Archive for the ‘Hybrid Cars’ Category
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has recently named the twelve cleanest cars in the US today. The agency named the best fuel efficient cars in the market today to aid consumers who are in the market for a car that will give them great fuel economy and would be able to take a part in the drive to protect the environment.
For ten years, the council has compiled the twelve greenest cars for every model year. And for only the second time in the history of the council, every single car included in this year’s list comes from Asian car makers. The list also featured four new models which show the increasing number of green cars being produced. The reason mainly is the rising prices of gasoline and the increasing environmental awareness in the public.
Leading the list is the Honda Civic GX which runs on compressed natural gas. The GX looks just like the ordinary Civic model but its fuel efficiency is much better. The car is Honda’s answer to the demand for cleaner cars and with this car, they have set a new standard in the clean car segment. While hybrid electric cars are the most popular cars in terms of fuel efficiency, the Honda Civic GX proves that there is a better alternative to using electric motors to drive a car. The use of compressed natural gas can still be enhanced with aftermarket parts like a DC Sports cold air intake component that will cool the air going into the combustion chamber. The Honda Civic GX is only rated at 100 horsepower and 98 lb-ft of torque but the continuously variable transmission employed by the GX efficiently transfers all those power to the wheels.
Following the Honda Civic GX in the list is the popular Toyota Prius. This Toyota hybrid has become an instant hit when it was introduced to the US market. The soaring gas prices prompted a huge number of American motorists to go for a car such as this. The Prius uses an electric motor to ease the load carried by its engine. This translates to better fuel economy since during idling and low-sped driving, the electric motor takes over the operation of the car.
The third car in the list is another hybrid and another car from Honda. The Honda Civic Hybrids also makes it as one of the cleanest cars in production today. The inclusion of the second Honda model in the top three shows and reflects the dedication of Honda in developing and producing cars that are environmentally friendly. The top three cars are rated as PZEV or Partially Zero-Emission Vehicles.
Another Asian car manufacturer that made it to the list of the top twelve cleanest cars is Nissan. Their Nissan Altima Hybrid is the fourth cleanest car in production today. The Altima Hybrid is also rated as a partially zero-emissions vehicle.
The fifth car on the green list is another Toyota model which is the Toyota Yaris. The Yaris is rated as an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle II. Two other Toyotas follow the Yaris in the list. These are the Toyota Corolla and the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Toyota also has been making progress in the production of clean vehicles which is evident in the entry of four of their models in the top twelve green cars.
The Honda Fit which recently won Best of The Year Award at the 2007 Chicago Auto Show also appeared as the eighth cleanest car. Kia, another Asian brand has also a car in the top twelve list, this being the Kia Rio/Rio 5. Other cars which made the list are the Hyundai Accent and the Elantra. The conventional Honda Civic is the twelfth cleanest car.
Lauren Woods
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/twelve-greenest-cars-named-105813.html
Considering their alternative power comes from electricity, and electricity is produced by burning coal or produced by nuclear plants. Burnig coal and nuclear waste are hardly envirnmentally friendly. So are these Hybrid Cars really all that much better than regular cars just burning petrol??
You guys are right. I totally spaced out the fact they recharge themselves! Brainfart on my part!
They charge their own batteries, so there is NOT the problem with power plants.
The trade off with them is that they are very expensive, they don’t get THAT much more mileage, and battery replacement is astronomical!!
Toyota’s decision to recall nearly 437,000 Prius and other Hybrid Cars adds to an already long list of recalled vehicles. Here’s a breakdown of which models are effected. (Feb. 9)
Duration : 0:1:9
What’s up with Hybrid Vehicles?
By Diane Nassy
If the price of gasoline has got you scared, and you’re thinking
about maybe trading in your car for a moped, you’ve got half the
solution right. It might be time to trade in your car, but
forget the moped – get a hybrid car instead.
The dictionary defines the word hybrid as: Offspring
resulting from breeding between parents of two different
species, and that’s a good definition for our purposes.
That’s because a hybrid car has a power plant that’s a cross
between a gasoline powered engine and an electric motor.
What’s the big deal about hybrid cars?
The automobile industry claims that a hybrid car can give you as
much as 20 to 30 miles per gallon more performance than a
standard gasoline engine. That means that you buy less gasoline,
and buying less gasoline leaves more money in your pocket.
You’ll need that extra money, however, because hybrid cars are
still relatively expensive compared to traditional
gasoline-powered cars. As more Hybrid Cars are sold,
manufacturing prices will drop, and that drop will be seen in
the selling price.
How does a hybrid car save gasoline?
In a typical automobile, the engine is connected to the
transmission via a mechanical link called the drive
train. When the engine’s sparkplugs fire, they ignite
gasoline vapor which pushes a piston up and down. This piston
movement gets transferred to the transmission via the drive
train. The transmission turns the wheels and the car goes down
the road.
Well, the hybrid car is almost exactly the same except that in
addition to the engine being connected to the transmission, an
electric motor is also connected to the transmission. Actually,
there are two different versions of hybrid cars. The one that
was just described is called a parallel hybrid, because
there are two different energy sources connected in parallel to
the transmission.
The other type of hybrid car is called a series hybrid
because the gasoline engine works in series with the electric
motor to power the car. This is accomplished by having the
gasoline engine either charge the car’s batteries, or power the
electric motor. The gasoline engine doesn’t actually turn the
car’s wheels at all.
The parallel hybrid operates off of the electric motor when the
car is being driven below a certain speed, and the gasoline
engine kicks in when that speed is exceeded, or when sensors in
the car indicate that the driver has accelerated suddenly as if
to pass or to avoid an emergency situation.
Of course, the gasoline engine is always running even when the
electric motor is powering the car, so some gasoline is always
being used.
The series hybrid is always running off of the electric motor,
which restricts the top speed of the car, and the gasoline
engine only kicks in when the batteries need to be charged.
Like all automotive claims, your mileage may vary. Even so, if
you’re looking to spend less money at the gas station, and avoid
much of the effect of rising gas prices, you might want to park
a hybrid car in your garage
Diane Nassy
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/whats-up-with-hybrid-vehicles-447.html
