| Hybrid Vehicles |
| Written by Gray Rollins | |
| Monday, 25 August 2008 | |
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With gas prices rising significantly every year, we're finally starting to come around to the idea that we don't need to drive around 5,000 pound SUVs to get from point A to point B. Now hybrids are all the rage.
With gas prices rising significantly every year, we're finally starting to come around to the idea that we don't need to drive around 5,000 pound SUVs to get from point A to point B. Now hybrids are all the rage. While people were skeptical of hybrids at first, they've certainly come around. Major hybrid manufacturers like Toyota can't make enough to keep up with demand and neither can anyone else. A hybrid car has a small engine that is fuel efficient, which is combined with an electric motor that aids the engine when additional power is needed during acceleration. The electric motor gets its power from battery banks which continuously charge while you are driving. Most "full" hybrids come with a feature called regenerative braking. That means when you slow down that energy is used to charge the batteries. Hybrids also help save gas by frequently using tires that are less roll resistant and that are narrower to help reduce drag and rolling friction that the vehicle would normally experience while moving. The sales figures for hybrid vehicles have shown increased demand every year for the vehicles. Right now the demand for fuel efficient hybrids is far eclipsing the actual supply. Just try to buy yourself a Prius at your local dealership and notice how they're not going to budge on the price. You'll pay full sticker because if you don't, someone else will. There are several hybrids currently available in North America. They include the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, and the Mercury Mariner. There are also Hybrid SUVs available - the Ford Escape, the Lexas 400H and the Toyota Highlander. Pretty much every manufacturer has at least one entry in this market. The Toyota Prius is the uncontested king of hybrids with over 1,000,000 on the road. Now that consumer support for the hybrids has arrived, auto manufacturers are increasing the pace at which they introduce hybrid models. If we had a crystal ball that could see into the future, there's a good chance that what we'd see 20 years down the road would be freeways, highways, and streets that were full of hybrid vehicles. In fact, it's likely that our gas guzzling vehicles of today are about to go the way of the dinosaur as more hybrid cars make it to market. The Article Author: Gray Rolins is a featured writer for FuelSavingZone. Visit his site to learn about Alternative Fuel Technologies and even how to choose a commuter bike. |
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