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

How do you think the hybrid cars will evolve? What it will turn into?

over what time period? Currently we are looking at hydrogen fuel cells which produce water instead of CO2. But eventually we will have electric cars completely that charge while they break and while you sleep. We already have an electric sports car that can go up to 120 mph just need to make the batteries last longer. and we will also have home garbage burning power plants to produce the electricity (Denmark is leading this movement with city and county trash burning power plants with less ozone gas emissions than a land fill so it produces energy and cuts pollution.)

failing that i think they will become a Wigglytuff

Basically im doing a project on the economics of the cars nd i want to find where i can find the difference between hybrid cars nd gasoline cars nd i want to find the average mpg for hybrid cars or for certain hybrid cars nd for gasoline cars as well. Basically gas stats on these two types of cars.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov

That’s where you will find the MPG ratings for all passenger cars as determined by the U.S. Government’s Environmental Protection Agency.

Keep in mind that the website has both the "old" MPG ratings which are not established under real-world conditions, and the "new" MPG ratings (adopted after 2006) which correlate more closely with real world driving conditions.

Good luck.

it is said when hybrid cars break(for example toyota prius ) the energy which is caused by the friction between the ground and the wheels of the car ,is converted to electrical energy in order to supply it.
i would be happy if someone could explain this process.(another thing :is there any site that explains about car components and……?)

It uses the electric motor operating backwards, to convert motion to electrical power.

In more detail, when you press the brakes lightly, the motor is connected to the front wheels in a mode where it operates as a generator. In that mode, it acts as a retardant on the wheels, ie, exhibits a braking effect. As you press harder on the brake petal, the couping between the wheels and motor, initially low, increases, until it is at maximum, and the motor is doing all it can to slow down the car, converting mechanical energy to electrical energy and charging the battery. If you continue to press harder, the mechanical brakes come on and further retard the car, converting the energy into heat.

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I’m thinking of buying a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid… I’ve been wanting a Hybrid for a while, but my dad heard somewhere that the special batteries used to run the car (not the typical car battery) have to be replaced every 3 years and they cost $3000. Is this true? I have spoken with people who have Toyota hybrids, and they all say this isn’t, and they’re warrantied if they do break. Does anybody have any info on the facts? I want a hybrid, but I don’t want to pay $3000 every few years for a new battery!

The batteries are built to last and are covered under warranty, so make sure the Civic you are buying has not been in any kind of accident and is covered. Batteries are expensive and working on these cars is no joke, the jolt from this battery will land you in ICU. But just in case you need to know, they are $3000 new and true from the dealer, but you will be able to find a good used one for around $300.

I have to write a paper on how hybrid cars are better than conventional cars. Give me your opinion, whether it agrees or not. Thank you

save gas and it’s good for the environment!

I started thinking about this topic today. The point of the carpool lane is to reduce congestion so why are hybrid cars allowed. Also, when the price goes down in hybrid cars (they average $25-$30K) and more people have them will the same carpool rules apply?

No. The point of the carpool lane was to carpooling to lower the volume of traffic. Once hybrids become even more popular, you’ll have lost the merit of HOV when it’s saturated with hybrids carrying only one person. Needless to say, few politicians will want to repeal the HOV bonus for fear of being labelled anti-hybrid. It’s politically easy to drag down the benefits on the original beneficiaries of HOV, it’s much harder to completely take those benefits away from the new beneficiaries.

When you first heard of the concept of hybrid cars, what was your reaction? Did you think they were actually going to be invented or think they were just another crazy idea? Did you think they would become so ingrained in our society?

i didnt think it was a big deal at all. I always thought we would have flying cars by now

i have a 2007 nissan altima hybrid, and i readonline that hybrid cars are eligable for tax return. I am looking for that form !!! please help me find it!!! I live in NY

IRS.GOV

Can somebody explain how the braking energy in hybrid cars is used to recharge the battery or whatever?

Some hub motors will function either as motors or generators. To brake, use the hub motor as a generator, and use the current to charge the battery. It is all done electronically, with a fairly clever battery controller.

I went car shopping this weekend. On the hybrid cars the mpg rating for the highway driving is worse than city. This is complete opposite from gasoline cars that get better on the highway. I don’t get it?

Hi,

this is a bit of a complex question to answer properly, get comfy…

For any vehicle, the most energy is used to get it moving from a stop or a slow speed. Once the vehicle is moving, it takes less energy to keep it moving, up to a certain point (remember, and object in motion tends to stay in motion; an object at rest tends to stay at rest). So a standard vehicle will use slightly less energy to keep itself moving continously on the expressway than to stop and go on city streets.

However…

Full hybrids, like the Prius, use a regenerative braking system to capture up to 26% of the heat energy lost to brake friction and use that recaptured energy to recharge the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery bank in the trunk area.

Braking with a hybrid, at it’s most basic level, is done by doubling the distance you normally stop at. At that double distance, take your foot off the accelerator and either coast, or even better, barely press the brake pedal to engage the regenerative braking system. This will shut off the gas internal combustion engine (ICE) much sooner and create as much electricity as possible.

When you press on the accelerator gently (imagine there is an egg under the accelerator pedal and you want to roll the egg out, not crush it), you will move under electric power only. The ICE should not fire up.

However, the ICE will fire up pretty much continously on the expressway because you will be above the momentum threshold the electric drive can move the vehicle at. Electric motors are great for getting things moving, but not so great for keeping a large, heavy vehicle moving through the air at 70 mph.

So, driven properly, you should use the electric drive more and the ICE less around town than you would on the expressway. Less ICE use = less gas.