Since a few years ago, Hybrid cars have slowly but surely solidified their foothold in its market share of total conventional car sales. Hybrid cars have reached 4 percent share and growing. The Hybrid Car must possess many features which conventional cars do not, hence making it desirable. Whether these features are key to potential hybrid car owners to switch from their conventional gasoline guzzlers depends on they attitudes, beliefs and whether they are willing to confront and correct them.
Conventional Cars are Cheaper than Hybrid Cars.
As it is a complex design requirement for the Hybrid Car to be aerodynamic to ensure that the wind factor is optimized, the hybrid car is naturally priced more expensive. But what you might not have noticed of late is that hybrid car prices have become much more reasonable. In fact, the prices have stabilized to match that of conventional cars. Take the very popular Toyota Prius, at the time of writing at end of 2008, it is going at the range of USD19000 to USD23000. The Toyota Prius when compared to the all time favorite of American gasoline guzzling Ford Taurus is at least USD5000 lower in price. Also, tax incentives and rebates will be awarded to hybrid cars owners which pays over a period of a few years, hence closing the gap between the net cost of the price of a Hybrid car vs that of a conventional one.
Spare Parts Are Not Easily Available for Hybrid Cars.
Hybrid Cars only became commercially viable about 5 years ago, with mass production climbing steeply only since 2 years ago. Hence, by virtue that there is simply not enough old or scraped Hybrid Cars out there yet to provide for a commercially viable hybrid spare parts market is indeed a fact. And the lack of supply for Hybrid Car spare parts drives up prices. One consolation is that car manufacturers are confidently giving 8 year warranties of their hybrid car batteries hence backing the confidence of the quality. A hybrid and a conventional car can both use lead acid batteries that hold enough energy to power a small motor that's electric. Such batteries are gear reduced, meaning that you could turn over an engine at approximately 300 rpms, with torque generated to turn over the engine. With both types of car using similar batteries, used parts are easily available. With the 8 year guarantee for the hybrid car batteries, good amount of hybrid car tax incentives and plus the fact that you contribute to the green revolution too, it is not a difficult decision to make. But, eventually, it is still your decision to break out of that gasoline guzzling mold and embrace green.
Get more great reads about Hybrid Cars and Environmentally Friendly Cars at my website.
Joey Lee has 17 years of business & marketing experience in the Insurance & Banking Industry, holds an Executive MBA, a Platinum Ezine Author and a green car enthusiast. Learn all about Hybrid, cng, lpg, green cars and get the latest environmentally friendly green cars info at http://www.CngCar.org
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joey_Lee
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hybrid Car Comparison: Which Hybrid Car Should You Choose
Hybrid cars
are getting more and more popular today. In fact, more and more people are now purchasing hybrid cars because of a number of reasons. One is that they will enjoy tax incentives as a buyer of a hybrid car, two is that they will be able to save a lot of money from the rising cost of precious, expensive and limited supply of fuel and three, it will enable them to generate less pollution to the environment because of the extremely low toxic emissions generated by hybrid cars.
Because of the growing popularity of hybrid cars, more and more car manufacturers are now competing to produce the best kind of hybrid cars. They are now producing hybrid cars integrated with state-of-the-art technology that will enable consumers to save more on fuel, and also a car that will be able to produce low toxic emissions.
However, because of the growing market for hybrid cars, and also because of more and more car manufacturers that are now integrating hybrid technology in their cars, many people tend to get confused on which hybrid car to purchase. Besides, all car manufacturers promises to offer the best kind of hybrid cars in the market today.
In order to know which hybrid car to purchase, you have to compare them closely for you to know which hybrid car is for you and which hybrid car you can benefit from more. You have to compare some factors of hybrid cars in order to determine which hybrid car is better than the other.
However, before you go on and compare hybrid cars, you first have to know a little something about how hybrid cars work and how you can benefit from it. First of all, hybrid cars use the cleanest and the most efficient source of energy, which is electricity and also gasoline. Hybrid cars are what you can describe as a cross between a conventional gasoline-powered car and an electric-powered car.
It allows you to save fuel and emit lower volumes of toxic fumes because hybrid cars run on electricity when it is idle. What this means is that when you are stuck in traffic, and the hybrid car is running idle, or not in motion, it will automatically switch of the gasoline engine. Therefore, the hybrid car will run purely on electricity. Once you step on the accelerator pedal, it will automatically switch on the gasoline engine again to run the car.
So, now that you know how hybrid cars work and how you can benefit from it, you now have to know how to compare hybrid cars in order to get the right kind of hybrid car for your everyday use.
First of all, you need to determine how you will use the car. If you have a family, it is recommended that you get an SUV hybrid vehicle. This will enable you to carry more passengers. However, you also have to consider that SUV hybrid vehicles can cost a little more than hybrid cars.
The main advantage of a hybrid car is that it is fuel efficient
. You have to choose a hybrid car that is the most fuel efficient in order for you to maximize its benefits. You can ask your dealer about the fuel efficiency of the car. They will be able to tell you how much miles a gallon it can save compared to conventional cars and other hybrid cars.
These are the ways on how you can compare hybrid cars in order for you to choose which one to get. Remember all these things and you can be sure that you will be able to get the right kind of hybrid car available in the market today. To start your search, Honda and Toyota are two of the leading companies today that produce affordable and efficient hybrid cars.
Hilal Abdelwali
Hilal Abdelwali, Ph.D. in Automotive Engineering. SAE Member Since September 2001. Expert in Automotive Engineering and Hybrid Cars. Internet Marketer. Owner of http://TheHybridCarsSite.com, and http://MyHotProducts.com Site
are getting more and more popular today. In fact, more and more people are now purchasing hybrid cars because of a number of reasons. One is that they will enjoy tax incentives as a buyer of a hybrid car, two is that they will be able to save a lot of money from the rising cost of precious, expensive and limited supply of fuel and three, it will enable them to generate less pollution to the environment because of the extremely low toxic emissions generated by hybrid cars.
Because of the growing popularity of hybrid cars, more and more car manufacturers are now competing to produce the best kind of hybrid cars. They are now producing hybrid cars integrated with state-of-the-art technology that will enable consumers to save more on fuel, and also a car that will be able to produce low toxic emissions.
However, because of the growing market for hybrid cars, and also because of more and more car manufacturers that are now integrating hybrid technology in their cars, many people tend to get confused on which hybrid car to purchase. Besides, all car manufacturers promises to offer the best kind of hybrid cars in the market today.
In order to know which hybrid car to purchase, you have to compare them closely for you to know which hybrid car is for you and which hybrid car you can benefit from more. You have to compare some factors of hybrid cars in order to determine which hybrid car is better than the other.
However, before you go on and compare hybrid cars, you first have to know a little something about how hybrid cars work and how you can benefit from it. First of all, hybrid cars use the cleanest and the most efficient source of energy, which is electricity and also gasoline. Hybrid cars are what you can describe as a cross between a conventional gasoline-powered car and an electric-powered car.
It allows you to save fuel and emit lower volumes of toxic fumes because hybrid cars run on electricity when it is idle. What this means is that when you are stuck in traffic, and the hybrid car is running idle, or not in motion, it will automatically switch of the gasoline engine. Therefore, the hybrid car will run purely on electricity. Once you step on the accelerator pedal, it will automatically switch on the gasoline engine again to run the car.
So, now that you know how hybrid cars work and how you can benefit from it, you now have to know how to compare hybrid cars in order to get the right kind of hybrid car for your everyday use.
First of all, you need to determine how you will use the car. If you have a family, it is recommended that you get an SUV hybrid vehicle. This will enable you to carry more passengers. However, you also have to consider that SUV hybrid vehicles can cost a little more than hybrid cars.
The main advantage of a hybrid car is that it is fuel efficient
. You have to choose a hybrid car that is the most fuel efficient in order for you to maximize its benefits. You can ask your dealer about the fuel efficiency of the car. They will be able to tell you how much miles a gallon it can save compared to conventional cars and other hybrid cars.
These are the ways on how you can compare hybrid cars in order for you to choose which one to get. Remember all these things and you can be sure that you will be able to get the right kind of hybrid car available in the market today. To start your search, Honda and Toyota are two of the leading companies today that produce affordable and efficient hybrid cars.
Hilal Abdelwali
Hilal Abdelwali, Ph.D. in Automotive Engineering. SAE Member Since September 2001. Expert in Automotive Engineering and Hybrid Cars. Internet Marketer. Owner of http://TheHybridCarsSite.com, and http://MyHotProducts.com Site
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Are Diesel Or Hybrid Cars For You?
While everyone is looking to a greener planet, car makers are also doing their best to come out with newer environmentally friendly models. Technological advancement is what is propelling the automotive industry to come out with fuel efficient and zero emission engines, not forgetting the need to search for replaceable energy source as the new alternative power source.
Diesel has been a long time favorite for fuel efficient drivers. With the high compression engine and diesel having higher energy content, it has a potential of pitting against gasoline vehicles in terms of power over efficiency. This can be seen in Audi R10 being a diesel powered car winning the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race consecutively thanks to not having to pop in the pit stop to refuel as frequently as other competitors. Considering the smelly diesel puffs from buses ages ago, it might not be a good choice as an environmentally friendly car.
When we look at hybrid vehicle, we can only look at vehicles with two power sources being slapped together as one. Usually a combination of gasoline engine with an electric motor's assistance. The green part of a hybrid vehicle is that the car is smart enough to switch off the gasoline engine and make use of the electric motor at certain time, reducing the petrol used. Although the theory sounds flawless, actual efficient driving on a hybrid requires a unique driving style in order to get more miles out of the engine. The promising hybrid vehicles are the topic of discussion these days. Already out there some of the hybrid vehicles such as popular Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, and numerous other common production cars with a 'Hybrid' or 'H' emblem stuck to the boot. The wonder of a hybrid is the energy balancing capability of both motors present in the car itself. Say for instance the car will use the petrol engine to propel the car from standstill and to a stage where the car is cruising, the electric motor will be driving the car, putting the pistons to rest. This intelligent concept also includes the regenerative braking capability that charges up the car's battery so that the electric motor can use it for cruising.
On the other hand, diesel powered vehicles still works the same as a combustion engine. The only difference is newer diesel engines delivers higher power and torque rating thanks to technologies such as common rail diesel engines. With torque being the strong point of diesel cars, it needs a low rev to get to the highest torque compared to petrol engines. Take the Mercedes models for an example, with a CDI engine, some with smaller capacity diesel engine outperforms higher capacity petrol cars. The longer cruise range and low emission green engine makes it a selling point too.
Speaking of which, since hybrid vehicles are powered by a combination of electric motor and gasoline engine, why not a turbocharged common rail diesel engine slapped with an electric motor side by side? Diesel hybrids might be on the way soon once car manufacturers figure out how to balance the heavy gadget filled common rail diesel engine together with heavy battery packs to create a better hybrid. As the hybrid makers say, all they need is torque to move the vehicle from standstill - so why not use a diesel engine?
Car Shipping Company
Auto Shipping Company
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brenda_Williams
Diesel has been a long time favorite for fuel efficient drivers. With the high compression engine and diesel having higher energy content, it has a potential of pitting against gasoline vehicles in terms of power over efficiency. This can be seen in Audi R10 being a diesel powered car winning the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race consecutively thanks to not having to pop in the pit stop to refuel as frequently as other competitors. Considering the smelly diesel puffs from buses ages ago, it might not be a good choice as an environmentally friendly car.
When we look at hybrid vehicle, we can only look at vehicles with two power sources being slapped together as one. Usually a combination of gasoline engine with an electric motor's assistance. The green part of a hybrid vehicle is that the car is smart enough to switch off the gasoline engine and make use of the electric motor at certain time, reducing the petrol used. Although the theory sounds flawless, actual efficient driving on a hybrid requires a unique driving style in order to get more miles out of the engine. The promising hybrid vehicles are the topic of discussion these days. Already out there some of the hybrid vehicles such as popular Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, and numerous other common production cars with a 'Hybrid' or 'H' emblem stuck to the boot. The wonder of a hybrid is the energy balancing capability of both motors present in the car itself. Say for instance the car will use the petrol engine to propel the car from standstill and to a stage where the car is cruising, the electric motor will be driving the car, putting the pistons to rest. This intelligent concept also includes the regenerative braking capability that charges up the car's battery so that the electric motor can use it for cruising.
On the other hand, diesel powered vehicles still works the same as a combustion engine. The only difference is newer diesel engines delivers higher power and torque rating thanks to technologies such as common rail diesel engines. With torque being the strong point of diesel cars, it needs a low rev to get to the highest torque compared to petrol engines. Take the Mercedes models for an example, with a CDI engine, some with smaller capacity diesel engine outperforms higher capacity petrol cars. The longer cruise range and low emission green engine makes it a selling point too.
Speaking of which, since hybrid vehicles are powered by a combination of electric motor and gasoline engine, why not a turbocharged common rail diesel engine slapped with an electric motor side by side? Diesel hybrids might be on the way soon once car manufacturers figure out how to balance the heavy gadget filled common rail diesel engine together with heavy battery packs to create a better hybrid. As the hybrid makers say, all they need is torque to move the vehicle from standstill - so why not use a diesel engine?
Car Shipping Company
Auto Shipping Company
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brenda_Williams
Monday, April 27, 2009
Hybrid Cars For Rent - Ten Rental Car Companies Offering Hybrid Rentals
With the threat of global warming and other environmental concerns in the forefront of the American mindset, many travelers have begun to turn to hybrid vehicles as their choice for rented transportation during business and personal trips. And airport hybrid rental companies are happy to fill the needs. While the fuel-efficient hybrid cars are popular, they are also still expensive to own. On the other hand, hybrid car rentals have been growing in popularity over the last few years, causing many rental companies to constantly try to add more hybrid cars to their fleets to fill demand, especially at airport locations.
For those interested in renting a hybrid car air airport destinations during a business trip or trying one out before spending thousands to buy one, here is a list of the ten hybrid car rental companies, in no particular order.
1. Enterprise - One of the foremost leaders in the green movement, Enterprise has outfitted their nationwide locations with over seven thousand hybrid cars. Their new hybrid cars are priced only slightly above their other vehicles, and they have a large selection. Enterprise's website makes it easy for travelers to find hybrid cars for rent at airports.
2. Hertz - One of the most recognizable car rental companies in the nation, Hertz joined the hybrid movement late but has quickly grown to own over four-thousand of the vehicles. Conveniently located at most large airports, Hertz is an excellent option for travelers.
3. Toyota Rent A Car - It's not general knowledge that Toyota dealers are making their cars available for rent, including many of the well-known Toyota hybrid models. Go to their website toyota.com/rental/ , then enter your zip code to search for the nearest participating Toyota dealers.
4. Midway Car Rental - Established in the early 1970's, Midway is the largest privately owned vehicle rental company in Los Angeles. With over 1,500 vehicles in its fleet and offices in areas around Los Angeles and Hollywood, Midway has hybrid cars and other fuel efficient vehicles for rent.
5. Alamo - Owned by the same company that also owns National Car Rental, Alamo Rent-a-Car offers several different hybrid car rental models throughout the United States. Their offerings may be low, for now, but as the popularity of hybrids continues to grow, so will their offerings.
6. Avis - Much like Hertz, Avis is a large organization that often operates near airports. Unlike their competitor, however, Avis still only offers hybrid car rentals in select cities around the United States. Still, for those flying to a large city, it is a good bet that Avis will have a hybrid Prius or Escape available.
7. Fox Rent-a-Car - Located primarily in California, Fox Rent-a-Car offers both free mileage and low rates to entice customers away from the bigger companies. They have also recently embraced the hybrid car rental market with Toyota Priuses offered at several of their locations.
8. National - National Car Rental offers midsize hybrids in most regions of the country at a reasonable price. And where they are unable to offer environmentally beneficial cars, they instead offer charitable contributions to help the cause.
9. Thrifty - Another less-known rental agency, Thrifty is a company whose marketing strategy is to offer lower prices to the consumers. As such, when San Francisco's airport offered a fifteen-dollar discount to all who rent hybrids, Thrifty was quick to join many other companies in offering those vehicles. Outside of the Bay Area, however, offerings remain slim.
10. FindExotic.com - While FindExotic.com is not a rental company itself, FindExotic.com is great for finding hybrid rentals in a number of areas and is such a good resource, it deserves a spot on the list.
These are just ten of the many rental agencies that are quickly becoming providers of hybrid rental cars. And while the total amount of these vehicles remains at around ten to fifteen percent of all cars offered, there is no doubt that they will continue to grow in popularity.
Cuong Huynh, Publisher, http://www.cleancartalk.com/ and http://www.airporthybridrentals.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cuong_Huynh
For those interested in renting a hybrid car air airport destinations during a business trip or trying one out before spending thousands to buy one, here is a list of the ten hybrid car rental companies, in no particular order.
1. Enterprise - One of the foremost leaders in the green movement, Enterprise has outfitted their nationwide locations with over seven thousand hybrid cars. Their new hybrid cars are priced only slightly above their other vehicles, and they have a large selection. Enterprise's website makes it easy for travelers to find hybrid cars for rent at airports.
2. Hertz - One of the most recognizable car rental companies in the nation, Hertz joined the hybrid movement late but has quickly grown to own over four-thousand of the vehicles. Conveniently located at most large airports, Hertz is an excellent option for travelers.
3. Toyota Rent A Car - It's not general knowledge that Toyota dealers are making their cars available for rent, including many of the well-known Toyota hybrid models. Go to their website toyota.com/rental/ , then enter your zip code to search for the nearest participating Toyota dealers.
4. Midway Car Rental - Established in the early 1970's, Midway is the largest privately owned vehicle rental company in Los Angeles. With over 1,500 vehicles in its fleet and offices in areas around Los Angeles and Hollywood, Midway has hybrid cars and other fuel efficient vehicles for rent.
5. Alamo - Owned by the same company that also owns National Car Rental, Alamo Rent-a-Car offers several different hybrid car rental models throughout the United States. Their offerings may be low, for now, but as the popularity of hybrids continues to grow, so will their offerings.
6. Avis - Much like Hertz, Avis is a large organization that often operates near airports. Unlike their competitor, however, Avis still only offers hybrid car rentals in select cities around the United States. Still, for those flying to a large city, it is a good bet that Avis will have a hybrid Prius or Escape available.
7. Fox Rent-a-Car - Located primarily in California, Fox Rent-a-Car offers both free mileage and low rates to entice customers away from the bigger companies. They have also recently embraced the hybrid car rental market with Toyota Priuses offered at several of their locations.
8. National - National Car Rental offers midsize hybrids in most regions of the country at a reasonable price. And where they are unable to offer environmentally beneficial cars, they instead offer charitable contributions to help the cause.
9. Thrifty - Another less-known rental agency, Thrifty is a company whose marketing strategy is to offer lower prices to the consumers. As such, when San Francisco's airport offered a fifteen-dollar discount to all who rent hybrids, Thrifty was quick to join many other companies in offering those vehicles. Outside of the Bay Area, however, offerings remain slim.
10. FindExotic.com - While FindExotic.com is not a rental company itself, FindExotic.com is great for finding hybrid rentals in a number of areas and is such a good resource, it deserves a spot on the list.
These are just ten of the many rental agencies that are quickly becoming providers of hybrid rental cars. And while the total amount of these vehicles remains at around ten to fifteen percent of all cars offered, there is no doubt that they will continue to grow in popularity.
Cuong Huynh, Publisher, http://www.cleancartalk.com/ and http://www.airporthybridrentals.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cuong_Huynh
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Hybrid Car Rental from DriveAway Holidays
Hybrid Car Rental from DriveAway Holidays
Author: Car GuruAs people become more aware of environmental issues and conscious of their actions, demand for hybrid cars, to buy and rent, has risen.
A hybrid car is a car which can run on two or more fuel sources - most commonly an engine and an electric motor powered by batteries. The motor and batteries help the engine work more efficiently which means you spend less on fuel and emit fewer emissions.
The Toyota Prius is probably the most well known hybrid car. It first went on sale in 1997 and since then, more than 10,000 Prius' have been sold in Australia. The Australian Government's Green Vehicle Guide website rates all new vehicles based on greenhouse and air pollution emissions and fuel consumption. The Prius is currently the top performer in all 3 with a fuel consumption of 4.4L per 100kms.
To give you an idea of what this means - a Hummer H3 Adventure has a fuel consumption level of 13.2L/100km, Toyota Rav 4's fuel consumption is 9.6L, a Mercedes Benz C Class C180K is 7.6L and a Honda Civic 1.8L sedan has a fuel consumption of 7.2L. According to Toyota, a Prius has up to 50% less consumption than a comparably-sized family car and that one tank of fuel could theoretically get you over a whopping 1000km!
While hybrid cars are still quite expensive to buy - a Toyota Prius 1.5L petrol/Electric combination CVT will set you back $37,400 (from www.toyota.com.au), renting one may be within your budget.
DriveAway currently have Hybrids available to rent in France and the USA, but with car rental suppliers adding more ‘green' cars to their fleets, this is sure to grow over the next few years.
Renting a hybrid does cost more than renting a similar sized non-hybrid car (due to supply and demand and the fact that hybrids are more expensive for the rental company to buy), but you will save money on fuel and of course, it's better for the environment. Click here for more details.
Car Guru writes for DriveAway Holidays, DriveAway Holidays New Zealand and DriveAway Holidays Blog
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Hybrid Car Rental from DriveAway Holidays
Thursday, March 19, 2009
American hybrid carmakers: racing against time
In the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Energy collaborated with GM, Ford, Chrysler, to challenge the dominance of their Japanese and European counterparts in the development of hybrid cars. Millions of dollars were put into the huge project of developing American hybrid cars.
Ten years after, Ford came up with one model entry into the market, competing against six Japanese hybrid cars. Ford started selling the Escape SUV Hybrid in September of 2004. The other two American hybrid cars manufacturers are having a hard time in delivering their hybrids to the consumer public.
Whatever happened to the big American hybrid dream cars can be anybody’s guess.
Below is a short update on the status of American hybrid car manufacturers.
Ford
The public release of the Ford Escape Hybrid was finally materialized in September 2004. The original schedule however, was in 2003. The Ford’s answer to the call for American hybrid cars is a fully hybrid electric vehicle, able to run on its gasoline or its electric motor, or both. This is to meet the requirements set by driver demand to optimize performance and limit fuel consumption.
The Ford Escape was first ever among American hybrid cars. It produces less than one pound of smog-forming pollutants for every 15,000 miles. This is more significant when compared with all light trucks average of 105 pounds of smog-forming pollutants for every 15,000 miles. The average for passenger cars, with the same number of miles, is 67 pounds.
At present, hybrids, particularly, American hybrid cars are the hottest topic in the U.S. The populace is interested in finding out how hybrid will benefit the environment. , including their small as well as their own budget for fuel. And perhaps, the consumers are interested if the hybrids would really consume small amount of fuel.
And Ford is clever enough to make the first American hybrid car as SUV. For obvious reason, SUV is considered as very American, which help the Ford hybrid to sell.
The Ford Hybrid has the looks and performance capabilities of a normal car. This allows the American hybrid car to evade the “image-look” problem of Honda’s earlier version of hybrid cars. The improved fuel economy usage of the Ford Escape has also impressed American buyers.
To show its commitment to environment issue, has installed 10.4 acres-wide purifying plants in its factory in Dearborn. The plants server as insulators to the building, and is improving the water runoff. Ford is also on its for producing Mercury Mariner Hybrid next year. A hybrid smaller-sized sedan will follow, and a hydrogen-powered Ford Focus is being developed.
Daimler-Chrysler
When Evan Boberg, an automotive engineer for Chrysler’s hybrid program resigned over the presumed incompetence oof program officers in the early 1990s, many believed that the hybrid program of Chrysler is good as dead. Last year however, Daimler-Chrysler has announced the release of its first hybrid offering in the market, named as the Dodge Ram Contractor Special. As modeled after other hybrid pickups, Dodge Ram will emphasize utility, instead of fuel saving system. The hybrid however, failed to meet the promised mass production, and available only to fleet owners.
In a separate interview by a German auto industry paper in 2004, Thomas Weber, DaimlerChrysler board member, said that it will take five years to come up with a Mercedes hybrid. So before the present decade ends, a new Mercedes will take the road of major cities in the world.
General Motors
GM began offering American hybrid cars with Sierra and Silverado, for fleet and commercial customers in May 2004. In October of the same year, GM started offering the hybrid pickups to six states: Washington, California, Nevada, Alaska, Florid, and Oregon. The limited offering was based consumer demand for American hybrid cars in those States.
GM also produced 2,000 of their Silverado and Sierra hybrid trucks for 2005. For the year 2006, the availability of the hybrid pickup trucks has been expanded to include the entire nationwide demand. Before the present year ends, GM is contemplating a volume of 3,000 units.
Aside from a new hybrid vehicle Saturn VUE this year, GM is also offering Chevrolet Malibu for next year, 2007. Next year, GM is also set to come up with two-mode full hybrid. This project is being developed with Daimler Chrysler and BMW. The resulting America hybrid car is expected to have 25 percent more fuel economy than the popular SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe, and the GMC Yukon.
Ten years after, Ford came up with one model entry into the market, competing against six Japanese hybrid cars. Ford started selling the Escape SUV Hybrid in September of 2004. The other two American hybrid cars manufacturers are having a hard time in delivering their hybrids to the consumer public.
Whatever happened to the big American hybrid dream cars can be anybody’s guess.
Below is a short update on the status of American hybrid car manufacturers.
Ford
The public release of the Ford Escape Hybrid was finally materialized in September 2004. The original schedule however, was in 2003. The Ford’s answer to the call for American hybrid cars is a fully hybrid electric vehicle, able to run on its gasoline or its electric motor, or both. This is to meet the requirements set by driver demand to optimize performance and limit fuel consumption.
The Ford Escape was first ever among American hybrid cars. It produces less than one pound of smog-forming pollutants for every 15,000 miles. This is more significant when compared with all light trucks average of 105 pounds of smog-forming pollutants for every 15,000 miles. The average for passenger cars, with the same number of miles, is 67 pounds.
At present, hybrids, particularly, American hybrid cars are the hottest topic in the U.S. The populace is interested in finding out how hybrid will benefit the environment. , including their small as well as their own budget for fuel. And perhaps, the consumers are interested if the hybrids would really consume small amount of fuel.
And Ford is clever enough to make the first American hybrid car as SUV. For obvious reason, SUV is considered as very American, which help the Ford hybrid to sell.
The Ford Hybrid has the looks and performance capabilities of a normal car. This allows the American hybrid car to evade the “image-look” problem of Honda’s earlier version of hybrid cars. The improved fuel economy usage of the Ford Escape has also impressed American buyers.
To show its commitment to environment issue, has installed 10.4 acres-wide purifying plants in its factory in Dearborn. The plants server as insulators to the building, and is improving the water runoff. Ford is also on its for producing Mercury Mariner Hybrid next year. A hybrid smaller-sized sedan will follow, and a hydrogen-powered Ford Focus is being developed.
Daimler-Chrysler
When Evan Boberg, an automotive engineer for Chrysler’s hybrid program resigned over the presumed incompetence oof program officers in the early 1990s, many believed that the hybrid program of Chrysler is good as dead. Last year however, Daimler-Chrysler has announced the release of its first hybrid offering in the market, named as the Dodge Ram Contractor Special. As modeled after other hybrid pickups, Dodge Ram will emphasize utility, instead of fuel saving system. The hybrid however, failed to meet the promised mass production, and available only to fleet owners.
In a separate interview by a German auto industry paper in 2004, Thomas Weber, DaimlerChrysler board member, said that it will take five years to come up with a Mercedes hybrid. So before the present decade ends, a new Mercedes will take the road of major cities in the world.
General Motors
GM began offering American hybrid cars with Sierra and Silverado, for fleet and commercial customers in May 2004. In October of the same year, GM started offering the hybrid pickups to six states: Washington, California, Nevada, Alaska, Florid, and Oregon. The limited offering was based consumer demand for American hybrid cars in those States.
GM also produced 2,000 of their Silverado and Sierra hybrid trucks for 2005. For the year 2006, the availability of the hybrid pickup trucks has been expanded to include the entire nationwide demand. Before the present year ends, GM is contemplating a volume of 3,000 units.
Aside from a new hybrid vehicle Saturn VUE this year, GM is also offering Chevrolet Malibu for next year, 2007. Next year, GM is also set to come up with two-mode full hybrid. This project is being developed with Daimler Chrysler and BMW. The resulting America hybrid car is expected to have 25 percent more fuel economy than the popular SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe, and the GMC Yukon.
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