Transmission is manual 5-speed but there is an automatic option. It weighs around 1050kg, has four seats, and standard kit includes a radio, CD, MP2 player, Bluetooth and USB, air con, remote central locking, ABS with EBD, 15-inch alloy wheels, drivers airbag, drivers knee airbag, passenger and window airbags. You can also pay extra if you want auto climate control, an electric sunroof, reverse parking sensors, 16-inch alloy wheels, and a metallic paint finish to your motor. As with many electric cars price unfortunately is on application. But if you have to ask, you clearly cannot afford.

Lotus introduces an electric car that ROARS! The wonders of modern technology, a car that glides seamlessly along with hardly any noise at all. Well that is great if you are the driver or the passenger, but the quiet hybrid or electric cars of today are not so good for pedestrians as people simply do not hear them coming. Lotus has decided to create a technology to bring that oh so thrilling sound, the roar of a well tuned engine, to eco conscious drivers.

The car manufacturer explains that its safe and sound hybrid technology simulates the growl of a combustion engine, making it instantly recognisable that the vehicle is in motion. It has already put the system into a Toyota Prius, which is one of the most popular hybrid cars on the market. The system produces a pitch and frequency designed to help pedestrians identify the speed and distance of the car. Lotus claim their technology increases pedestrian safety, while retaining the environmental benefits of electric cars.

Shown off at the 2008 motor show, the Lighting car is designed to turn all the heads. Why because it is fast and it is electric. The company claimed the Lightning GTS, which is built in the UK, claims the Lightning can hit 60mph (97kmph) in under four seconds. Instead of one single motor, each wheel has its own giving the most effective power.

Special batteries are used to give the car the power when it needs it rather than a constant speed and you will be able to do a fast charge in around 10 minutes to get you back on the road. The CEO of the company said they are trying to change the perception of what people expect from electric cars. The car will cost around 120,000GBP when it goes on sale so it is up against some real supercar competition.

The Original Post is Located Here: Discover The Latest Developments In Electric Cars

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of “hybrid car”, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of “hybrid car”.

Ford has always been a brand name that signifies excellence, innovation, dedication and is really an All-American brand name. One of the biggest players in the motor industry, Ford has never failed to provide the American population and the world, cutting edge vehicles that caters to every needs.

With the growing environmental concerns not just in USA, Ford has joined the Hybrid bandwagon and came up with their own Hybrid card. It is popularly known that Americans love the room and power that SUV’s provide, and with the hybrid sedan crowding with Japanese manufactured hybrid cars, Ford decided to infuse their hybrid technology with a vehicle they know many Americans would embrace, a Hybrid SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) in the form of the Ford Escape Hybrid.

The Ford Escape Hybrid was first introduced in 2004 and is a gas electric powered compact SUV. Consumer demand became strong for the Ford Escape Hybrid prompting Ford to produce more of the gas saving SUV.

To avoid any legal issues, Ford went into an agreement with Toyota to use some of the patented hybrid technology previously used in the very successful Toyota Prius. By 2006, The Hybrid system utilized by Ford is acknowledged as one of the more advanced in technology being offered. The Ford Escape Hybrid is now available as a full hybrid motor vehicle. It makes use of different power combinations that adjusts to the driving style to conserve more power and achieve maximum potential and efficiency in performance.

The best time to learn about “hybrid car” is before you’re in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable “hybrid car” experience while it’s still free.

Compared to the conventional gas fed Ford escape, they provide the same performance, comfort with less fuel consumption.

Aside from the Ford escape Hybrid, Ford has also released another Hybrid SUV under one of their car brand names, Mercury. The Mercury mariner has many similarities with the Ford Escape Hybrid and its soon to be released sibling the Mazda Tribute Hybrid. Ford plans to further develop their SUV hybrid lineup concentrating on this segment but is not dismissing the hybrid sedan segment and have plans to introduce hybrid sedans in the future.

Fords research and design table are now over flowing with plans to further boost awareness and concern with environmental issues and have dedicated to provide more alternative powered vehicles as they see that this is the future. This is because Hybrid cars offer a lot of advantages and benefits that does not only cater to environmental issues but as to the pockets of the consumers as well.

With a Ford hybrid car, you will soon notice that you will be doing less pit stops for refueling as you can squeeze out more miles to a gallon. With the ever escalating prices of fuel, this is a warmly welcomed change. You will also notice the significant lowering of the sounds the engine makes. Plus, some states offer tax rebates when purchasing hybrid vehicles, which translates to more savings in the bank.

Ford has now over a hundred patents pending to further develop their Hybrid technology. All of them would be able to make our lives better. With Ford Hybrid vehicles, you get the same comfort, same performance and same space but with less gas emissions and less gas spending. You get true value for your money and your helping our environment at the same time.

Is there really any information about “hybrid car” that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another.

The Original Post is Located Here: Ford: Americas Hybrid Car

A plug-in hybrid uses a larger battery pack to allow the car to spend more time traveling on pure electricity, without switching on the gasoline engine. Some can travel up to 10 miles, at low speeds, using only the battery pack and electric motor.

Carmakers are preparing a handful of plug-in hybrids. Toyota will test a limited run of Prius plug-ins late this year, and Buick will release a plug-in hybrid crossover based on the 2011 Saturn Vue Two-Mode Hybrid in two years–the real action is among amateurs.

A very enthusiastic wave of garage converters and companies that cater to them has converted several hundred vehicles, mostly the Toyota Prius hatchback and Ford Escape Hybrid crossover. Prime among the activists is Calcars, whose website offers lots of info.

Now a new book has been released that offers to teach you everything you want to know about how to convert your existing hybrid to a plug-in. The author is Seth Leitman, who last year coauthored an updated version of the classic Build Your Own Electric Vehicle.

His new book, Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, is comprehensive but slightly disappointing. In part, that’s because book publishing takes way too much time. The field of PHEVs is evolving so fast that you can only find truly up-to-date information online.

In particular, the book’s list of conversion kits, sources, and background is now several months old. That’s a lifetime for a technology whose members exchange information and collaborate to solve technical problems in online forums (eaa-phev is just one of many).

We don’t want to overdo the criticism; the book has many pluses. Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle is a good basic summary of the basics, and its very comprehensive “Sources” chapter will let you access the very latest online.

We just wish it could have been a website, or an e-book, or something other than 320 pages of dead trees. But, that said, if you’re looking for a single source to learn all about PHEVs, this is a good place to start.

Source: GreenCarReports.com

The Original Post is Located Here: Want To Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid?

2010 Toyota Prius

The 2010 Toyota Prius adopts a theme from a revered song: “I’m going to change the way I strut my stuff.”

In less than a decade, the Prius hybrid automobile has gone from an oddity to an icon. With 1.2 million on the roads world-wide — 700,000 of them in the United States — it is far and away the most successful and innovative of a new breed of vehicles that combine gasoline engines and electric motors to substantially improve fuel economy and reduce air pollution.

The first Prius was introduced in the U.S. in 2000 as a 2001 model. It was re-designed for the 2004 model year.

With the introduction this year of the third-generation 2010 model, the Prius is strutting its stuff as a more mainstream mid-sized car that could appeal to buyers who now gravitate toward the Honda Accord, Chevrolet Malibu, Nissan Altima, Chrysler Sebring, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6, Kia Optima, Volkswagen Passat, Ford Fusion and, yes, the best-selling Toyota Camry.

By the government’s definition, which is based on interior volume, the current Prius is classified as a mid-size car. But with its tidy exterior dimensions and hybrid power train, it has been perceived as a compact, albeit environmentally friendly, economy car.

The 2010 model, though its exterior dimensions are within fractions of an inch of its predecessor, picks up five cubic feet of interior space, placing it solidly in the mid-size category. It has 94 cubic feet of passenger space and 22 cubic feet for cargo.

That, combined with an enviable reliability record, even for the expensive battery pack, and a 90 percent new hybrid drive system that delivers better fuel economy, gives the Prius the bones to be accepted as a mainstream family car.

“It’s an everyday car for everyday use,” says Bob Carter, Toyota’s U.S. general manager.

The gravy is that new Prius has an EPA fuel consumption rating, for combined city and highway driving, of 50 miles to the gallon. You can do even better than that with fussbudget driving. This reviewer managed 75.1 miles to the gallon over a 39-mile course that included city and highway driving.

It entailed some extreme (read: slow) driving and fancy footwork to keep it moving in purely electric mode as much as possible. But even competitors who drove more normally, though carefully, recorded mileage in the neighborhood of 65 miles to the gallon.

Unless you’re a feather foot who is not in a hurry and not worried about angering your fellow motorists, you should not expect such results. But without much effort, you should be able to duplicate the EPA number.

A host of innovations have gone into the Prius’s new hybrid system, starting with a new 1.8-liter gasoline engine linked to an electric motor and a continuously-variable automatic transmission. The combination produces 134 horsepower to drive the front wheels.

It’s not the fastest off the line. Acceleration from zero to 60 miles an hour happens in a leisurely 9.8 seconds, according to Toyota’s test figures. But it is not embarrassed in stoplight sprints.

With a fully-charged battery pack, the Prius can be driven on purely electric power at speeds up to 25 miles an hour for anywhere from half a mile to several miles, depending on the speed. Helping out is a .25 coefficient of drag, a measure of how slippery the Prius is through the wind. It is close to the best on the planet, including those of most six-figure exotic cars.

On the road, the Prius is quiet and comfortable, with plenty of space for five passengers. Even the center-rear seating position, which is punishing in most mid-size cars, is almost reasonable because of decent seat padding and a nearly flat floor. Moreover, the hatchback design, with folding rear seatbacks, offers practicality similar to that of a small station wagon.

The only place where the Prius designers regressed is in the newly designed shrouded instrument cluster, which now crams into a narrow, dark slit a multitude of small hybrid information displays that wash out and are difficult to read in bright sunlight, when the driver’s eyes have to quickly adjust to the dimmer digital readouts.

There are five 2010 Prius models, designated I, II, III, IV and V. The price for the base car is $21,750. Each successive model adds equipment such as upgraded audio, satellite radio, Bluetooth communications, leather upholstery, garage-door opener and bigger wheels and tires.

But the Prius also can be ordered with an array of high-tech option packages that can drive the price as high as $32,520. Toyota officials say these are aimed at loyal customers who are attracted to high technology, of which the Prius has plenty.

Among them are dynamic radar cruise control, which automatically maintains a distance from a car ahead; voice-activated navigation; so-called lane-keep assist to prevent an inattentive driver from wandering on the road; solar ventilation; remote-controlled air conditioning, and even a Lexus-like “intelligent parking assist,” which automatically parks the car while the driver takes his hands off the steering wheel.

By FRANK A. AUKOFER. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. For more columns, go to scrippsnews.com

The Original Post is Located Here: 2010 Toyota Prius Struts Its Stuff

The River Simple Car

Designs for the Riversimple urban car, capable of a 50mph top speed and a 240 mile range, will be freely available online in a bid to help grow the hydrogen market.

A new hydrogen-powered car, whose designs will be “open source” and posted for free use on the web, was unveiled today in London. The company behind the Riversimple urban car claim the new model proves hydrogen automotive technology is ready for roll-out now rather than in 10 years’ time.

The open-source approach means entrepreneurs around the world could download the designs and manufacture the two-seater prototype locally for free.

The car, which drove in to the launch event, is capable of a 50mph top speed, 0-30mph acceleration in 5.5 seconds, and has a 240 mile range. The car’s backers say it has greenhouse gas emissions of 30g/km CO2, less than a third of the latest hybrid petrol cars such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight.

The lightweight Smart car-size vehicle uses hydrogen in a modest 6kW fuel cell, and – in the case of this prototype – uses hydrogen converted from natural gas. Hydrogen can also be created from water using electrolysis and potentially even from biofuels.

The open-source decision was made to speed the car’s commercialisation, with the company hoping entrepreneurs globally will adapt it to local conditions. Hugo Spowers, a motorsport engineer and the founder of Riversimple, said: “We want competitors, even if they’re in the UK. We believe that open source is commercially the best thing for us to do, as it will help grow the market for hydrogen technology, from parts to repairs and the refuelling infrastructure.”

Sebastian Piëch, the finanical backer for Riversimple, added: “Now that we have the basic vehicle in place with practical technology, the challenge is to begin the development of a fuelling infrastructure to accompany it.”

The car, which cost nearly £500,000 to develop in partnership with Oxford University and Cranfield University, is expected to cost £200 a month to lease when it is launched as a production vehicle. The date for UK availability is yet to be announced, but Riversimple is in talks with UK cities including Oxford and Worcester for pilots.

Hydrogen cars have so far enjoyed little real-world success, due in part to a lack of charging infrastructure, cost and – more recently – a political swing towards electric cars.

Gordon Brown has publicly backed electric cars as a way to reduce UK carbon emissions, and in April the government announced plans to offer £5,000 grants towards anyone buying an electric car in 2011.

In the US, the Obama administration recently cut research budgets for hydrogen vehicles. Steven Chu, the US energy secretary, last month said: “We asked ourselves: ‘Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?’ The answer, we felt, was ‘no’.”

Spowers disputed the notion that widespread hydrogen technology was a long way off. “I agree the passion is swinging away from hydrogen, but the reason is people are sceptical of the near-term possibilities of hydrogen vehicles – people are still clear that hydrogen is the end-game.”

The Riversimple urban car, he said, proved the technology was available now.

Adam Vaughan guardian.co.uk

The Original Post is Located Here: Open-source hydrogen car takes to the road

Toyota Prius Hybrid

Although the idea of driving a hybrid vehicle (and getting a better car insurance rate for doing it) has become increasingly common for the automotive public, designers are still hotly contesting the best form “alternative” fuels should take and happily experimenting with everything from electrical and hydrogen-powered cars to those that run on compressed air or draw power from solar cells. With the venerable Toyota Prius now an everyday sight on American streets, the two most productive areas of improvement for currently available and soon-to-be introduced models can be found in battery tech and the changed view of driving underlying the interest in plug-ins.

Better Batteries
A major step forward in hybrid technology is the move away from first-generation nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries to lithium ion, which hold twice the energy per pound of convention lead-acid batteries. For their day, NiMH batteries were a significant improvement, but this is an area where research will continue at a fast pace. Consider that in 1997 when GM produced the now legendary EV1, the lead-acid battery it used was 8 feet long and weighed 1,200 lbs. The much anticipated Chevy Volt, on the other hand, will be equipped with lithium-ion cells that store an equivalent amount of energy in a five-foot unit weighing 400 lbs. As developments in this area continue, it’s going to be all about less weight and more energy storage.

Making the Jump to Plug-Ins
Plug-ins are all the rage these days, with private enthusiasts and specialty garages already converting the popular Prius and other hybrids for plug-in capacity. In addition to the much-hyped Chevrolet Volt, GM is also working on a plug-in Saturn Vue and both Nissan and Toyota have vehicles set to debut late in 2009 and early in 2010. This represents a significant shift in how people think about their daily driving that is hugely beneficial to the progress of wide-spread hybrid adoption. Studies have shown that most people drive 40 miles or less in a day, therefore a hybrid with an all-electric range of 40 miles that can also be plugged in to a regular outlet and recharged at an equivalent cost of about $1 a gallon would largely eliminate the idea of “pain at the pump” on a daily basis while dramatically reducing greenhouse gases.

Relatively “simple” advances of this nature are serving to put working, efficient hybrids on the road today while engineers continue to grapple with thornier questions like finding a way to construct a catalyst for a hydrogen fuel cell car out of something a little less pricey than platinum, which hovers around $1,000 an ounce.

The Original Post is Located Here: Solid Tech Improvements Advance Practical Hybrids

Hybrid Car Schematic

Just where did a hybrid car get its start? Well, read on to find out. Hybrid cars are very popular for today’s car buyers, and there are many reasons why. But before you even think about choosing to buy a hybrid car, you might want to know a little bit about the history of a hybrid car first.

Surprisingly, hybrid cars were around even before gas-powered cars. Back in about the year 1665, a Jesuit priest by the name of Ferdinand Verbeist began plans for a certain type of vehicle. That vehicle would be very simple, nothing complex, or intricate. Simple was all he wanted. So Ferdinand planned out a car that would have four wheels and would run only on steam. It took about fifteen years of work for Ferdinand to go through with his plan. He labored to perfect his dream car. But no one knows if he ever finished because there is no evidence that his concept existed.

Then in 1769, a man by the name of Nicholas Cugnot developed a carriage that could be powered solely by steam. This carriage did in fact work, and it could go at six miles per hour. This project was great, but it was difficult to get the amount of steam needed that would allow the car to go any distance that was by any means significant.

A break thru in hybrid cars finally came when Robert Anderson developed an electric powered car in 1839. It was the first among its kind. The car was built in Scotland.

This electric car was a highly applauded innovation of its time. However, the only problem was that it was very difficult to recharge the car’s battery. Some pioneers came behind Anderson, but they too had a hard time getting the battery to recharge easily.

Finally in the year 1898 Porsche came out with an electric and fuel combustion engine that was the first of its time. The car was called the Lohner Electric Chaise, and it could go up to 40 miles just using batteries.

Soon pioneers combined both a gas and a battery powered engine to power what would become today’s hybrid car. And in 1999, Honda made a leap into the US market. It came out with the Insight. This was a lightweight two-door hybrid. Since then, hybrid cars have just been evolving and improving into what you see on the markets today. Hybrid cars aren’t just for people who are complex and want to combine battery and fuel power to get them where they need to go. Hybrid cars started out simple, and they are still simple today.

Now hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular as people understand them more. Hybrid cars in the 21st century saw a boom in sales when the Toyota Prius came out on the market. It was the first hybrid with four doors that was marketed in America.

Then, the Ford’s Escape hybrid became the very first SUV hybrid ever made. So there, you have it, the history of the hybrid, today’s modern car.

The Original Post is Located Here: The History Of The Hybrid Car