Hybrid Cars and the Basics of How They Work

The auto industry has been abuzz about the developments and introduction of new technologies for as long as it?s been around. The big new of this decade is the introduction of the Hybrid car. It?s not quite the electric machine everyone thought we?d be driving by now, but it?s halfway there and it?s a good solid step in that direction. But what exactly goes on under that slick new hood that makes these cars so special?

The science is a bit stuffy, but the basics are simple enough. It?s not even new technology necessarily. Buses and trains have been running with the help of electricity for years, but now it?s a consumer product, something you and I can go out and pick up from the car lot and drive around town.

Electric cars have a lot of drawbacks. They?re hard to maintain, harder to charge up, and don?t go nearly as far as you?d like, and we all know the drawbacks of the gasoline powered machines we drive around now. The mixture of the two is an attempt to cut back on emissions and gas mileage while not falling victim to the pitfalls of electric cars.

Basically, with a hybrid you?re bypassing the negatives of both sides. You still run your car on gasoline, but now it takes half as much and instead of the gasoline powering your car directly, it powers the batteries and generator that do most of the actual work.

If you brake or release the accelerator, the generator takes and stores energy from the motion in the car?s motor, putting it back in the batteries and recycling it into the all powerful energy that will propel your car forward. It sounds complicated but it?s really a matter of inserting a middle man between gasoline and your car that doesn?t pollute or deplete as you use it.

The fact that you?re still using gasoline is a necessity at this point as it would take a 1000 pound battery to emit as much energy as 1 gallon of gasoline. Gasoline is still an amazing formula capable of storing vast amounts of energy. Until a suitable alternative can be found and refined to the degree needed to operate a motor vehicle in our high powered, quick moving world, the hybrid is the scientific equivalent of a godsend. Our only other alternative is walking, or to start breaking the laws of physics.

Anthony Chatfield writes for Go Hybrid, where you can find information on hybrid cars, hybrid car batteries, and more energy-saving alternatives.

The Advancing Reality of Hybrid Cars and American Automakers

It?s been ten years since Toyota introduced their first hybrid car, the Prius, to the market for energy and pollution conscious consumers. The model has seen significant success and maintains a steady waiting list for this interested in owning one. The market is booming and yet where is the competition? Honda hopped on with hybrid models of their popular Civic and Accord models, and Nissan is looking to edge their way in as their market share grows world-wide, but the original developers of the automobile, the American Auto Manufacturers, with the exception of a product line equivalent to sticking their toe in the water, have remained rather silent on the issue.

It looks like 2007 will be a step in the right direction though as 10 new hybrid models will release this year alone, six of those from Detroit?s big three automakers. Ford, Mercury, and Saturn each have their single entry in the field. As it stands though the full support and development budgets that the technology really needs to take off have yet to appear.

So, as GM, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler rev up their sales and attempt to take on a Japanese market with a decade?s head start, what can we look forward to in our hybrid vehicles?

The answer is exciting when you stop to think about the amount of development money and time that could really go into the market if these companies realize that there?s money to be made. When the consumers react and a dozen or more different brands hit the market in competition, the need to step up and offer bigger, better models to stay ahead of the curve will breed the kind of technology race that the auto industry hasn?t seen since the 1970s.

Recent reports released by the UN and the global scientific community state that with CO2 output as it currently stands, worldwide temperatures will rise by nearly 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. There are still hold outs on the consensus that technologies such as the automobile are causing harm to our planet, but as more and more come to the realization that this is a reality, the corporations will react accordingly. And if the government takes the steps to curb emissions and raise CAFE standards, it?s entirely likely that the industry might start to shift much of their focus to the hybrid car market in an attempt to curb the inevitable downturn in their profits.

Anthony Chatfield writes for Go Hybrid, where you can find information on hybrid cars, hybrid car batteries, and more energy-saving alternatives.

Hybrid Car Buying Options

The hybrid car market has built upon us slowly but steadily over the last decade ago. If you can remember back that far you?ll recall that gas was hovering around a dollar a gallon and we were in an economic boom, right on the edge of the dotcom bubble and the economic reality of the new millennium.

The last half decade or so has brought a few other realities as well, the most prevalent being the truth in global warming. The social effects are just now starting to be seen, right alongside the commercial effects. The evolution of the automobile has sidled right up to the plate as the next major development. For those interested in helping out by owning one of the new generation of the car, your choices were limited for a long time, but with each passing year a whole new slew of options open up as car companies hop onto the bandwagon, realizing that there is in fact money to be made in this market.

Until Ford finally announced their Escape model recently, the market has been dominated by Japanese automakers, and even now as more American companies get involved, they have nearly a ten year head start in the market.

Toyota Prius ? The most popular and oldest of all hybrid models, the Prius is one of the cheapest models available as well as the most efficient with nearly 60 mpg. There is a downside to being the most popular however ? a waiting list of two to nine months.

Honda Insight ? Honda?s new entry, the Insight is a straight up competitor to the Prius, with a slightly lower price point and slightly higher mpg. It doesn?t have the establishment of brand name like Toyota?s machine, but the success of Civic and Accord hybrids in Honda?s line places them in a better position than any other car company to take Toyota on.

Ford Escape ? The Escape Hybrid is the first time an American car company has offered a hybrid vehicle to the public. Their first entry is an attempt to pacify both markets at the same time, offering a more expensive SUV hybrid that gets significantly better mileage than most SUVs on the market, but still fails to come anywhere near the Toyota or Honda mileage standards.

Lexus and Toyota have offered their own entries into the SUV hybrid arena, with the Lexus RX 400h and Toyota Highlander respectively. The popularity of the SUV being what it is, the price point is rendered partially if not entirely mute, as those on the cusp of buying an SUV because of gas mileage might reconsider when these options are presented.

With upwards of 10 new models supposedly being unveiled later this year, the list of hybrid cars available to the public is growing rapidly, finally catching up to the demand that Toyota and their over-stuffed order forms can attest to. What remains to be seen now is if the kind of technology race that this market needs is coming right behind.

Anthony Chatfield writes for Go Hybrid, where you can find information on hybrid cars, hybrid car batteries, and more energy-saving alternatives.