Chevrolet Volt Concept
While the technologically advanced Chevrolet Volt has the capability to travel 40 miles on electricity alone, at first glance, the concept could easily be mistaken as simply a design statement.
The Volt conveys an immediate message of agility and sophistication, with exterior proportions more commonly associated with classic sports cars. Twenty-one-inch wheels and sheer, taut surface relationships reiterate the statement. The Chevrolet Volt’s athletic design challenges the notion that an environmentally conscious vehicle can’t be beautiful and possess an aesthetic spirit that matches its driving characteristics. Read more
eXasis - Glass-free transparency
“Glass” concept car to mark Rinspeed’s 30th birthday - 40 years after Bayer’s first “all-plastic” car
eXasis - Glass-free transparency
Zumikon / Leverkusen – “There’s never been anything like it” were the words used in the online edition of an acclaimed international news magazine to describe its editor’s reaction when the first sketches of the new Rinspeed concept car, “eXasis”, appeared on the Internet, “and it looks like no other vehicle before it”. In fact, the illustrations could only hint at what Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht had thought up in collaboration with the experts from Bayer MaterialScience AG – one of the largest plastics producers in the world – to mark his company’s 30th anniversary: a drivable “glass” car with a completely transparent body and floor made of Makrolon®. Once again, this Rinspeed creation has been built by the Swiss engineering specialists Esoro, and will be shown to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show (March 8-18, 2007), 40 years after Bayer presented the first “all-plastic car” at the K67 Plastics Fair in Germany in 1967. Read more
Top hybrid cars
Auto majors are in the market to lure customers with their latest hybrid models. Here are a few leading models that have already captured the market share.
Toyota Prius
A four-door sedan, it is the best hybrid in terms of its competent technology. It gives you a reasonably good 50mpg in the real mixed driving. When compared to other popular models, Prius has bigger interior with its 175-inch long body. The 1.5-liter four cylinder engine combined with the electric motor offers a total 110 horsepower. Estimated for a reasonable price of $21,725, this product gives you a tax incentive $3,100. It won the Car of the Year in the year 2005.
Honda Civic Hybrid
A four-door sedan, which offers a 110horsepower with its 1.3 liter engine, gives you a 45mpg on highways whereas in the cities it offers about 26mpg only. Civic has improved its model by techniques such as complete deactivation of the cylinders under adverse conditions and an efficient setting for Honda’s i-VTECH engine. In spite of these modifications Honda Civic lags behind Prius in terms of its fuel efficiency and power. The Civic variance is available in the price range of $22,150 to $23,650 with a tax benefit of approximately $2,100. Honda Civic won the Car of the Year in the year 2006.
Ford Escape Hybrid
Ford is proud of its first SUV hybrid, the Ford Escape, the best hybrid SUV on offer. Owing to the success of this model, the manufacturer came up with a similar Mercury Mariner 2007. These are small vehicles with an average mileage of 28 mpg on the real-world mixed driving. Estimated for a decent $26,900 to $28,525, Ford Escape Hybrid stands alone in the auto market with its maneuverability and the visibility. Other special features of this model are the anti-lock brakes, AWD, and a 110-volt outlet on the control panel.
Mercury Mariner Hybrid
It is characterized by its chic, comfort and the best EPA mileage. Its estimated EPA mileage is about 32mpg city and 29 mpg for highways. The amenities include the best seating system and the Audiophile Sound system. The Mercury Mariner has earned the government’s highest five-star side crash test rating for two consecutive years 2006 and 2007. The price of Mariner starts from $28,615
Honda Insight Hybrid
This famous model is best known for its fuel economy. The remarkable features of this model, viz., the aerodynamic structure and its light body, contribute to the best EPA mileage of 57 -60 mpg/city and 56 – 66 mpg/highways. But this small size, two-seater, 155.1-inch long, may not be your ideal choice always. Also compared to the more powerful models - Toyota Prius or Honda Civic hybrid, this does not promise a comfortable journey.
The Honda Accord hybrid
World’s first hybrid sport sedan, the Honda Accord hybrid is the fastest among the models available in the market. With its 253-hp V-6 engine it excels in its performance on the roads. But the Honda Accord’s emphasis on the speed rather than fuel efficiency makes the reviewers think twice before giving a grade to it, and so Toyota Camry’s hybrid gets a point in terms of its overall performance. Camry with its 40mpg mileage while at 70mph, and an overall 30mpg in real-time driving becomes a better choice of the customers.
Hybrid Cars – Top of the Motor Market
The new generation hybrid cars are a sage across the globe with a new study indicating that the hybrid-electric vehicles demand globally to hit around eight million by 2020. The sales of hybrid cars will be mainly driven by the purchases in the United States and the primary motive would be the cost of fuel.
Bio-diesel is the most sought after fuel of the world, as it will contribute less to your cost of fuel bill. You are in a possession of a diesel vehicle and you may be an innovator willing to opt for your own fuel. Bio-diesel reduces most emissions and it is one of the main reasons for you to look around for the best hybrid cars in the world.
Besides fuel efficiency, there are several reasons that may prompt one to buy hybrid automobiles though they are more expensive than regular vehicles, an average being $1,000 to $3,000.
The 2006 new year has promised a totally new motor world to car lovers in the US, the largest automobiles market in the world, with a new and improved hybrid car incentive – full dollar tax credits coming into effect, and this turns out to be better than the earlier federal tax incentives for them. The tax incentives are set to enhance the buying aspirations among the customers for hybrid cars.
Environmentalists may spur the demand for bio-diesel; leading companies are also urging their employees to go for hybrid cars though the disparity in prices between conventional cars and hybrid cars is yet to shrink. Motor analysts feel that the price may come down with the increase in production.
Globally, big companies are encouraging their employees to opt for the fuel-efficient and environment-friendly hybrid cars by offering various perks to them. STMicroelectronics and The Farmers Insurance Group have already set an example by doing so.
An innovative change in the future hybrid cars will be the use of lithium batteries. This will not only reduce the cost of the batteries but also improve their efficiency. The existing nickel and lead batteries will thus give way to the less toxic lithium batteries and will offer a pleasant ride in the green pastures. The research is up in full swing by the world leaders in the car industry.
There are effective measures taken by different companies to utilize every part of the used batteries. Toyota offers $200 for an old battery, which can be recycled. According to the company, this will not only reduce the further cost of manufacturing, but will also avoid unwanted pollution, which is caused by the unhealthy disposal of the used batteries. Honda also has an effective battery recycling system, which sorts the different materials and process them to make new batteries.
It is a fact that pollution from cars and trucks has been reduced by 90 percent since the 1970s. Thanks to the effective pollution control measures and technological improvements. But considering the appalling figures of the soaring healthcare expenses all over the world, this improvement is going unnoticed, and it prompts the carmakers to come up with the perfect solution.
Incentives and laws
Why car fans are lured by the term ‘hybrids’? If you think it is the technology alone that attracts the car buyers to it, you are mistaken. Look at the following facts on how federal governments green-signal the sale of the hybrids by a set of laws and incentives. Of course, the credit goes to the efficient fuel-technology, a dream come true for the car owners as well as the governments on their worries of the environmental hazards produced by the vehicle emissions.
The New Tax Credit for 2006 which took effect on January 1, 2006, is offered as full dollar tax credits for the car buyers. According to the official data, Toyota Prius will get the highest tax credit, an awesome $3,150, followed by three models, viz., Ford Escape Hybrid (2wd), Toyota Camry Hybrid, and Toyota Highlander Hybrid, each for $2,600.
The tax credits are calculated on the basis of fuel efficiency of the models. If that is the criteria, you can get a better picture of the performance of the cars by comparing the tax incentives offered to them. The figures say that among the popular models, 2005 Accord Hybrid The Honda Accord hybrid, avails the least tax benefit, $650, owing to its high speed and power as a sport sedan, the fastest hybrid model in the market.
In order to avail the tax benefit, certain conditions have to be met by the car manufacturers and the car owners. Some important guidelines are as follows.
• The taxpayer who buys a vehicle that is serviced after December 31, 2005 and purchased on or before December 31, 2010 and that is qualified for the tax credit will avail the tax benefit.
• The purchase should be made in the name of the taxpayer, and if a company leases the car to its employee, the company may claim the benefit.
• The tax credit policy insists that the vehicle should be primarily used in the United States.
The tax credit has some obscurity in it. The government has announced that it avails this tax benefit to the first 60,000 buyers of each manufacturer, and Toyota already hit the target in June 2006. Does it mean that the Toyota hybrid market will become stagnant until the rivals such as Honda or Ford hit their targets too?
Take a look at the detailed picture of this tax benefit. It states that buyers who made the purchase of any one of the five Toyota models or Lexus gasoline-electric hybrid model before October 1, 2006, will get a full tax credit, while those who made the purchase after this date will avail a 50 percent credit. Further the credit will stay 50 percent for the successive two quarters and then it will be reduced to 25 percent in the next two quarters and then expires on October 1, 2007.
The hybrid tax credit is a non-refundable tax credit. The credit will reduce your regular income tax liability, but not below zero. The credit will not reduce your alternative minimum tax, if that applies to you. The hybrid tax credit is available to both individuals and businesses, including self-employed people.
Hydrogen – the future hybrid fuel
The much talked about California Hydrogen Highway project, initiated by Governor Schwarzenegger, is intended to promote the use of hydrogen as the future fuel in vehicles. The project provides funds for public as well as private partners to install hydrogen fuelling stations and to lease and purchase hydrogen-fuelled vehicles.
Hydrogen hybrid cars work with the help of fuel cells. A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. In a fuel cell, electricity is produced, when hydrogen and oxygen are combined to form water. It works similar to a battery inside a torch cell, except that the fuel used is different. But unlike the battery, a fuel cell never becomes dead as there is an external fuel supply whenever needed.
There are a few technical difficulties involved with the working of fuel cells, the most important being the availability and storage of hydrogen gas. Though oxygen can be directly pumped into the engine from air, the feasibily of installing hydrogen fuelling stations and storing the fuel safely inside the vehicle are grave concerns. A solution to this obstacle may be a ‘reformer’ which produces hydrogen from a hydrocarbon or alcohol fuel inside the cell and then supplies it to the fuel cell.
Is water the future fuel? That is what Hydrogen Technology Applications, Inc. (HTA) has to tell the world. They have come up with the latest technology of extracting hydrogen gas from water. The gas named AqugenTM, otherwise called HHOS, is separated from water through electrolysis. This technology is exactly the reverse of the fuel cell technology. HTA claims that this technology can be applied in hybrid cars too; it has been successfully tested in two sample vehicles - a 1994 Ford Escort Wagon and a 1998 Ford Ranger pickup.
And the result? They offer a better pickup than their gas hybrid counterparts with a considerable increase in the horsepower and an increase of about 20-30 percent in fuel efficiency. This is an alternative to fuel cell, in which hydrogen is stored at a dangerous 10,000 PSI, while HHOS can be stored at less than 60 PSI. The technology needed to install an HHOS hybrid in your car is also not new. With a little modification in the existing piston engine, HHOS system can be easily installed in any models. There are little or no emissions from this fuel.
Though HTA has tested HHOS technology in two sample vehicles, it is not the only company to come up with this innovation. A New Zealand company named Vision Energy has come up with a claim about launching a similar technology, the Hydro Fuel System Hydro-charger, which was developed by two US companies Global Energy Options and H to-go. Using this technology, they claim that, fuel consumption can be reduced up to 70%.
The advantage of using hydrogen as a future fuel cannot be ruled out considering its efficiency and zero-emission characteristics. Global warming, increasing tension on borders to find additional fossil fuel resources and decreasing fuel efficiency will lead to more innovations in this direction. Watch out for this column.
Global warming - a warning to the world
A hypersensitive issue capable of bringing all nations around one table- that is the ‘global warming’- a term allotted to the extraordinary increase in the atmospheric temperature due to the accumulation of green house gases.
Green house gases (GHG) mainly comprise carbon dioxide, which is emitted to the atmosphere as the byproduct of burning of fossil fuels, respiration, industrial activities, etc. Carbon dioxide emission caused by the vehicles on the road is the main cause for the increase of the carbon dioxide level.
The global warming, caused by the green house effect, happens in the following way. Carbon dioxide has the ability to trap the infrared rays of the sun and thus maintain the temperature of the planet. But the abnormal level of carbon dioxide emerges as a threat to earth; it has been reported that the average global atmospheric temperature has risen 0.6 ± 0.2 degree celsius since the late 19th century.
The aftermaths of global warming are many. It can cause rise in the sea level, in turn, make many lands disappear from the earth in the due course. This mainly happens because of the increase in temperature in the Polar Regions which causes the polar glaciers melt and thus result a rise in the sea level. Flood, hurricane, and extreme climate conditions are some of the challenges we are expecting in the near future. The end of the sad story is that many plant and animal species are going to be extinct due to this adversity.
Environmental agencies across the globe are working out strategies to reshape the earth’s meteorological map which is occupying more and more red in the place of blue. The only practical solution to this impending disaster is the use of alternate fuels. The automobile industry has been seriously involved in projects such as hybrid technology by which fuel efficiency of the vehicles can be improved.
Hybrid cars, which work on the combined effort of an oil fuel and electricity, is found to be more efficient than its single-fuel counterparts in terms of mileage and emission. More and more eco-friendly fuels such as alcohol and bio-diesel (fuel produced from vegetable oil or animal fats) are also being considered as the future fuel of the greener hybrid cars. There are more hopes with the much-awaited hydro-fuel technology taking shape, where water can be used as a fuel. Water is split into hydrogen and oxygen and the hydrogen is utilized as a fuel for running the motor, whereas oxygen is released as the exhaust!
The U.S. Department of Energy launched a ‘Climate VISION’ program initiated by President Bush in February 2003. The program’s focus is to reduce the intensity of green house gas by about 18% between 2002 and 2012, and they are involved with various federal agencies for its success. But EIA has a different version saying that ‘Climate VISION’ may not be able to reduce the absolute level of carbon dioxide as EIA’s statistics shows that it has increased 15% annually during the period 2001-05.
However, the situation is not beyond control. The contribution of each individual matters in saving the entire planet from peril. It is high time for governments to bring an international law that strictly adheres to the policies intended to reduce the emission from vehicles and other hazardous sources.
Better fuels for the future
The scarcity of conventional fuels such as coal and petroleum has turned many car manufacturers to performance-guaranteed alternate fuels. Though the cost of production and the feasibility of these fuels are the priority concerns, the environmental impacts of these fuels are equally important.
Taking into account several factors such as availability, emission, cost of production, etc. the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has approved a number of fuels as the alternate fuels for the future which can be safely used in vehicles. To promote the consumption of alternate fuels, the Federal government has initiated many tax incentives to consumers who purchase vehicles with alternate fuel technology. Hybrid cars thus have been a choice of many consumers. It works on a technology that uses two sources of energy, by which the fuel consumption and emission can be reduced.
Ethanol – this is an alternative fuel produced by the fermentation of crops such as wheat, corn, sugar cane, and fruits, etc. This fuel offers cleaner combustion with less carbon dioxide emission and can be used mixed with petrol. E85, which stands for 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, is found to be the suitable fuel for hybrid cars. Other combinations such as E70 are also available in the market. The drawback of this fuel is that it offers less mileage than that offered by petroleum fuels.
Bio-diesel – this is produced from vegetable oil and animal fat. Bio-diesel can be used alone (B100) or can be blended with diesel. The available blends are B2, B5, and B20. B2 and B5 can be safely used in diesel engines, whereas the use of higher blends is not encouraged by the auto manufacturers. Though bio-diesel ensures less emission of CO and CO2, it emits more nitrogen oxides compared to other fuels. BioDiesel Made Easy!
All You Need To Know About Biodiesel, Where To Buy, How To Make It And Where To Get More Information
CNG – the main component of the Compressed Natural Gas is methane, one of the cleanest alternate fuels. There are vehicles that run only on natural gas, and some other vehicles run on two fuels- CNG and diesel/petrol, giving an option to the user to switch to diesel/petrol when the CNG is not available. The U.S. domestic market supplies 87% of the CNG required for the daily demands at present. The only hurdle involved in using CNG is the difficulty in converting a conventional engine to a CNG-compatible one.
Hydrogen – it is the cleanest and the most efficient alternative fuel. There are many sources of hydrogen such as coal, nuclear power and water. Hybrid cars use a technology called fuel cells in which hydrogen is used as the main fuel. The exhaust produced here is water, which of course, is not causing any harm to the environment. Another technology that produces hydrogen from water works in the opposite way the fuel cell works. Both these technologies are in the embryonic stage; a lot of investment and research have to be made in order to make them popular in the market.
Though these are the main fuels that are considered as the best, many other fuels such as propane, butane are also considered as options for the future cars. A future technology that can utilize the benefits of these fuels would promise a better and greener earth for tomorrow.
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Save on Gas by learning about Hybrid Cars such as Toyota Prius, Smart car and Mercedes hybrid.