Renewable Clean Energy Info

Archive for April, 2009

The history of hybrid cars is immersed in controversy. Not so much for the product itself, but for the technology it uses. Is it old like the conception of wheel itself, or is it a recent construct of idea, as recent as the embryonic stem cell technology? Your take. Read on.

First of, a hybrid car is a vehicle that uses on-board RESS, or rechargeable energy storage system. This is coupled with a fueled propulsion power source for the automobile’s propulsion. Hybrid car is low-gas consuming vehicle, therefore, a low-polluting vehicle.

The last character is particularly important because of the growing consciousness of the people worldwide on the need to conserve the environment.

History points to the clear difference of hybrid with all-electric cars. Electric cars use batteries charged by an external source. On this note, almost all hybrids, save for those considered as mild-hybrid, still need gasoline and diesel as their fuel source. Other fuels are also available in the form of ethanol or other plant based oils. Hybrid vehicles also use hydrogen gas occasionally.

But what’s in the history of hybrid cars?

The history of hybrid cars is closely intertwined with the history of automobile itself. In 1898, Ferdinand Porsche, a young Czechoslovakian, designed the Lohner-Porsche carriage, a series-hybrid vehicle that utilized a one-cylinder gasoline internal combustion engine. This engine can spun a generator which powered four wheel-mounted electric motors.

The car was eventually presented at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. The said automobile, capable of up to 56 km/h (35 mph) fast destroyed several Austrian speed records. In 1901, it won the Exelberg Rally, with Porsche himself driving the car. Over Mass production during this time was yet to be developed, but for Porsche’s future-looking design, 300 units of this model were sold to the public.

The first Porsche model however, technically speaking as we know Porsch today, was a hand-built aluminum prototype, and was completed on June 8, 1948.

The development of the first transistor-based electric car in 1959, the Henney Kilowatt, heralded a new development in the history of automobiles as a whole, and that of history of hybrid cars in particular. This transistor-based electric car, paved the way for the electronic speed control. Ultimately, this made the road for the development of modern hybrid electric cars possible.

The Henney Kilowatt was considered as the first modern electric car. It was a product of collaborative work between the National Union Electric Company, Henney Coachworks, Renault, and the Eureka Williams Company. Whilst the sales of the Kilowatt during this time were far from encouraging, its development served as prototype for the other automobiles down the history line of hybrid cars.

Between the 1960s and 1970s, another prototype of the earlier electric-hybrid vehicle was built by Victor Wouk. Wouk is among the scientists involved with the development of the Henney Kilowatt automobile. For this work, some historians bestowed onto him the honor being the “Godfather of the Hybrid” hybrid cars.

For his pioneering work, Wouk installed a sample electric-hybrid drivetrain into a 1972 Buick Skylark, courtesy GM for the 1970 Federal Clean Car Incentive Program. The program was later axed by the EPA in 1976. Hybrid enthusiast and supporters continued building hybrids automobiles. These models however, were not put into mass production.

In the fading years of the twentieth century however, the history of hybrid cars will take on a new course.

1978, the regenerative-braking hybrid, was developed by Electrical Engineer David Arthurs. The said regenerative-braking is to become the core design concept of most hybrids, currently available in the market. The first attempt of Arthurs used off-the shelf components, including an Opel GT. But the voltage controller that links to the battery motor and the DC generator belonged to Arthurs.

Fast forward in the 1990s

The history of hybrid cars took the final step to modernity in terms of mass production during the Bill Clinton administration. Clinton initiated the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles program in September, 1993, that involved the Department of Energy, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, USCAR, and various governmental agencies. The partnership was tasked to engineer a modern efficient and clean vehicle.

In 2001, this program was replaced George W. Bush’s own hydrogen focused FreedomCAR initiative. The focus of the FreedomCAR initiative was to fund research that are considered high risk for the private sector to engage in. The long term purpose of which is the development and production of petroleum emission.

The success of hybrid vehicles in terms of mass production however, became a reality, when the Japanese car manufacturer entered the American market. This is when the history of hybrid cars finally took its modern development. Honda Insight and Toyota Prius became the modern progenitor of modern day hybrid vehicle available today in the market.

Most people love their cars to the extreme, but with the constant skyrocketing of gasoline prices, a lot of people are pressed to think of alternatives. For those who want to cut back on fuel money, they may consider buying hybrid cars.

Hybrid cars are a combination of the features of gasoline-powered vehicles and electric cars. The advantage that hybrid cars hold over conventional cars is that they produce fewer emissions and adds considerable mileage.

But first, where did these cars came from and how are they made?

The very first electric vehicle was created by Robert Anderson from Aberdeen, Scotland in 1839. Later in 1870, Sir David Salomon came up with a vehicle equipped with a lightweight electric motor, along with storage batteries that were much too heavy. Predictably, the speed and the range of the car were not so desirable.

Over the years, several automobile manufacturers such as General Motors have improved on the concept of the electric cars, which later evolved into the hybrids that we know today. The most popular of these hybrids are the Insight from Honda and the Prius from Toyota.

These two exceptional vehicles can be used to explain the intricate and sophisticated technology of hybrid cars.

1. Honda Insight

The Insight runs on a system called “Integrated Motor Assist,” a term coined by Honda to describe its electric motor attached to the engine at the position usually occupied by the flywheel. This model has two kinds of transmission, the regular, manual transmission and the automatic one.

The advantages of the electric motor on the Insight are the following:

-It can support the gasoline engine by giving off additional power while the vehicle is climbing up or going down a hill.

-The motor can start the engine by itself without the aid of a starter.

-Captures energy while on the process of braking.

The Insight relies on three main areas for efficiency:

-It makes use of lightweight aluminum for its body to reduce the total weight of the vehicle.

-Utilizes a small engine which operates efficiently, which weighs around 124 pounds only.

-It makes use of advanced aerodynamics. The teardrop shape of the car has a lot to do with its performance.

2. Toyota Prius

The Prius utilizes the power split device, an ingenious gearbox that connects the gasoline engine with the electric motor and generator. This allows the car to function like both parallel and series hybrids. The car does not need a starter also, because the device can make the generator start the engine.

Since the vehicle is on planetary gear set, the speed of the electric motor combined with the ring gear spin decides how fast the car will run.

These cars does not require their batteries to be recharged, because the generator located onboard the vehicles monitors the right amount of energy in the batteries.

Both Toyota and Honda allot long warranties for their hybrid models. Both the Insight and the Prius are on eight-year warranties, and their batteries and motors usually do not need maintenance over the duration of the vehicle.

General Motors has long been bludgeoned into backing the supporting hybrid car technology.

The car making company has already suffered blows—not from pro-hybrid fanatics or not even from environmentalists—but mostly from the market itself.

Almost all news article and analyses that tackle GM’s softening financial performance mention GM’s missteps regarding hybrid cars. For instance, CBS News tagged GM as ‘road kill’ amid the rising hybrid cars demand.

But much to credits, GM has been taking lumps, has been humble in admitting miscalculations, and finally has been abruptly and surely jumping on the bandwagon for hybrid.

Queue from competitor

At the end of the year 2004, incidentally also the year when rival Toyota’s Toyota Prius created a wave in the market, GM had announced an alliance with another major car maker, DaimlerChrysler in a joint effort to build and assemble hybrid cars of the future.

At the time, GM humbly admitted and apologized for its past lax treatment for need to ramp up development of hybrid cars. Now, the apology translates to missed revenues, because GM is still not on top in terms of developing and selling hybrid cars.

When oil and gasoline prices started rising in 2005, GM admittedly made the mistake of not taking as seriously the potential opportunities posed by the times.

No one has foreseen that oil prices would continue to sky rocket then, because apparently, the situation in the Middle East then seemed to be greatly improving.

High standards

By the summer of 2005, GM’s hybrid car version was almost complete. GM then started a strategy to greatly and strongly focus on car hybrids, whether mild hybrids, full-massive hybrids or intermediate hybrids.

GM boasted at the time that it was the only car manufacturing firm that passionately pursue manufacturing of ultra-mild hybrid car systems, like the high-standard Belt Alternator Starters or BAS.

GM said by being so, its hybrids in the future would be less expensive but will surely generate much savings for the consumers’ or users’ gasoline consumption bills.

By that time, GM was already quick to assert that its forthcoming 2007 Saturn VUE hybrid would be the first and pioneering hybrid car that would be using the ultra and high-standard BAS.

Another hybrid system

GM is understood to also be actively pursuing developing and adopting a full hybrid system that would be a significant and major breakthrough in the emerging hybrid car technology.

The ‘two-mode hybrid’ system is expected to lead GM into once again dominating not just the local but also the global car manufacturing and distributing industry.

The hybrid system would be a part of GM’s scheme to assemble hybrid cars that would have improved fuel economy. The more interesting feature to come up with GM’s future hybrid cars using the new system is the speed capacity.

GM is apparently and undoubtedly a believer in hybrid cars. By that, it is expected that the company’s future car products will be able to make believers out of the ever-insatiable American public.

GM plans to further deliver superior and quality hybrid vehicles in the future. The company plans to roll out hybrid car products that boast of fuel efficiency, performance and impressive gains.

GM’s strategy

GM’s strategy of rolling out more powerful hybrid cars in the future is tipped at the company’s response to rising need to finally snatch up again its leadership in the car industry.

Through the years, the company has shed its position in favour of Japanese car makers Toyota and Honda. However, analysts and experts expect GM to make use of its superior hybrid cars to get into the top spot once again.

The strategy may seem to obvious and apparent, but it is one that would surely get things done. Wait for a few more years and let history and hybrid reception decide on GM’s future.

Through the years, there are integration of modern and conventional technologies. The land line telephones have integrated with the wireless devices. The typewriter has integrated with the telephone line to create the modern computer.

Thus, technology has never failed to amaze people. It always comes up with answers to today’s most pressing needs and issues.

The car is part of that cross-over trend between old and modern technology. Thus, through the years, when people get tired of paying rising oil and gasoline bills for their cars, they air the need to purchase cars that are more economical.

People have always dreamt of cars that would totally run free from oil and gasoline, whose prices have always been rapidly increasing through the years.

That is because there is always political tension in the Middle Eastern region, the area where all countries contribute to the production and export of gasoline and oil, the time’s most basic liquid and raw material.

Some people even joke that the oil has become far more important than the universal solvent, water. But that is another case and proposition meant to be discussed in another article.

The gas- and electric-powered cars

The gas-powered cars have long dominated the market for cars. But those days were nearing becoming just history. There are many and emerging new cars that are set to pull out the gas powered cars out of its current pedestal.

Changes occur when there is dissatisfaction. In this case, people have long been dissatisfied about the stressful oil price hikes, which come almost on a weekly basis worldwide.

But since car makers can never dictate prices of cars, and their sales and revenues are dwindling because people tend to spend less on cars, they developed ways to keep sales robust.

The hybrid cars have become the answers to everyone’s problems about cars and oil price hikes. The hybrid cars are basically gas-electric. It means the cars are powered both by electricity and by gasoline.

What a potent combination that is! People have anticipated the birth of gas-electric or hybrid cars, that upon the launch of such cars, more people came to see the event, with the more affluent ones, immediately creating purchases.

True to its name, the gas-electric or hybrid cars are the car not just of the modern times, but also of the future. Because gasoline prices are constantly advancing, people will eventually see the need for more hybrid cars in the market.

Wrong notions

There are, however, misconceptions and misleading notions about gas-electric of hybrid cars. For one, gasoline or oil is still needed to keep them running.

Buying gas-electric or hybrid cars do not mean the need to go the nearest oil station would be eliminated. Hybrid cars only promise greater efficiency because gasoline consumption is lessened, not eliminated.

Gas-electric or hybrid cars are alternately powered by electricity. The electric currents flowing from batteries will not be able to entirely run the car on long mileages, so the more effective measure devised by car makers is to combine them.

There are functions and instances when the car will be powered by electricity in hybrid cars, but not all the time. Through that little cut off time for gasoline consumption, gas bills will be reduced to the users’ content.

Another misconception is that hybrid cars or gas-electric cars are more powerful than oil cars. They are not. They are somehow inferior to the traditional cars in a way that hybrids are less speedy than the older counterpart.

That is because the technology infusing oil and electricity for car usage is still raw and will still go a far way before fully becoming not just a fad, but a functioning and more efficient version of older cars.

Gas-electric or hybrid cars may save a little cost for gasoline, but it still is a significant investment to buy one. The average costs of gas-electric or hybrid cars are still higher compared to the modern conventional cars, so sit back and think twice before totally getting gaga over hybrid cars.

Hybrid vehicles have really galvanized its foothold and stance as the future of the thriving global car industry.

When the first hybrid vehicles were introduced by giant car makers, including Toyota, Honda and Ford, the market response was so overwhelming and promising that other car manufacturers abruptly followed suit to seize the opportunity to snatch up market leadership.

It is expected that in a few years time, the market for cars would be greatly overhauled in favor of the hybrid cars, which are rapidly gaining popularity as gasoline prices continue to soar and the impact of engine combustion to the environment is started to be felt.

Thus, after the launch of pioneering batches of hybrid cars, many other companies have sprouted and showed their guts to pit head on against the industry leaders.

There are more start up car manufacturing companies today that are aiming to get the strong market hold in the car industry amid fierce competition posed by the long-time veterans.

Thus, it would be important to not that these new or start ups would potentially be the next important companies of the future. They have been ramping up their research and development initiatives to come up with product offerings that are not only at par with the current hot cakes, but also are pitted to be much better.

Thus, most start ups in the car industry are focused on developing and eventually selling their own versions and modifications of hybrid vehicles.

Several of these new and merging firms more than deserve sheer and great appreciation for taking the nerve and the guts to against the strong current and potentially face the challenges and setbacks of competing with major and giant rivals.

Some start ups

Because there are numerous start ups that offer future hybrid vehicles, the message is further beamed clearer across the industry.

Hybrid cars, indeed, are the cars of the future, the hope of the start ups to penetrate the intense and demanding market.

Here are some of these new companies that are aiming and hoping to enter the important market for the futuristic hybrid cars.

Tesla Motors.

The company is based in Silicon Valley and is aggressively making waves to solicit orders for its future hybrid cars, high-performance sports and utility cars, to be delivered by spring of 2006.

The future hybrid car models of the company would be mainly manufactured in the United Kingdom but would be greatly and widely distributed in the United States.

Tesla said its future hybrid car model would use sophisticated lithium-ion batteries that would last until the car runs a mileage of about 250 miles at 130 miles per hour.

Wrightspeed.

Wrightspeed is another start car making company based in Sillicon Valley in California. The company used to make computer parts and also used to be an amateur racer car maker.

Now, Wrightspeed has decided to take full gears in manufacturing cars, not just average and traditional cars, but hybrid cars.

The company has its own list of flagship future hybrid cars, which it is selling on a pre-ordered basis. Those future cars are estimated to last 200 miles before the next recharging is required.

Zap.

Auto importer specialist Zap in June 2006 started selling three-wheeled hybrid cars, which are actually made and imported from China. The future cars of the company are said to be able to reach a speed limit of 40 miles per hour.

Zap said its future hybrid cars are not just functional and economical, but are also fun to ride at and very sophisticated and chic.

The company’s future hybrid car is named Xebra, which is initially priced at $9,000 each. The car can seat four, with four doors and comes in striped colors, barely relative to its namesake.

Tomberlin Group.

The group is actually not that new in the industry, but has been failing for some time to gather pace to create a niche in the car making and selling market.

The company’s future hybrid cars are also sold on a pre-order basis at about $5,000 to $8,000 each, depending on the model, color and design.

When was the last time you pulled your car up to the gas pump?

If you’re the regular American taxpayer, chances are you’ve been shocked many a times for the high price of gasoline. Once the pump reached past $20 dollars or $30 dollars, trading your gas hungry car becomes a sudden inspired idea. Or perhaps, you’ve been wondering, whether your car is one of the countless culprits, committing unspeakable crime against Mother Nature?

Still maybe, you just want to be the proud driver of a technologically advanced car in your place.

Luckily however, the automobile industry has had this technology, since the late 1990s. One of the first cars that used this technology was the Honda Insight. This hybrid car is sometimes called an electric-hybrid because it uses both an electric motor or generator, and a gas-burning engine. For hybrid cars, this is a development that it needed to prove its worth.

For hybrid cars, the issue of whether it is better than traditional vehicles has been lingering for quite some time now.

For hybrid cars, the work of flawlessly integrating a gas engine, a high-powered battery, and an electric motor, is nothing but ordinary. The high-powered battery provides power for the electric motor. This electric motor is continuously being recharged from recaptured energy that would normally be lost when the car is running.

This process, that is, recapturing of energy is what officially known as regenerative braking. Once needed, energy from the fuel engine is diverted to recharge the battery. In effect, a hybrid vehicle has no need for being plugged in. And this process seems to be fitted only for hybrid cars.

However, for hybrid cars to be fully appreciated, some basic understanding is in tall order. Basically, in order to understand the how the battery, the gas engine, and the electric motor work together, some sources of hybrid information divides the hybrid in two categories. One is considered as mild hybrids, and the other is a full hybrid. Each has its own way of incorporating the three components, to work wondrously.

Mild Hybrids

Mild hybrid vehicles work with their gas engine, by forcing to serve as the main propulsion, while the electric motor assist when there is need for extra kick or power. With this arrangement, the electric motor is dependent on the gas engine.

The electric motor will generate electricity that is absorbed by the battery, and it can also consume electricity from the battery. But this process is done one at a time. The Honda employed this technology for hybrid cars from 2003 to 2005 edition. Honda Insight is a good example for this one.

Full Hybrids

In full hybrid cars, the integration of the electric motor, gas engine, and the battery is complete. In this arrangement, the electric motor is able to operate on its own, provided that particular conditions while driving are met. Certain hybrids, for their electric motors to operate, need situations where low speed driving is possible.

For hybrid cars with this arrangement, gas engine starts to take over once the vehicle reaches higher speed level. During acceleration, the gas engine and the electric motor can work simultaneously to produce the needed power.

Needless to say, full hybrids, unlike their mild cousins, are able to produce and consume electricity simultaneously. Examples of hybrid cars using this technology are the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, Toyota Highlander, and the Toyota Prius,

Currently, there are lots of hybrid car models available in the market. These hybrid cars differs in engine specifications, designs, colors, and other general features. Detailed specifications are available in many websites. From these websites, the stiff competition among the hybrid manufacturers is forcing these companies to elevate their products in higher grounds regularly, in terms of quality.

But with all the information available regarding hybrid cars, it is important to do our own research, which one among the many is specifically tailored to our need. And this need is particularly fitted with people living in cities, or urban areas. And since urbanization is unlikely to see its decline in the near future, it is assured that our need for hybrid cars will continue. We do want our cities to be more livable, don’t we?

Hybrid cars first came to be through Japanese and European car makers. US auto manufacturers only begun their own versions of these fuel-efficient models in the 1990s, after the US government sought the help of American car makers Ford, GM (General Motors) and DaimlerChrysler in the creation of a new hybrid car model that its best fit with the American way of life and budget.

Ford was reportedly the first US car maker to bring in a model hybrid car into the industry, coming at a very competitive time since about six Japanese companies were unveiling their own hybrid versions during the time. Ford’s first hybrid car saw its first baby come out in September 2004, via the Escape SUV Hybrid model.

Ford Hybrid Cars

Ford had been expected to release its first hybrid car in 2003, which runs on both electric motor and fuel. As mentioned earlier, its first entry was the Ford Escape in 2004, which boasted of emitting less than a pound of smog substances for every 15,000 miles the vehicle runs. This is a great improvement considering that traditional light trucks emit around 105 pounds of smog pollutants for the same 15,000-mile distance. Even regular cars produce 67 pounds!

Ford had no trouble selling the Escape hybrid model because it was designed as an SUV, which most American consumers prefer. And because Ford’s hybrid cars work the same as regular SUVs, they carry a greater consumerist appeal, compared to the Japanese hybrid cars which look rather compact and tiny.

GM’s Hybrid Cars

General Motors’ first hybrid vehicles were the Silverado and the Sierra, both of which were released also in 2004. From then on, sales of both hybrid models sold almost effortlessly, with GM’s production volumes rising to 2,000 in 2005 and expanding a lot further this year to accommodate a much wider national clientele. GM expects to roll out 3,000 units each for Sierra and Silverado before the year ends.

A new hybrid GM car will also be introduced this year — the Saturn VUE, and the company is also preparing to launch the new hybrid version of the Chevrolet Malibu in 2006.

To date, it still cannot be said that American hybrid car manufacturers like Ford and GM have already come up to par with their European and Japanese counterparts. However, it is safe to say that they are trying and, so far, the results have been satisfactory. Ford and GM are definitely on their way to becoming US powerhouses in the hybrid car industry.

Of course, when we talk about price, it’s a different story. Since hybrid cars are not so prevalent as traditional ones just yet, they do come with quite a hefty price tag. It is only hoped that over the course of time and as interests shift toward a more environmentally-friendly world, hybrid cars will become more of a norm than a novelty. There is so much to gain with the birth of hybrid cars. It is good to know that America already has one foot in the door.

In the earlier times, centuries ago, societies and people were conveniently mobilized by carts, which are run by horses.

Only the affluent were privileged to have such transportation means, because owning one will be of great value, because one has to invest in the cart, buy a horse and provide for its maintenance and hire a driver, who will navigate and run the car.

Speed was an issue then, because although horses can run at tremendous accelerations, the carts would not be able to endure too much pressure and shaking from the process of running.

The designs of carts were also limited and somehow immodest. Not to mention, the cause of delays because of problems with horses and loose wheels of carts. Traveling greater distances was also another setback.

The gas-powered cars

But in the 1880s, the automobile or the gas-powered cars were introduced to the market. The cars excited and roused interest among people because for the first time, they would run free from the company of the horse.

Running the car personally without horses greatly stunned people that in years after the initial release of the first cars in the 1880s, the popularity of the vehicle widely spread worldwide, years later.

Gas-powered cars were the next in thing, and its dominance in the transportation market has been prevailing for quite some time now. Through the whole 1900s, gasoline cars were more popularized, more widely used and had wider array of models to choose from.

Modern car manufacturers have been developing newer and trendier car models that always succeed in to make the predecessor and preceding models look inferior and not comparative.

The electric vehicles

The traditional gas powered cars may have vindictively surpassed the once anticipated threat posed by the development of electric-powered vehicles.

Electric powered vehicles were the first attempt to improvise and modify the traditional and conventional gas-powered vehicles. That is because the electric vehicles were designed and created to respond to the concerns posed over gas powered cars’ gasoline consumption and environmental degradation contribution.

When they were first released, car aficionados and fanatics were astonished to see a different breed of cars. But the awe and wonder faded rather quickly when it was immediately discovered that electric vehicles have significant limitations.

Electric vehicles for one do not need gasoline for combustion in engines in order to run and mobilize. All it needed was a supply of electricity, which can be provided by built in batteries that are specifically created and installed for the purpose.

In such a way, pollution is also significantly lessened. The setback is, the mileage and speed capacity of the electric vehicle is very inferior compared to the tradition cars.

For the traditional cars, for instance, it would take about 300 to 350 miles before the car runs out of fuel and require another gasoline refill.

For the case of the electric vehicle, it would run only about a hundred miles on the average before the batteries drain out and recharging is required. For most people, the difference would set a big, big challenge to the electric vehicle user.

The hybrid vehicles

And so the cycle turns, just like how car wheels turn for the car to be able to mobilize and travel. Because the electric vehicles were such failures, car makers did not hesitate to firmly focus to develop a car breed that would rise.

The hybrid car was that car. The hybrid vehicle is an integration or combination of the striking features of the traditional and the electric cars.

The hybrid vehicles still run on gasoline, but not entirely. There are instances and times when the car will have to be moved or run by electricity.

That concept of alternate energy use make up for a great reduction to the overall use or consumption of the gasoline. The greenhouse emission, consequently, is also reduced and trimmed down.

But, like the electric cars, hybrid vehicles also have their own setbacks. For its part, hybrid vehicles are not as affordable as the traditional counterparts, probably because the technology is still raw and the materials used to assemble the cars are still costlier.

But buying one will be of great advantage to you, the car user. Decide now.

Ever since the automobile of the gas-powered cars were introduced to the market in 1880s, car makers from around the world have been constantly aiming to introduce revolutionary and new modifications of cars.

Be it known that the gas-powered cars were also an improvement to horse-run carts in the decades before 1880s. After more than a century, the time is really ripe for the gas-powered cars to further advance and embark on another evolutionary stage to mount a different and more modified version.

Cars are more widely used around the world right now, that people from every corner of the world would find it hard to live by without owning one.

Cars have become a necessity and n important part of the everyday living of man. That is why, if there is one machine or device currently in use to mankind that needs or deserve further modification and improvement, it would definitely be the car.

Electric cars

But the usage of cars comes with different and varying setbacks and accompanying issues and concerns. The most grievous among these is the issue on gasoline consumption.

Traditional and conventional cars, being run by oil or gasoline, make up or require astronomical or higher gasoline consumption bills, which to many are enough reason to trigger a looming and fatal heart attack.

Because oil prices are constantly rising almost every week due to the volatile and unstable political and civil condition in the Middle East, the principal oil exporting region, gasoline prices have reached a point when ordinary people may find purchasing it almost a luxury.

The environmental concern that has been tagged on the gas-powered cars also invoked serious consideration and steps on the part of the car makers.

Because the phenomenon called greenhouse effect or global warming has started to show its wrath through climate changes around the world in the past decades, people are becoming more and more concerned about environmental degradation.

Thus, the electric cars were developed by several car manufacturers. Electric cars were the first attempt of car makers to address the rising and evoking concerns over environmental degradation and soaring oil prices.

Because electric cars are run by electricity, which is stored in batteries, there is no need for the car to undergo or process spontaneous combustion of gasoline on its engine. Thus, smoke or carbon monoxide emissions are eliminated.

The owners of electric cars would also not need to frequently visit gasoline shops and stations for refill. All they have to do is to deal with their batteries through recharging, which can be done at home or at recharging shops, which previously was also aimed by gasoline stations.

However, the electric cars had greater setbacks, so humungous that the adverse shortcomings and product limitations were offset at greater levels by its uses and advantages.

For one, the speed and mileage of electric cars are inferior compared to those by the traditional and conventional gas-powered vehicles. The required time or duration of charging of batteries is also one source of setback for the electric car.

The hybrid cars

Because of its limitations, the electric car was considered a failure and car makers did not proceed to fully roll out and launch the product to the market.

But the research and effort made to develop electric cars were not to be put in absolute futility. The car makers were really determined enough to come up with better cars that would address the issues revolving from pollutants and oil consumption.

The electric cars provided the templates that were used to develop another type of car—the hybrid cars.

The hybrid cars were crossovers or integration of the traditional gas-powered cars and the disappointing electric cars.

The hybrid cars were principally made to use the best features and qualities of each of the two types of cars, and cancel out their respective weaknesses.

For one, hybrid cars combine the use of electricity and gasoline in running and mobilizing the car. The gasoline consumption is this lessened, along with the high oil bills and air pollutants produced.

But the hybrid cars are still evoking a greater room for improvement. Because the industry is still in the experimental and initial phase when it comes to hybrid cars, expect to see more developments and modifications in the coming years.

Hybrid cars are better than electric cars and gas-powered cars because it got the best features and characteristics of the two types of cars.

Since the car was invented centuries ago, people and car makers around the world have aimed to roll out and introduce the best car models, for the convenience of the end users and for their company revenue growth.

The technology for making and manufacturing cars have really evolved through the years, that generation after generation, there is almost always a striking modification of the old ways.

Car makers in Japan, the United States, Germany and elsewhere have always strived to outpace each other in the race to offering the best car model and product to the market.

Thus, almost all the issues, concerns and shortcomings of the old and traditional car models are addressed in the making and assembly of the modern successors.

Cars of today are exteriorly, more superior than those of yesteryears. Take the exterior design, for example. A car in the 1920 era would be totally ashamed if put beside the latest Camry model of Toyota or Honda’s Civic.

The electric cars

Probably, the first major attempt to improve cars is the emergence or invention of the electric cars. People had been excited on the news that years ago, the electric cars were considered the cars of the future.

Unfortunately, electric cars did not live or failed to live to the expectations set against it. True enough, electric cars definitely eliminate the pollution caused by combustion of oil and gasoline inside engines and motors.

But there are more setbacks to the electric cars than there are pull ups or advantages. One of those setbacks is the inconvenience in electric recharging.

Because electricity are stored in batteries before the electric cars get to make use of it, batteries almost always run out of power rather quickly.

The thing is, recharging the electric charges of such batteries take some time and a little longer that people will almost always run out of patience waiting. Thus, the idea of cars giving convenience to its users is breached.

Another setback, is the limited mileage capacity of the electric cars. On the average, it is estimated that electric cars run only about 50 to 100 miles before the electric supply runs out, compared to 200 to 350 miles, on the average, that gasoline powered cars run out of gasoline.

It is this one setback that made the manufacturing of electric cars out of hand, or totally not feasible. No consumer would ever want to buy cars like that, right?

The hybrid cars

But car makers are so determined to win the race. They have patiently and resourcefully challenged the test of time and rising demand for car evolution.

Thus, a few years ago, the hybrid cars were unveiled in the global car market. The reception was so overwhelming that almost all the important car makers around the world are coming out with their own hybrid car versions.

And just like how electric cars were so promising during their launch, hybrid cars are also spurring and arousing amazement from the expecting public.

The introduction of hybrid cars also gave long-awaited hope to car owners and drivers who are so concerned about the environment and the constantly rising oil and gasoline prices.

The current global oil crisis is unleashing all devils in all the world economies, and thus, the unveiling of hybrid cars provided promises and hope to alleviate from the ever-increasing demand for oil products.

Thus, the first buyers of the modern hybrid cars have that in mind. They want to significantly cut oil consumption and help save the environment by means of lower greenhouse gas emissions.

It is time you check on your car dealer to know more perks of the hybrid cars. There are more and more hybrid car models in the market. One more setback, the prices are really, really high, so lean back before getting totally overwhelmed, by amazement and frustration.