Lotus Exige 265e at Fifth Gear
Tips to improve mileage
So you got a new hybrid model and all your worries about the mileage issues are over ! Think a moment before you take out your Insight or Lexus hybrid out of your car shed. Fuel efficiency of a car is partly in your hands. To get the best out of an engine, you need to take care of a few things such as your driving habits, speed and the frequency of driving, etc. The following guidelines will help you save your gas mileage, especially in your hybrid cars.
• Follow a routine examination on the air pressure in the tire. A properly inflated tire will help to improve the mileage performance of your car. The pressure should be checked when the tire is cold, otherwise you may get a false high value. Wheel alignment is another ‘must to do’- don’t allow your car to lose its balance.
• Start slowing down your vehicle minutes before you reach the traffic lights so that you can avoid stopping at it before crossing. The fuel consumption for acceleration for a moving vehicle is comparatively lower than that is stopped.
• Never exceed the speed limit. It is thumb rule for all drivers, especially who wish to fly their vehicles on the highway. Driving above the speed limit will have a drastic impact on the mileage. A rash driving can reduce the gas mileage by about 30 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent in city driving.
• Be on watch of the gas mileage. After every unusual driving, conduct an analysis on the performance of the engine as well as the gas mileage. It will help you improve your driving habits and understand your vehicle better.
• Avoid sudden brake and sudden acceleration. The sudden actions will cause more energy wastage. A smooth acceleration will give sufficient time to the engine to prepare itself for the move.
• Identify the right fuel for your engine. Follow the manufacture’s guidelines while selecting the fuel and also other necessary materials such as the lubricants. Compromising the quality of these will mean a heavy cost on the life of your cruise. Often fuels with detergent additives, which automatically clean the system, are preferred.
• Clean the air filters regularly to avoid blocking of the vents by the dirty soil or oil particles. Be attentive about the other engine parts also; regular lubrication and cleaning is the best thing you can do to your hybrid engines.
• Avoid running air conditioners unnecessarily. You know air conditioners cause a considerable waste of energy, of course. But there is more than just the energy loss about the working of air conditioners. When air conditioners are at action, they run on pulleys attached to the motor. Every time when the air conditioner is on action, it slows down the engine, and ultimately reduces the life of the engine. At highways, often the wind speed is high, and if you open the windows of the car, the wind pressure will resist the movement of the vehicle and in turn affect the performance of the engine. So better turn on your air conditioner at highways.
The Road Ahead for Hybrid Cars
Owing to the success of the hybrid car launch, manufactures are motivated to improve the standards of their hybrid series with a view to attract a wider customer base. The reviews about hybrid cars show that some of them need improvement in their capacity, others need improvement in the mileage. And of course, fuel efficiency being the most important concern and the benchmark of the hybrid technology, an efficient fuel technology will bring the green signal for hybrid market.
We are now becoming familiar with the term ‘bio-diesel’. Bio-diesel refers to the oil extracted from the vegetables or plants and used as fuel instead of conventional fuels such as diesel and petrol, or it can be mixed with these fuels in any proportion. Biodiesel is easily biodegradable and is completely free of lead, sulfur and other chemical additives, which are present in the fossil fuels. It has been found successful on European roads for many years. If the bio-diesel technology is successfully implemented in the existing cleaner hybrid cars, it will be a great hit on the roads.
Volkswagen Showcases Clean TDI, Biodiesel, and Hydrogen at Sustainability Summit
PASADENA, CA — Volkswagen of America, Inc. is giving a high profile to vehicles with lower environmental impact at the Designing Sustainable Mobility Summit, being held at Art Center College of Design in Southern California. Here, designers and other transportation experts from many countries are sharing ideas on ways to make future mobility more environmentally compatible.
As this vision unfolds, attendees and Art Center students are being provided the unique experience of driving VW models running on biodiesel, ultra low sulfur diesel, hydrogen, and highly efficient gasoline engines on public roads. Driving some of the very technologies and fuels being discussed at the Summit provides the reality check that moving forward in meaningful and more environmentally-conscious ways is much more than theory. It’s happening today, and in ways that address the needs and desires of drivers now and in the years ahead.
“It’s important to demonstrate that raising the bar in such important areas as fuel efficiency and emissions reduction isn’t just accomplished with exotic or future-oriented technologies,” says Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal, which is hosting the Summit’s ride-and-drive. “Volkswagen’s demonstration of its clean diesel and twin charger engines provides real-world examples of environmentally positive technologies that are operating on highways today.”
At the event’s Green Cars/Pasadena ride-and-drive, VW is fielding a Touareg V-10 TDI running on B5 biodiesel, a mixture of conventional ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel and renewable biodiesel. Diesel fuel that includes a mix of biodiesel burns cleaner and also helps displace fossil fuel use, contributing to energy diversity. VW has extended warranty protection to its models operating on B5 biodiesel as a way to encourage use of this cleaner fuel.
An advance look is also being offered of a highly efficient, twin charger gasoline engine Jetta in development. This Jetta’s TSI engine provides higher power output from a smaller displacement engine while also achieving greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions. The TSI is popular in Europe and now is being considered for use in the U.S. It uses a supercharger to provide engine boost at lower rpms and an exhaust-driven turbocharger at mid-range rpms and higher.
At the Summit, VW’s Touran HyMotion hydrogen fuel cell vehicle not only shows Volkswagen’s interest in this zero-emission fuel, but also showcases the company’s breakthrough high-temperature fuel cell. A decade of VW hydrogen vehicle development has led to a high-temperature fuel cell that provides a more compact, lighter, and more durable fuel cell system. This technology holds great promise to make fuel cell powertrains more economical, key to future mass production.
These vehicles and many other diverse activities underscore that environment is one of Volkswagen’s core values. Volkswagen of America was named the “industry’s most environmentally friendly automaker” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Alternative Powertrain Study. Additionally, VW received the EU Commission’s European Business Award for the Environment for its innovative Volkswagen SiCon recycling process.
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.
Mitsubishi Eclipse Concept E
Like a soothsayer peering into a crystal ball, Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA), today provided a glimpse into the future through the Eclipse Concept-E.
But perhaps the future is more clearly visible through the glowing plasma bulb located in the car’s center console. Because when the Eclipse Concept-E’s parallel hybrid motor is switched on, that plasma indicator light glows with its own unique energy, letting the driver know that there’s more here than meets the eye. Read more
Compressed Natural Gas
Search for an alternative fuel has been a concern for all governments for many years. With the hybrid technology being a success in the US markets, a wider technological application has been sought in this area. With more and more fuels such as ethanol, bio-diesel and hydrogen, added to the alternative fuel list of hybrid cars, the option of choosing CNG is also not ruled out. CNG has been widely used in buses and heavy load carriers in many parts of the world. Yet it has not dominated the car market. The difficulty of converting a conventional engine to a CNG-compatible one has been a serious concern for the manufactures as well as the car owners.
CNG contains a large percentage of methane (CH4) along with traces of other hydrocarbons. It is extracted from natural gas, which is produced by the decomposition of animal and plant wastes. Read more
Toyota FT-HS Concept
Pairing a potent hybrid powertrain with essential sports car fundamentals, the FT-HS concept was a joint undertaking of Calty, Toyota’s North American-based, research and design center located in Newport Beach, Calif., and Toyota’s California-based Advanced Product Strategy Group. The design team was assigned the task of creating a mid-priced sports car that integrates ecology and emotion in a concept that addresses the question “What is a suitable sports car for the 21st Century?”
“Drivers today are not satisfied with cars that are simply fast,” said Kevin Hunter, vice president, Calty Design Research. “In addition to driving enjoyment, today’s drivers are concerned about safety, ecology and social responsibility.” Read more
Bio-diesel and the hybrid cars
“The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the present time.” The above text is a brief from the speech made by Rudolf Diesel, on his innovative diesel engine which was powered by bio-diesel and won the award at World Fair in Paris in 1900.
The new hybrid technology proved Diesel’s words exactly true. With a greener fuel available to replace the non-renewable diesel and petrol, the car manufacturers are working day and night exploring innovative technology to offer maximum efficiency with the environment-friendly recyclable fuel. Read more
-
Find It
-
Categories
- Car Loans
- Car Donations
- Care Hire France
- Corvette Parts
- RV Surge Protector
- toyota dealer
- Car Finance
- cheap gas prices
- Car Insurance Quote
- Motorcycle Jacket
- Automotive Dent Removal
-
About
Top Green Cars is a online magazine that shows that going green doesn't mean going slow. It offers a unique perspective about all current technologies, alternative fuels, revolutionary concepts and cars that take environmental performance into account. Even if you are not an alternative energy enthusiast or don't think that green or hybrid cars are performant enough, subscribe our feeds, you may change your mind soon!
-
Recently Written
- Volvo debuts new turbocharged Flexifuel Police Car
- Toyota Prius tops customer survey
- Commitment to Sustainable Mobility
- Fiat - lowest CO2 automaker in Europe
- UK Opens First Hydrogen Fuel Station
- Chevrolet Volt Development
- PlanetThoughts - Shout Out Competition
- Volvo ReCharge Will Base Research Plug-In Hybrids
- Mercedes and AMG Planning Hybrid Performance?
- Next-Generation GM Hybrid System Announced in Geneva
-
Blogroll
-
Monthly Archives
-
Admin
-
Other
Interesting
