Hybrid cars

Hybrids and electric vehicles are great at making headlines. Because they're new technology, these vehicles make headlines on technology blogs and magazines that could care less about the latest small turbocharged gas engine. Problem is, while everyone likes reading about new technology, not everyone is as quick to buy it, especially when it proves more expensive. Automakers are starting to respond to consumer apathy to hybrids by putting more emphasis on building efficient gas vehicles...Read Full Story

The EPA has got the latest facts about which cars now available are the most fuel efficient Most of the top fuel-efficient cars are hybrids with the Toyota Prius at the top spot with a fuel economy of read moreRead Full Story

Jiji Press reported that Toyota Motor Corp. is considering raising prices in Japan of its Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car and luxury models, company officials said. The Japanese auto industry leader is expected to raise prices by one to 3 pct on average due to soaring costs of raw materials such as steel, informed sources said. The company is likely to make a final decision as early as August and start introducing new pricing by the end of this year, the sources said. It will be the first...Read Full Story

GM is unleashing a pair of (naturally expensive) ads for its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid at Super Bowl XLVI. Just one day later, on Feb. 6, the company will finally begin building a version that could drastically increase its desirability in the state of California. The Chevrolet Volt has not proven to be a huge seller. And GM may have already missed on thousands of sales in California by not making the original Volt meet the standards for white decal HOV lane entry in that state. The...Read Full Story

Hybrid cars combine internal combustion engines with electric motors for enhancing gas mileage or for increasing power through use of fused-propulsion system. Honda and Toyota are some of the most significant major players in hybrid space, but just about every other automobile manufacturing company is working on hybrid model. We have picked some of the best hybrid cars based on good performance and excellent gas mileage. There are so many advantages of having hybrid cars today. In fact, these...Read Full Story

HyEngine Over the past year I’ve exchanged a few emails with Jonas Grooten of HyEngine Solutions. Instead of working on fuel cells, HyEngine converts vehicles with internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen. Here is what Jonas Grooten had to say in his last email: “My colleague, Olivier Vanhaelen, asked me to give you an update about our projects. Our HyRacer project is currently finished. We have implemented our 1.6 L Honda engine into a Honda Civic, which can now drive completely...Read Full Story

by jwinfred Hybrid Smugness Image by gumption I would love to meet the owner of this car – I’ll bet he / she has a rich sense of humor (and a heightened sense of consciousness). Using a vanity plate to comment on – and perhap explicitly acknowledge – the smugness that many of us hybrid owners / drivers sometimes feel is rich in irony. I also like the fact that the license plate frame says "Highlander" … leading me to wonder if the owner used to have a Toyota Highlander … and if so...Read Full Story

Oh, what a difference one seat makes. Ford just announced that the Focus Electric will be, “the first all-electric vehicle to achieve a 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) fuel efficiency rating.” But wait, you’re saying, what about the Mitsubishi i, which gets 112 MPGe? Ah, this is when you finish reading Ford’s sentence, which ends, “with seating for five.” The i is rated as a four-seat (two-plus-two) vehicle while the Focus is a “normal” five-seater. 100 MPGe is just one selling point...Read Full Story

Parts of the Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Vehicles gasoline The typical gasoline powered car contains a combustion engine , fuel tank, and transmission, whereas with the gasoline- electric hybrid vehicle , it contains the following parts: Gasoline Engine. The engine of a hybrid car is relatively smaller than its gasoline-only counterpart. This is because of two reasons: (1) the car doesn’t require a big engine since there it uses another source of power, (2) a bigger engine means larger...Read Full Story

by Chris Wevers 100+ MPG Plug-In Hybrids Image by Laughing Squid See the blog post for more info: Maker Faire 2007 This photo is licensed under a Creative Commons license. If you use this photo, please list the photo credit as "Scott Beale / Laughing Squid" and link the credit to laughingsquid.com . Role of Hybrid Cars in the Current Auto Crisis The downfall of the economy has left a major effect on the automotive industry. The automotive industry crisis of 2008-2009 is just...Read Full Story