News on hybrid vehicles, fuel cell cars, and the future of automobiles

ummm i know that ther are hybrid cars but what do they do 4 the environment? and how dot hey work give me anything u got answers or web sites

thanks!

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm

Hyrbrids get good gas mileage because they store the normally wasted energy of braking and other stuff into a battery rather then letting it go away. And note that the manual version of the Honda Insight and the Toyata Prius almost get 10 mpg better than their automatic counterpart.(transmission)

Or is it going to be Saturn electric car all over again?

The technology is available to easily provide 100mpg, yet we are still stuck with the Prius.

The prius is a "decent" car, perhaps not the best that could be achieved but for the price it is very good.

but people would rather buy large expensive heavy 4×4 trucks or "executive" company cars with poor fuel efficiency

The large amount of opprobrium that gets heaped on the Prius is one reason. The motoring journalists hate "green" even if it delivers a much better driving experience, smooth quiet, etc. It somehow threatens their masculinity/expert status/power.

eg in UK negligable coverage of the Norfolk built Tesla sports car http://www.teslamotors.com. Top Gear fossil heads would rather crash a 250mph jet car than mention the 350-400mph electric bluebird.

http://www.speedace.info

I don’t believe in global warming, but I want a cleaner world with less real pollutants (mercury, carcinogens, phosphorus, and what not). If we a are going to radically change our environmental policy why would we not go with a zero emission solution…are special interests once again in the way?
Yeah "bad wolf" your right about nuclear power for electricity, but I was talking about transportable energy.

I agree with you ….on both points.

But right now there is no workable hydrogen engine. It uses more energy to create the hydrogen then the car produces so we still need to burn oil or coal to create the hydrogen.

Nuclear is the most viable and cleanest technology that we have today. Modern reactors produce little to no waste.

Edit:

Yes this process could be used to either crate the hydrogen or charge electric cars…all pollution free.

I drive a 2002 Chevy Tracker 4×4 and so the gas mileage isn’t very good. I’m 22 and thinking about what car to buy roughly 5-6 years from now. I know technology could be really different then, but after watching shows like Last Days on Earth or Inconvenient Truth, I am wondering if it’s best to buy the cheaper baseline edition of a car with higher fuel efficiency instead of the nicer loaded car with lower fuel efficiency. E85 seems to be better than hybrids because hybrid batteries can die out.

What is your opinion? Has your view of cars changed over the last couple years because of carbon emissions and climate change?

I’d keep a close eye on Honda, when I used to live in Detroit back in the 80’s-90’s Honda tried implementing hybrid cars to the market without success (consumer wanted no part of it). Since then the market, technology and human factor has changed allowing them to go back to old blueprints. In the last few years Honda alone has introduces some half dozen hybrids to the market and now this Honda Hydrogen car (FCX Clarity).

http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/?ef_id=1097:3:s_187a8df27e4f4fe2e23efed5ffd3265a_1053084642:asUQsNB6B2YAAGLm1u8AAAAe:20080123175430

"The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, zero-emissions, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle based on the entirely-new Honda V Flow fuel cell platform, and powered by the highly compact, efficient and powerful Honda V Flow fuel cell stack."

http://world.honda.com/news/2007/4071114All-New-FCX/

It definitely has potential for "future car technology". In fact Honda just gave the first First Individual Customer from Las Angeles a 2 year lease on the FCX. http://world.honda.com/news/2005/4050629.html

I built my first hydrogen cell about 5 years ago and now currently run 2 trucks, my home hot water heater, home stove and home generator on hydrogen. If you’d like to run your current car safely on hydrogen now i have a step by step DIY guide to walk you threw the process. You can find it at http://www.agua-luna.com/hydrogen.html or you can email me.

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions,

Dan Martin
Retired Boeing Engineer now living 100% Off-the-Grid with my family, using Alternative Energy & loving every minute.
for more info visit www.agua-luna.com

Not everyone can afford a hybrid car (Chevy Tahoe – $50k), although I’m sure alot of people would like to have one for a variety of reasons. Do you think non-hybrid cars will be able to be retrofitted with Hybrid technology?

The least expensive hybrid car right now is the Toyota Prius, starting at $21,100.

Some hybrids qualify for substancial Federal Tax Credit rebates, such as the Ford Escape Hybrid 2WD– Uncle Sam will give you a $3000 tax credit for buying it, which actually makes it $500 cheaper than the comparable V6 Escape 2WD.

There are good hybrid deals out there.. You just have to do some research.

Retrofitting normal cars with hybrid systems is not a financially viable option. The retrofit kits seldom work as well as a built-as-hybrid car, and they cost way too much.