Alternative Energy Sources and Alternative Fuels

Due to the demand of having a car where everyone can save fuel and won’t contribute to the air pollution, the hybrid car was created to solve this problem. Due to the rapid advancements the hybrid car has become extremely popular.

A hybrid car is a means of transportation using two power sources; it uses a rechargeable energy storage system found on board and a fuel source as the vehicle’s driving force. The hybrid car pollutes less and uses less fuel.

Back in 1899, Ferdinand Porsche have developed and led the way to the very first working hybrid electric vehicle. Many people who became interested in the hybrid vehicle concept have been continually making hybrid cars. However, there was no major car manufacturer who invested in the hybrid concept and mass produced hybrid cars until the late twentieth century. The hybrid technology was mainly utilized in developing diesel electric submarines during that interim period.

The diesel electric submarines mainly operate very much the same as a hybrid car. However, the submarines main goal was to conserve oxygen rather than save fuel. During the later years, submarines have evolved and have begun using the nuclear power as a substitute for diesel. Maybe we’ll have nuclear cars someday.

During the 1990’s, the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight were the first successful hybrid cars available in the market. It was two of the pioneers in the hybrid car concept which virtually changed the way the world thinks about cars.

An idealistic inventor, Victor Wouk, manufactured a hybrid electric and gas motor vehicle that siphoned fuel at half the amount as practically all the other cars being built then. He built the hybrid car thirty years before the Toyota Prius got the attention of the U.S. as an energy-anxious nation.

The account about the hybrid car and its inventor, who died in May, 2005, at age 86, is unfamiliar among even the most avid fans of the growing hybrid car association. In terms of hybrid car knowledge, it is in fact America that should have led all other countries. Wouk said that the government program that he developed about hybrids was unknown to everyone.

Victor Wouk founded and sold two successful electric industrialized companies in the late 1940s and 50s and in 1962 he was approach by Russell Feldman, one of the founders of Motorola, who recognized the pollution from the automobile as one of the biggest problem of the environment and he wanted to discover the possible solutions with regards to this problem. But his experiment did not work much for the possible solution.

Having an idea, Wouk pondered the problem throughout the 60s and ultimately reached a clever solution. He combined the low-emission benefits of an electric car with the power of a gasoline engine to produce a hybrid vehicle. But Wouk did not get any response to his ideas for creating a hybrid car; in fact he was heavily criticized for not believing in a full-electric system.

With the help of his colleague, Charlie Rosen, who shared his belief about hybrid cars, gave him the chance to prove his ideas of creating the hybrid car as one of the solution to the rapid health cost of auto-pollution. And now the impressive capabilities of the invention of Wouk, the hybrid cars, can now be a very great help in terms of less fuel consumption and less air pollution.

Wouk and Rosen put up a new company particularly to developed their hybrid car idea and make it possible to be in the market and be used as an everyday car that belched far less harmful vapors than contemporary vehicles.

The Prius

Ever since the Toyota Prius was released in the market, it has been able to remain as the premier choice of hybrid cars available. It is true that old hybrid cars looks more like an alien car and cost far more than the conventional car. However, because of the latest technology installed in newer versions of hybrid cars, it looks more like a conventional car and is far cheaper than its predecessors. It is a fact that hybrid cars today looks very much like conventional cars. However, it will enable you to cut fuel consumption in half.

For example, the Honda Civic Hybrid car looks very much like its conventional version. However, when you look at it closely, the hybrid version of the Civic is able to conserve fuel much better than its gasoline counterpart. The Civic Hybrid can get you 50 miles in just one gallon of gasoline.

During the year 2004, Ford has developed and introduced the very first hybrid SUV, which is the Ford Escape Hybrid. A year later, Toyota also introduced their line of hybrid SUV called the Highlander Hybrid.

Because of the growing demand for hybrid cars, other car manufacturers are now following the footsteps of the other companies who already released a version of their hybrid car in the market. For example, Nissan is now planning to develop and introduce a hybrid version of the Nissan Altima.

Nowadays, over 300,000 hybrid cars are running on American roads wherein 95 percent of them are Japanese made. The hybrid vehicles are truly very different technology that can both save money and our environment.

Advantages of A Hybrid Car
The cost of fuel and the damage it does to the environment has become a very popular topic. Because of that, hybrid cars are presently considered very beneficial to the environment. The reason behind this is hybrid cars don’t depend on fuel but makes use of electricity to power the car. This results to a smaller amount of fuel consumption and less emitted air pollution.

A hybrid car combines an electric motor and a gas or diesel engine to provide power to the vehicle which means fewer emissions. They are also far more fuel-efficient than purely gas-powered cars, and more practical for everyday use than purely electric-powered cars. Combining the two sources of power, a vehicle is created that is relatively non-polluting and will lead to less fuel consumption. It’s also great for stop and go driving in traffic congested areas.

The hybrid car was created due to the result of the demand to clean the environment from pollutions and to rely less on fuel. They charge themselves by means of power usually lost during coasting and braking and can also be charged by the car’s gasoline engine.

It can offer more benefits than the usual regular gasoline engine type cars. Here is a list of the many advantages hybrid cars offers.

1. Pollution is less

It’s a fact that the continuous damage to our ozone layer is due to the greenhouse effect. One of the factors that contribute to its damage is pollution in the air. The measure of carbon dioxide emitted by the hybrid vehicle is principally relative to the quantity of fuel it consumes. Hybrid cars can be a contributing factor in lessening global warming.

2. More mileage with less fuel consumption

The obvious advantage of hybrid car is that it saves on gas. With the use of hybrid cars, you are able to save gas money because you don’t need to buy gas after every long trip.

3. Hybrid cars can help lower your taxes

Tax rebates are given to hybrid cars buyers, so if you buy a hybrid car your tax refunds can be withheld from your taxes and will provide you with additional savings.

4. Your money gains more value

A hybrid car retaina a higher resale value. If you ever want to trade or sell a previously owned hybrid car you can be sure that you will get more cash for it.

5. Efficiency and performance are what defines Hybrid Cars

Hybrid cars have smaller engines than the regular gasoline cars since the power is obtained form two sources, so the smaller engines will give an efficient performance.

6. “Hybrid car technology” is the greatest solution to today’s increasing problem in car air pollution

Hybrid cars uses lesser fuel and a groundbreaking technology that may avoid possible damages to the environment caused by the usual cars

Despite of many uses and advantages, there is one thing to be considered regarding hybrid cars, its actual price in the market is not yet that affordable to a lot of people, but it is an investment that will pay off ten fold.

People who buy sedans, wouldn’t mind a bit of performance or sportiness now and then. The fact that Toyota would pick the sedan as the form to give its first hybrid vehicle is puzzling to me. A hybrid electric car isn’t the greatest with performance, but it is great on fuel mileage.

That’s just the kind of thing a family minivan could use. No one with a bunch of children and a ton of groceries is going to want great acceleration or sporty cornering. What they want on their trips to soccer practice and Wal-Mart is regular and dependable gas mileage, enough acceleration to get themselves out of a tough spot sometimes. It looks like the hybrid electric car manufacturers of the world picked the wrong body shape for their venture with hybrid technology.

A family with three kids, and grandma to tow around could hardly fit in a Prius. So they made a misstep with their first hybrid. How about the right choice the second time around? Actually there has been no second time around; no one ever thought to make a hybrid minivan. Actually, they did think of it, but only in Japan. It is called the Toyota Estima, and it regularly gets 65 mpg. They’ve had it in Japan for about 10 years now.

Of course it’s not that no one noticed this; there was even an online petition demanding that Toyota bring it to the US. But so far, Toyota doesn’t seem to feel there is much merit to this idea. But then, Toyota isn’t the only company with hybrid technology on its hands; Honda has its Insight hybrid electric car model; why don’t they do something about it?

Honda even said once that the company was going to turn every one of its models hybrid. There was a TV interview a short time ago by a Honda executive, and his best take on the subject was that he had no comment. You would think that Honda was desperate for some kind of a leg up on the competition; next to the Prius, the Insight doesn’t sell half as well. Perhaps they aren’t as desperate after all.

But Chrysler, fresh after a bankruptcy restructuring, should have a bit invested in a hybrid minivan; they did create the very minivan concept after all.

Chrysler actually is testing in concept, a bunch of plug-in hybrid electric minivans. But minivans are actually large and heavy, and not really the thing for the plug-in variety. A regular gasoline powered hybrid would be much better. But as usual, Chrysler has the wrong idea. GM seems to be the only one who’s actually interested in the general idea. They are planning a hybrid SUV, and maybe they could port it over to the minivan. The hybrid electric car is all about fuel efficiency; put it where it will be the most use, consumers say. Maybe the powers that be are listening.

You can always call or email any of the car companies. I’d suggest sending them an email suggesting you’d love to have a hybrid mininvan. If enough people contact them maybe you’ll get a hybrid minivan on the market.