Entries from September 2006 ↓

The concept behind the creation of hybrid vehicles is to get as much fuel efficiency out of a car made of lighter materials with a smaller engine as possible. No one wants a gas guzzler of a car eating up all of his or her hard earned cash and that’s where the hybrid comes in. The hybrid vehicle answers the call for helping save dollars at the gas pumps.

It is estimated that depending on their model, hybrid cars can give drivers anywhere from 20, to 30 and in some cases even 60 miles per gallon more than the standard non-hybrid vehicle. Hybrid vehicles have as good a performance, if not better than traditional vehicles and the ride is smooth. Gas guzzler it is not. Many drivers are uttering the words, “Hello hybrid!” more and more these days.

Automakers chose to build a car that was considered very complex to both improve gas mileage and also to reduce emissions from the tailpipe. In the United States carmakers are mandated by law to meet what is known as “Corporate Average Fuel Economy” standards (or abbreviated to CAFÉ). The current standard dictates that all new vehicles sold to consumers must have an average mileage of 27.5mpg (or if you go by the metric system, 8.55 liters per 100 km). To put it another way, this means that if a car company is able to sell one hybrid car with an average mileage of 60 mpg (better than the average standard) or 3.92 liters per 100 km, then this is good news for them because they can then turn around and sell four, large and expensively priced luxury cars that get a great deal less out of the mileage (20 mpg or 11.76 liters per 100 km).

Let’s take a closer look at how a hybrid most definitely does not fall into the category of being a gas guzzler. In order to get the best mileage possible, there are many tricks of the trade that automakers rely on. Three that we will focus on include the reduced weight of the hybrid, the small, efficient engine, and the advanced aerodynamics.

In the making of most hybrid cars, a lightweight aluminum body as well as structure is used to cut down tremendously on the weight of the car. Together the lightweight body and smaller, lighter engine allow for the excellent performance that is expected of all cars, hybrids or not. For example, the Honda Insight doesn’t even begin to tip the car scales at less that 1,900 pounds (or 862 kg). This is only a fraction of what traditional gas guzzler types of cars weigh. Other materials often used to make hybrids include composite materials such as carbon fiber and other lightweight metals such as magnesium.

A small, efficient engine goes a long way in saving on mileage in hybrids. Big engines expend more energy when they accelerate and in particular when they accelerate up hills or inclines. As well big engines are equipped with more cylinders and require more work from the cylinders to allow them to do their job properly. All these things contribute to the need to buy fuel for your car more often. The hybrid vehicle’s smaller, more fuel-efficient engine doesn’t have this problem. To use the Honda Insight as an example once again, its engine weighs a mere 124 pounds (or 56 kg) and contains a very small 1.0 liter three-cylinder that makes it possible for the car to produce approximately 67 horsepower at 5,700 rpm. Plus the VTEC system and lean burn technology are incorporated into the car to make fuel efficiency even more of a reality in this hybrid.

The hybrid car is not a gas guzzler for a third reason- it uses advanced aerodynamics to help reduce drag. When you are driving along a busy freeway the majority of the work that your engine needs to do involves the force needed to push the vehicle down the highway (or through the air). This force is given the name “aerodynamic drag.” This aerodynamic drag can be reduced in two different ways- first by constructing smaller frontal areas on hybrid cars and secondly, by limiting and/or reducing disturbances around items that protrude from the car. For example, airflow is smoothed tremendously by placing covers over the wheel housings and drag is also reduced. On some hybrids tiny cameras are placed where mirrors are generally positioned on conventional cars.

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Electric cars are the wave of the future and will end up changing the way we operate our automobiles for years to come. It is with this brand new technology that we can take hold of the future and make it our own, without the need of fear to guide us into the unknown. Now, we are all powerful and we use the electric cars to journey into the dark abyss of the future with caution eagerly thrown to the wind as new technology branches over and ties on to the old, producing electric run vehicles that will challenge the doors of our perception and change the way we think about cars forever.

Of course, this change has not happened overnight and the evolutionary process was a slow one. But the reality is set in stone and it will happen, whether the owners of oil factories and plants like it or not; the environment dictates that we change the path of our civilization. For this reason, electric cars will help lead the charge into the future and will help transform the damage we have done to our world through pollution and other factors as we mindlessly carry through this existence. With the advent of this new technology, we have a chance to create a better world for our children.

Leading The Charge

With electric cars comes the charge to the future and with this charge to the future comes the new madness in terms of competition between the classic ways of doing things with harmful pollutants and the new way of accomplishing goals with technology and environmentally friendly additives. The wave of the future is upon us and with the change in time should inevitably come a change in the human spirit; as we grow, we discover that there are better ways to accomplish our goals than our predecessors and greater gifts we can give to our children such as clean air and a beautiful world.

If we truly intend to leave the world in good shape, electric cars are a part of the deal. They will serve to eliminate harmful pollutants that come from our gas burning automobiles and will help eliminate a variety of other forms of pollution from the air with wonderful operation techniques that belie a great claim to service. Electric cars are coming fast into the marketplace and soon will be sold and manufactured on a broad scale.

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Less Of Mechanical Controls And More Of Electrical Ones

The electric vehicle is a good alternative to the gasoline powered cars of today as they are quiet to run and, since no gasoline is burned, do not produce any wasteful exhaust. An electric car may have a number of electric car parts and these are not the same as many of those used in gasoline driven vehicles. Therefore, there is less maintenance cost as this means that there is no need for constant tuning up and fuel changing as is the case with gasoline cars. The only thing that is required is the battery and its maintenance is minimal.

Most of the electric car parts are either solid-state or electrical and there are no moving parts and the average maintenance costs of electric cars is about 30 percent lower than their fuel driven counterparts. However, a battery does not provide high energy content per unit of weight and this means that there is a greater load on the batteries to perform up to expectations, and need quite some time to fully recharge and be serviceable once again.

An alternative source of energy for electric cars has been developed and involves placing metal strips within the roadbed and all electrical energy gets provided from a central source through the strips of metal. Besides the batteries and the metal strip used for generating energy, there are other electric car parts that need to be considered and one such one is the electric car starter part. Other electric car parts include the wiring, connectors, switches, fuses and holders, and the relays.

Another interesting electric car part is the electrically operated rear view mirror that costs just about $120 and can be controlled from within the vehicle itself. Add to that is the power steering and power windows that do away with mechanical operations, replacing them with electricity. The electric clock is a normal part of the dashboard as too are the other controls. The electric fuel pump is exactly what the car owner needs to get the vehicle going again in case of breakdowns. It mounts on the fuel tank and comes with the complete electrical connections and also costs around $120.

The main reason for using an electrically operated vehicle is the efficient manner in which the car can be controlled and its capability of providing power efficiently as well as being mechanically simple. The power steering unit is another example of the electric car part that has become a standard feature of modern day vehicles – be they electrically operated or gasoline driven. There is considerable ease of maneuverability and greater control over the steering of the vehicle.

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