Mileage
When you think about a hybrid car or when you choose one, it all boils down to one thing: mileage. What shoppers didn’t know in the past is that mileage means everything. It dictates how far a car can go on a gallon of gas and even tells you a little something about the gas that is being used and how much emissions a car makes. When you go out shopping for a hybrid car, this is probably the first thing you will have to keep an eye on through a quick scan of a hybrid’s EPA rating.

Features
Now, since hybrid cars are essentially cars of the future, you might want to look at every square inch of it as well. These new cars are not just designed to look great and save gas. It’s their technological features that should be taken to consideration.

The Engine - First of all, the hybrid engine is something that everyone should marvel about. Many hybrid vehicles actually use two engines and this is important hybrid information for anybody in the market for a hybrid vehicle. One engine runs on gas and it provides juice for a separate electrical engine that will help power a hybrid.

The Battery – Another great technological feature is that as a hybrid runs along on the road, the gas engine and the movement of the vehicle help to charge special battery cells that power the electrical engine. This is a great way to conserve energy and it does not take a lot of fuel to run a hybrid either. Lastly, a stop start feature that is gaining recognition in the motorist world is something that was first seen in hybrid vehicles. Basically, this technology allows a car to shut down almost completely when it is on stand still which means no gas is being used when one is stuck in traffic. The car starts up and moves again when the accelerator is pressed again.

The Advantages
There are so many advantages to consider when using a hybrid car. Current manifestations of these vehicles definitely dispel the idea that hybrid cars are too small and too unattractive to be seen driving around in.

Looks – Take the Toyota Prius as an example. It is one of the leading hybrid vehicles that not only boast of one most fuel-efficient technologies, but it looks good as well. Its sleek body has been the inspiration for many other car manufacturers looking into getting into the hybrid car craze but trying to make their cars look good as well. Some mid-SUV range vehicles are also now getting into the hybrid engine craze and this is a perfect idea for those who want to make a change but still want to own a car that’s large and commanding.

Hybrid cars are definitely worth looking into if you are looking to buying something new for your everyday usage. Know what to look at first and remember to ask all the important hybrid car information such as what technology it uses and what mileage particular models can achieve to the gallon.

The Original Post is Located Here: The Most Important Hybrid Car Information

Hybrid vehicles that are even more efficient. (Credit: Image courtesy of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)

One of the controllable causes of global warming is carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from burning fossil fuels. This process is precisely what enables most cars to function by means of combustion engines. In recent years, some companies in the automobile sector have brought out models that combine a standard combustion engine with an electric one. These are known as hybrids, and they produce less pollution. In his final thesis, Toni Font, who recently graduated from the ETSEIB, proposed a way to make these vehicles more efficient.

The proposal is based on one of the problems of conventional vehicles: the loss of kinetic energy during braking. This waste of energy leads to very high fuel consumption and, consequently, to an increase in CO2 emissions. Under the supervision of Ramon Costa, lecturer at the Department of Automatic Control (ESAII), Toni Font has focused on solving this problem. According to Ramon Costa, “The project modifies the structure of conventional cars to introduce elements that help to recover lost energy and reinject it into the system. It is made up of two parts: one related to hardware components, and one to software components”.

The study proposes the installation of a supercapacitor battery and the creation of software to coordinate and manage the new elements. The supercapacitators facilitate the work of the battery, as they prevent current peaks that can diminish performance and transfer the remaining energy. The software envisages four operational modes for the vehicle, which depend on the propulsion system. As the most suitable motor is activated for the type of driving, this technology brings about energy savings and reduces CO2 emissions. In a standard driving cycle, the modifications lead to up to 67% less fuel consumption and up to 63% less energy consumption than a conventional vehicle of the same size with no hybrid components. In addition, it uses 55% less energy than a standard hybrid vehicle.

Energy and transport management
With respect to the applications of his work, Toni Font explained that, “It could be used in sectors related to energy generation and management that aim to work in the most sustainable and efficient way possible. It could also be applied to the areas of the transport sector that use petrol and diesel motors”.

As a result of this research, Toni Font has received one of the six research grants that Ferrari will award in 2009, in the category of CO2 emissions reduction. The ETSEIB student is the only Spaniard to participate in the programme, which is funded by the Maranello-based company.

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. “Hybrid Vehicles That Are Even More Efficient.” ScienceDaily

The Original Post is Located Here: Hybrid Vehicles That Are Even More Efficient

Mitsubishi i Miev

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will increase production of its planned electric vehicle after orders for its first 2,000 cars were quickly filled, a spokesman said Friday.

Japan’s No. 4 automaker aims to roll out the “i MiEV” zero-emissions car for leasing in Japan by July. The first year’s planned production of 2,000 units has already sold out with Japanese corporate leasers, including utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. and convenience store chain Lawson, said company spokesman Kai Inada.

Due to the strong interest, Mitsubishi Motors is raising its output of the model for 2010 from 4,000 to 5,000 units, he said.

Mitsubishi Motors plans to sell the i MiEV — which can be recharged from a regular home socket — in Europe through Peugeot Citroen PSA in 2010, and sales to individual consumers in Japan are planned for 2011.

The potential growth of such “green” cars is offering a glimmer of hope for the world’s automakers, which are struggling to cope with plunging auto demand caused by the global economic slowdown and credit crunch.

Earlier this week, Malaysia’s national car maker Proton and Detroit Electric, a Netherlands-based company, signed a $555 million deal to make electric cars by early next year. U.S.-based Tesla Motors has a prototype electric car that is scheduled to be produced by 2011. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., are also planning electric vehicles.

Governments in the U.S., Europe and Japan are offering or planning consumer incentives, such as tax breaks, for environmentally friendly vehicles.

While rival Japanese automakers like Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. focus on gas-electric hybrid vehicles, Tokyo-based Mitsubishi is making its i MiEV the pillar of its ecological strategy.

Mitsubishi is hoping to reach annual sales of 10,000 electric vehicles soon, but Inada called “speculative” the report Friday in The Nikkei, Japan’s top business daily, which said i MiEV production will reach 20,000 in fiscal 2011.
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The Original Post is Located Here: Mitsubishi raises output target for electric car

Natural Gas Hybrid Vehicle

Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, primarily methane (CH4) but also containing ethane and propane and other gases such as nitrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and water vapor.

Natural gas does have a high octane rating and excellent properties for spark-ignited internal combustion engines and is relatively clean burning. It is non-toxic, non-corrosive, and non-carcinogenic and does not present a threat to soil, surface water, or groundwater.

The majority of natural gas available today is extracted from gas and oil wells, while some smaller amounts are derived from supplemental sources such as synthetic gas, landfill gas and other biogas resources, and coal-derived gas.

Currently, it accounts for approximately one quarter of the energy used in the United States. About one third of this is used for residential and commercial uses, one third for industrial uses, and one third to electric power production. Unfortunately, only about one tenth of one percent is currently used for transportation fuel.

Natural gas can be stored onboard a vehicle in either a compressed gaseous (compressed natural gas, CNG) state or a liquefied (liquefied natural gas, LNG) state.

In order to provide an adequate driving range, CNG must be stored onboard a vehicle in tanks at high pressure-up to 3,600 pounds per square inch. A CNG-powered vehicle will get around the same fuel economy as a conventional gasoline vehicle on a gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) basis.

To provide a greater driving range in a smaller volume, natural gas can be liquefied. To produce LNG, natural gas is purified and condensed into a liquid by cooling to -260°F (-162°C). At atmospheric pressure, LNG takes up only 1/600 of the volume of natural gas in vapor form. Howevr, because LNG must be kept at such cold temperatures, it must be stored in double-wall, vacuum-insulated pressure containers. For this reason, LNG fuel systems are typically only used in heavy-duty vehicles.
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The Original Post is Located Here: Natural Gas