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© Copyright 2004, IRED.com, Inc. Hybrid Cars - An Innovation For TodayBy W. J. FontenoteThere is still a lot of fossil fuel in the world but the fuel that is easy to find and to extract from the ground is disappearing. Those searching for new supplies of fossil fuel must search in places that are more difficult to work (due to the cold, the heat, the depth of the water, or the unfriendly political situation of the country.) The cost of the search continues to increase, as does the expense of extracting the fuel. This expense is not only measured in dollars, but also in the damages to the environment. At the same time, the two most populous countries in the World, India and China, have improving economies and they have greater and greater needs for fossil fuels. These needs are due to the need for fuel for expanding manufacturing facilities as well as to the expanding need for automobiles. Now think of what it might cost you 2 or 3 years in the future for a tank of gas IF you continue to drive the same types of vehicles. The automobile industry, in foreign countries and in the United States, has developed the technology to help reduce these energy needs and to decrease pollution. This innovation is called hybrid cars. These cars are available in the US today from 2 or 3 manufacturers and many more are on the way.
WHAT ARE HYBRID CARS?A vehicle is a hybrid if it has more than one source of power. We have hybrid vehicles all around us such as diesel-electric trains, diesel-electric buses, and nuclear-electric submarines. Maybe some of you remember the Mo-Ped, a modified bicycle that used a combination of a gasoline engine and muscle power of its rider. In a similar manner, the gasoline-electric hybrid car is a combination of gasoline-powered car and an electric car.
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR DEVELOPING SUCH A COMPLICATED CAR?There are two major reasons: 1) To reduce tailpipe emissions and 2) To increase average gas mileage. These two goals interact with each other so that the overall performance of the hybrid car enhances both of them. Today's hybrids provide gas efficiency of 40 to 60 miles/gallon. The hybrids have reduced emissions to approximately 10% of the Japanese standards or about equal to the California standards, which are the most restrictive in the US.
HOW DO HYBID CARS WORK?There are two types of hybrid cars. One is known as the parallel hybrid and the other is known as a series hybrid. Both types use the same components, which are:
In a series hybrid, the gasoline engine turns a generator, which either charges the batteries or powers an electric motor that drives the transmission. The gasoline engine never powers the vehicle directly.
HOW DO THESE COMBINATIONS MEET THE DESIRED GOALS?The key to hybrid car performance is that the gasoline engine can be much smaller than the engine in a conventional high horsepower car. But how can this be when you will be competing on the highway with much more powerful autos on the road?The answer is that a conventional engine must supply power for all driving conditions. The engine needs to be powerful enough to accelerate onto a freeway and up hills, but it needs to use only a small percentage of its power at highway speeds. In a hybrid, the gasoline engine provides the power at higher highway speeds and the battery-electric motor combination provides the power for city driving and for acceleration needs. With this combination, each power source works at its optimal level. Some other tricks the hybrid car uses to get more efficiency are as follows:
The above designs will provide a very useful and comfortable auto that also gives you a maximum of gas mileage. Some recent hybrids that are now available are as follows:
Others that will be released in the near future are:
Hybrids are somewhat scarce right now (about 3% of the cars sold in the US) but should be plentiful for next year's models (2005). The above description of hybrid cars is meant to be only an introduction to this new technology. If you are interested in getting one of these marvelous cars in the future, you should start your investigation now. Take a test drive in some of the available hybrid cars, you will find some surprises. One is that the cars are extremely quiet, they have additional insulation in order to decrease the need for air conditioning and heating (the purpose is to save energy but the resulting quietness is a very nice benefit.) A second is that these cars are very peppy, unlike early automobiles designed for energy conservation. The advantages and disadvantages will vary with each manufacturer, type and model of the hybrid. It will take a lot of time to look at all the various models but it will be well worth it for your future driving pleasure. GOOD LUCK
W.J. Fontenote William Jarrell Fontenote succumbed to cancer on February 12, 2006. Rest in Peace, Beloved Friend.
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