Archive for January, 2010
I would love to get a Nissan 350z, but would like my next car to be a hybrid. Do Nissan have plans for a hybrid 350z, or are there any similar cars around or coming?
Try http://hybridcars.com
Before buying a hybrid, make sure you know the different types of hybrids..ie; full hybrid, mild hybrid, serial hybrid, parallel hybrid, plug-in hybrid..etc
Just because a vehicle says it’s a Hybrid doesn’t mean it will be the right kind of vehicle for your needs.
For example: I just had a customer that traded her 06 Honda Accord Hybrid (mild hybrid) because she was getting terrible gas mileage. She bought an 07 Escape Hybrid 4X4 (full hybrid), & doubled her miles per gallon.
I believe Ford has plans for a Hybrid Fusion..but I’m not sure when…08, maybe ?
There are the Honda Accord and Civic, the Nissan Altima, Saturn Aura, Toyota Camry and Prius.
Probably the Honda Accord, it has 253 horsepower which is more than any of the other Hybrid Cars (not counting the full size hybrid trucks from GM).
How many miles can a gas engine car go before refueling? _______An electric car?_____ A hybrid car?______
it depends on the design.
the larger the gas tank or batteries the farther it will go,
some tractor trailer trucks can go 3000 miles without a refill.
most gas cars are 200 to 300 miles
most electrics are 20 to 500 miles
hybrid car, no clue. but there is only about 5 on the market right now, should be possible to look up.
I am passively shopping for a hybrid SUV. I drive a ton, so net effective miles per gallon is an important factor in my decision making process.
I am assuming, based on stickers, that MPG is close to the same for hybrid vs. standard vehicles because MPG refers to miles per gallon of gasoline.
What I am most curious about is, what impact does the electric power have on net effective MPG? Flipping between gas and electric, how many miles could I expect to travel on a full (24 gallon?) tank of fuel and a full battery charge?
Let’s say I have a 24 gallon tank, full of fuel and I take it out on the highway. At 22 mpg, I can get about 528 miles. How many more miles could I expect to travel in a hybrid?
If the new Chevy Tahoe Hybrid (due out in late 2007) gets 15 city and 22 hwy [pretty much (if not) the same as a regular Tahoe], what is the added benefit of the Tahoe Hybrid?
Well, it depends on what type of hybrid system is in the vehicle.
If it’s like the current GMC Sierra/Chevy Silverado pickups, it’s nothing more than a label. They’re not really a hybrid, as the electric motors do not propel the truck at all. All of the fuel savings come from idle-stop and cylinder deactivation, and the tiny 42v battery is just used for restarting the engine and to power external work equipment through power outlets in the cab and bed. A 10% improvement in MPG sounds good, until you realize that that’s only 1-2MPG more than the current vehicle. But as I recall the emissions are lower on the hybrid versions compared to their gasoline-only counterparts.
The Belt-Alternator system that GM is introducting on the new Saturn Vue Green Line is a step up, in that the electrics help out in acceleration a little.
Next up are the the "power" or "performance" hybrids, the Lexus models and the Honda Accord hybrid. Their hybrid systems have been tuned to deliver more HP and more acceleration than their gas-only counterparts, and only deliver a tiny bit better fuel economy at the same time.
Next up are the assist hybrids (electric motor used for acceleration), like the Honda Insight and Civic Hybrid, followed by the full hybrids (can run on the electric motor alone) like the Toyota Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid, which are more tuned for fuel efficiency (and have lowered emissions too).
(I’ve left out the Toyota Camry, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid, all full hybrids, because I don’t recall if they’re tuned for more power or more fuel efficiency…)
Since none of the current hybrids are grid-chargeable/PHEVs, the question about leaving with a full charge is really not applicable. You’ll only be flipping between gas and electric with a full hybrid (and you cannot manually choose), and seeing where GM has been going on their (lack of) hybrid development, you’ll probably not be seeing a full hybrid GM vehicle, but barely an assist hybrid…
Currently, hybrid vehicles are tested the same as any other vehicle on governmental (such as the EPA) fuel economy tests, so you can easily compare fuel efficiency between models. (Typically, whatever % difference in MPG you get on your current vehicle compared to that vehicle’s EPA rating, you’ll see the same % difference on a hybrid or any other vehicle compared to its EPA rating…)
I suppose a good question to ask yourself is whether you need to have a large SUV for your long highway commute. Would it be possible to use a smaller, more efficient vehicle for commuting, and buy a cheap older used large SUV for your weekend hauling (with a low mileage insurance policy)? or rent one as needed?
Whatever type of vehicle you need, try and buy the greenest one available. This site organizes vehicles by their class (pickup, SUV, station wagon, small car, minivan, etc.), and sorts them by lowest emissions and best fuel economy. http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicle/
Remember the South Park episode about the Smug, the hybrid cars, the storm, and everything you just saw. Upon the aftermath of either typhoon Ondoy and typhoon Peping, should we blame the sale and importation of hybrid vehicles to the Philippines for causing all this damage? Think about the South Park episode you saw came in reality… Does the Hybrid Cars selling in the Philippines caused all this havoc? If you haven’t saw a South Park episode about hybrid cars, just watch it to believe it…
agreed. the asker is a 4th grader who watches more stupid cartoons than reads his school books. (if you’re older than 10, God help your parents) *sigh* fine, i’ll answer the question.
no. there is no relationship between the sale and importation of ANYTHING to the cause of a storm.
storms are formed when an area with a low atmospheric pressure is surrounded by high atmospheric pressure. it creates towering and dense clouds with strong winds and precipitation. now, if you don’t know how clouds are formed and what "precipitation" means, read your grade 3 science book.
do you even know what a hybrid car is? it’s a car that can be charged like a cellphone because it burns lesser gasoline when it uses its stored electric energy to power the car’s engine alternatively.
