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

I’m wondering how the hybrids are. Every time they improve, the MPG goes down. So what are the top hybrid cars?
By when I mean "slow down", I mean that the time it takes to go from 0-80 mph when the car is using the electric hybrid Battery. It differs with each car.

Hi,

it depends on what you want your hybrid to be- more efficient than a gas-only vehicle, or more powerful and just slightly more efficient. Hybrid systems can be adjusted either way.

Actually, any MPG numbers on every commercial vehicle are established by the federal government, not the manufacturer.

So the lowered numbers you see on essentially the same vehicle (2007 to 2008 Prius or Civic Hybrid, for example) are because the government finally updated testing procedures that were set up in the 1970’s and slightly updated in the 1980’s.

There is very little, if any, difference in the actual vehicle, but the testing has changed. So the MPG numbers are lower on every vehicle, some more than others.

I’m not sure what you mean by "doesn’t slow down".

As far as the most seamless hybrid cars (the ones most like a standard car), those would be the Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Honda Accord Hybrid (no longer made, but you might be able to still find one new), the Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Nissan Altima Hybrid (Nissan licenses the hybrid tech from the Camry in the Altima).

Those four cars will be as standard looking as possible and perform at least as well, and actually better, than their standard engine setups.

The Honda Accord was a power hybrid, meaning it’s hybrid system was a boost to the 6 cylinder gas engine. It did get slightly better mileage than just the 6 cylinder alone, but it was not meant for efficiency.

The Civic Hybrid is meant for efficiency, but is a compact sedan. It will get better mileage than the standard Civic.

The Altima Hybrid is meant as a mix of performance and efficiency. But it is only available in limited markets throughout the country, so it may not be available where you live.

The Camry Hybrid is also a mix of efficiency and performance, but it leans more to the efficiency side. It is available anywhere in the country. The Camry Hybrid is judged as the top pick by several independent organizations.

Of course, your best choice for a high-efficiency vehicle is the Prius. It is more equal to a Camry or Altima in available features, options, safety and performance than a Civic Hybrid, but you are looking at a step up in vehicle.

Of course, for pure mileage, you can try and find a used Honda Insight, as someone else mentioned, but that is only an aluminum two-seater with fairly basic comfort and safety features. Great vehicle, one of my favorites, but there are some compromises that have to be made.

Good luck.

ADDED INFO…
The most efficient hybrids are not going to be the fastest from 0-60 mph. Going fast in a gas saving, efficient hybrid goes against the idea of what they are built for. Plus, driving any vehicle above 65-70 mph will lower your mileage by about 10% for each 5 mph over 70 (give or take, some vehicles will lose even more mpg over 70 mph). That is for any vehicle. So a vehicle that gets 46 mpg by the EPA sticker will get about 36 mpg at 80 mph, at best.

And I understand you are looking for the hybrid that will accelerate the quickest and give the best mileage, so in mid-size sedans, look at the Prius for the best mileage and the Camry or Altima for more off-the-line quickness.

If you don’t mind a used vehicle, and can handle only two seats and very little trunk space, go with a manual Honda Insight. Very quick vehicle (I always describe them as a motorcycle with a roof) and mileage that should be in the 40-50 mpg range.

I heard that hybrid cars leave a larger carbon footprint on the environment when being made than regular cars that get good gas mileage. Is this true? Please back up with any facts or sources. Thanks!

well, a mini or an SUV hybrid? probably the mini.
a Prius or just about anything else? The Prius.
A Camry or a Camry hybrid? The hybrid.
and you’ll like the gas mileage. Particularly if you do lots of city driving.

<<My source is the fact that hybrids run half off of water vapor in the air>>
Actually not. But that does not mean that hybrids are not better.
Sometimes people get to the right answer by incorrect logic.
However, their poor logic does not change the correct answer.

I know that hybrid cars are a combination of gas and electric energy, but I don’t exactly understand how it is that it works. How is it that these cars are more environmentally friendly, and why do they get better gas mileage?

check out www.howstuffworks.com check out "auto stuff"
hope this helps

I have read everything available on the subject on all the major search engines.
If you have any personal inputs, then please post them here.

This is for a symposium on :

"Hybrid Cars: A Cause of Concern"

Here’s a big concern: hybrid cars are too Quiet.

Maybe not a big concern for owning a hybrid – unless you’re the one who kills a pedestrian.

The National Federation for the Blind has brought this problem to the light by pushing forth legislation on the issue.
A new bill is expected in Congress that will look at the safety of hybrid cars and the blind. The nearly-silent cars are difficult to detect for pedestrians who can’t see them.

Car manufacturers will likely address this issue for their own liability reasons before Congress ever acts. It’s not just the blind – we all use noise as feedback in our environment. Studies show hybrid cars need to be more than 40% closer to pedestrians in order to be heard.

Video interview at my site with research from UC Riverside:

http://www.hybrid-car-show.com/plug-in-hybrid-car.html

Gas prices are really too high and I think we can’t keep using oil to power our cars. Where can I find an electric car or at least a plug-in hybrid car?

In all honesty, you can’t. Sure there are a given few electric car companies making golf carts that have windows and can go 55, but the only company making a car worth a crap is Tesla Motors (teslamotors.com) it’s an amazing car and is what we should see on the larger market but it starts at 100k. I give them credit though for at least selling it, Chevy will wave the Volt in front of us for years but I’d bet even money it’ll never make it to production. Your best bet is to buy a Prius and have it modified after market. There are companies in place to do this sort of thing, but you may be driving to San Francisco to get it done.

Personally I drive a 2006 Jetta TDI (Diesel) it gets better gas mileage than my parents Prius, and it only cost 2k to modify it to run on Vegetable Oil (compared to 10k to modify the prius), so I’m seeing 40-45 MPG on a grow-able fuel. Which is at least carbon neutral. (you have to grow something that breaths CO2 and releases Oxygen). I know it isn’t great but honestly I feel better about my car on Bio Diesel because at least I don’t depend on foreign oil, so I make the treehunger happen, the peace love people happy, and my wallet happy, Vegetable Oil is only $1.50 per gallon.

I ask because I’m planning to buy one. I just can’t decide which one to get. I looked up the reviews on all the hybrid cars (Yahoo Auto) but still can’t make up my mind. I just want something within $20-25K price range. Thank you.

Hi,

there is no easy answer to this without getting more information on what your needs and wants are.

My recommendation is to draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and put your needs on one side and your wants on the other.

Put this list away for a few days and look at it again after a week to see if your answers have changed.

Then see which vehicles are on that short list.

If you are only looking to buy new, your choices are limited to the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic Hybrid, or possibly the Ford Escape Hybrid on the upper end of your range.

Consider those hybrids in that order- Prius, Civic, and on from there.

There are other mild hybrids out there that might possibly fall in your range, but at that point consider the standard model (like the Saturn Vue Green Line).

Good luck.