
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Toyota is introducing the plug-in-in Hybrid Prius. See image. This is in addition to the regular Prius hybrid. You now have the option, with the plug-in hybrid, of using the electric portion for driving and recharging. More on that to come in the Toyota Prius Plug-in. 
When most people hear Hybrid car they often think of the Toyota Prius. The Toyota Prius has been around for many years and they keep improving on the Hybrid technology. The current model has:
4 trim packages
Combined MPG of 50 MPG
Is a roomy sedan – did I just say roomy – yes, it is very roomy for a small sedan
MSRP for base model is $22,400.00
Drive is smooth and comfortable
Toyota Prius - Under the hood
The new Toyota Prius has a 1.8-liter engine with 134-horse power.
Has a Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) battery
That deliverse 36 hp
201.6 Volts
Driving modes
1. Power – flip the switch and this will increase the throttle response
2. Economy – reduces throttle response to save gas
3. EV – (that is electric vehicle mode) flip this switch and you can drive on pure electric power at low speeds for a short distance.
There are two modes Eco and Power modes
The breaks are a neat feature on the Prius and many of the hybrid cars. The front wheels are power-assisted ventilated front disc and the rear discs are anti-lock brake system (ABS) and integrated regenerative braking. Ok, what does that mean? It means when you brake the system recoups some of the energy to charge the battery.
Toyota Prius Exterior
The shape of the Toyota Prius is one of the most aerodynamic vehicles on the market today. This is one reason why the Prius can achieve the mile per gallon that it does. Everyone knows what a Prius looks like so we do not see Toyota change the look too dramatically.
Some say the Toyota Prius is funny looking. Others say it is a futuristic look. Those who own a Prius know it makes a statement. Since the Prius is the most widely recognizable hybrid vehicle on the road it certainly does make a statement.
The Interior of the Toyota Prius
Toyota Prius, like many other hybrids, gets part of the fuel efficiency from reducing weight. The Prius uses many lightweight but yet every bit as safe and durable materials. Some of the items that are replaced with these lightweight durable materials are the seating. By reducing the size of the seating it frees up much more interior space. The materials used in the seating are also lighter in weight then traditional materials. The interior dash and door coverings are all lightweight materials. Many of these materials are also eco friendly and come from renewable sources.
You can get many of the same features in the Toyota Prius as you can in a regular gas car such as heated seats.
There is a new feature that helps keep the interior of the car cool when the Prius is parked in the heat. Or if you need the interior to stay heated that can be done as well. If the car is parked how does it manage to do this you might be wondering. Well those solar panels on top of the moon roof are where that power is coming from. A nice feature that a gas car isn’t talking about. |
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Despite the troubles of the car market in general, demand for hybrid cars has remained flat. Hybrid car sales in 2009 are expected to remain at about 2.5% of overall car sales. The Toyota Prius continues to be the top selling hybrid followed closely by the Honda Insight.Nine years after the introduction of the Prius and Insight these two hybrid pioneers continue to improve and dominate the market. The new Prius introduced in January 2009 is bigger and has more horsepower than its predecessors. The Prius has an impressive US fuel economy rating of 50 MPG.
Honda’s Insight is competitively priced for several thousand dollars less than the Prius and with a 40 MPG US fuel economy rating the Insight is the most affordable high mileage vehicle on the market.
Returning hybrid models include the improved and sportier Honda Civic hybrid with optional leather trimmed seats and heated front seats and side mirrors, the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid.
Joining the hybrid market for the first time in 2009 are the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan, Ford’s first hybrid sedans. The Fusion is expected to get 40 MPG and pure electric speeds of up to 47 miles per hour.
The Mercedes S-Class Hybrid uses the new lighter lithium battery and promises 30 MPG. The luxury S-Class starts at about $88,000 and will cost $30,000 more than the only other luxury hybrid sedan the V8 Lexus GS 450h. The GS only promises 23 MPG but will outperform the S-Class.
The Lexus Hybrid HS 250h shares the same basic platform as the 2010 Prius although the HS 250h is 40% more powerful, longer, wider and taller than the Prius. The HS 250h official mileage is 35 MPG in the city and 34 on the highway. It sells for $34,200.
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There are many good reasons to buy a hybrid car. They are green and clean. They use less gasoline than conventional cars. They are rated as highly reliable cars in nationally recognized surveys by J.D. Powers and Consumer Reports.
Green Hybrid Electric Cars
Gasoline/battery hybrid vehicles operate with the battery engine at slow speeds, while accelerating and idling switching to the gasoline powered combustion engine at higher speeds therefore these hybrid vehicles produce much lower emission levels of nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons, particulate matter and carbon monoxide.
Because the gasoline/battery operated hybrids use less gasoline they emit less CO2 and greenhouse gases than conventional vehicles.
The hybrid plug in with no gas engine uses no fuel and emits zero emissions however unlike the gasoline/battery powered hybrids, the plug-in vehicles do not have the power to drive at higher speeds and cannot (at least with today’s technology) go for long distances without recharging the battery.
A January 28, 2008 cnn.com article quotes Bill Reinert, the manager of alternative-fuel vehicle development for Toyota, “today's hybrids "are still essentially gasoline vehicles. The importance of today's hybrids is that they're forming a bridge to future technology -- to what we will see 20 years from now. And it's a symbolic shift away from the gas-burning internal combustion engine. And that's a key, because the facts about climate change and the global oil markets are incontrovertible. We definitely need to get off of fossil fuels, and hybrid vehicles of both today and the future are an excellent way to do that."
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