Hybrid Guide
Articles courtesy of
The Electric Car Gold Rush of 2010
The buzz around electric sports car maker Tesla Motors is sparking something akin to what happened in California 150 years ago—this time the rush is toward plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles.read more - 2008-05-09 14:34:20
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Oil Use Down in US, Way Up Globally
Oil prices continue to surge to new records. A barrel of light sweet crude peaked above $123 on Wednesday. Gasoline is selling at a national average of about $3.60 a gallon, according to AAA. And according to the Energy Department, prices at the pump will surpass $4 a gallon this summer.
read more - 2008-05-07 23:42:34
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Hybrid 5-0h! Police Cruisers Go Green
As fuel prices continue to rise, police departments across the country are considering the use of hybrid vehicles within their fleets. It’s a logical move that seems to be following the same path as many mass transit agencies that have switched over to utilizing hybrid buses to save on fuel costs. Since police cruisers are in patrol for most of their active shifts, the fuel savings from hybrids are potentially significant.read more - 2008-05-07 15:23:18
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Getting Small, But Avoiding Econoboxes
Conventional wisdom for American automobiles is being turned on its head by the combination of high fuel prices, concern about greenhouse gas emissions, and a looming recession. The auto industry is responding by taking a page out of Europe’s playbook—where smaller cars and smaller engines rule, but driving fun has not been banished from the equation. Smaller yet powerful engines are possible due to advances in supercharging, turbocharging, and direct injection.read more - 2008-05-06 17:29:11
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Energy Independence Is a Charade
It’s not hard to get behind the idea of energy independence. Most of us know that we are in a terrible fix—with oil consumption increasing every year, with more and more of that oil coming from foreign countries. Nine in ten voters say the United States is too dependent on foreign crude.
read more - 2008-05-06 06:00:30
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CAFE Footprint Formula Explained
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced its new formula to calculate fuel efficiency standards based on the footprint of vehicle lines—rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. The proposed rules mean that Porsche vehicles will have to reach 41.3 mpg by 2015, while Chrysler’s target is 33.6 mpg. HybridCars.com interviewed John DeCicco, senior fellow for automotive issues at Environmental Defense, to get a better understanding of the logic of the new rules.read more - 2008-05-05 17:57:34
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Auto Industry Lobbying Topped $70 Million Last Year
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the automobile industry spent a record $70.3 million lobbying Washington in 2007. The $70.3 million figure represents nearly a 20 percent increase over 2006 numbers, and comes in a year when the industry faced the most dramatic increase in fuel efficiency standards in years.
read more - 2008-05-02 22:24:59
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Small Cars Hit the Big Time
April sales figures for cars and trucks sent a clear and resounding message to the auto industry: Make smaller more fuel-efficient cars or die. Here are the facts:
- About one in five vehicles sold in the United States was a compact or subcompact car.
- Sales of traditional Sport Utility Vehicles are down more than 25 percent this year—and full-size pickup sales have fallen more than 15 percent.
- For the first time, fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines surpassed six-cylinder models in popularity.
read more - 2008-05-02 17:07:49
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Ford Diesels To Counter Rivals’ Big Hybrids
Ford may have off-loaded its Land Rover and Jaguar divisions, but it plans to use some of those former divisions’ diesel engine technology to keep its big trucks competitive with rivals using a mix of hybrids and diesels. The auto industry’s shift to greater efficiency is occurring throughout entire product lines—including the largest vehicles on the market.read more - 2008-05-01 17:37:47
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Pickup Trucks Evolve into Hybrids
For many hybrid owners, the full-sized pickup truck represents all that is wrong with the American vehicle: big, overpowered, and thirsty for fuel. But the reality is that pickups are immensely popular. Even in the face of $3.50 gasoline, three of the top five bestselling vehicles in the U.S. are still full-sized pickups. And the auto companies are betting that pickups’ popularity will continue, particularly if their fuel economy can be boosted with hybrid powertrains.read more - 2008-04-30 16:54:14
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Hints of the Third-Generation Prius
The second-generation Toyota Prius became an instant hit when it was introduced to the U.S. market in 2003. The vehicle continues to dominate the hybrid market, making up more than half of all hybrid sales. The quintessential hybrid is past due for a redesign and technology upgrade. The first hints about the third-generation Prius are starting to emerge. After speaking with a “well-placed Toyota source,” Edmunds’s Auto Observer is reporting the following details about the next Prius:
- The next Toyota Prius will be unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January 2009.
read more - 2008-04-29 23:54:41
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Candidates Bicker on Suspending Gas Tax
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed a plan yesterday to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for the summer travel season. Clinton’s proposal was made on Monday as the price of gasoline hit a new record of $3.60 a gallon nationwide, and oil prices flirted with $120 a barrel.
read more - 2008-04-29 19:06:28
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Hybrid EMF Risk Still Uncertain
Soon after the introduction of gas-electric vehicles in 2000, hybrid shoppers and drivers started worrying about the potential negative health impacts from electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The flow of electrical current in a hybrid produces magnetic fields. EMFs have been associated with serious health matters, especially when coming from high-power lines.
For more than two years, HybridCars.com editors and site visitors have tried to pin down some definitive answers—without success.
read more - 2008-04-27 23:45:48
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The Sad Ballad of BioWillie Biodiesel
BioWillie, the biodiesel fuel branded with country singer Willie Nelson’s name and face, is back in the news again. The company that owns the BioWillie brand, Earth Biofuels, recently announced it secured funding and is planning to open Willie’s Place, a Texas-size mega-truckstop that will feature the farmer-friendly fuel.read more - 2008-04-25 14:38:43
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Sharing Wheels Growing in Popularity
All major American cities offer some form of public transportation, but for many urban dwellers, the limited infrastructure comes up short. Ten block walks to the bus stop in bad weather is not fun. And transporting furniture or groceries home from the store is not possible. There are very few cities where there is no practical advantage to having a car. But a new trend in transportation has many citizens rejecting personal automobile ownership in favor of car sharing services like Zipcar.
read more - 2008-04-25 06:29:08
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Does Small Mean Unsafe?
As gas prices continue to rise, the size of American vehicles is starting to shrink. But does a shift to smaller cars require a compromise on safety?
According to data published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), drivers of subcompact and compact cars are more likely to be killed in a multiple-vehicle accident, than those driving large cars, pickup trucks or SUVs. In this case, size does matter. Larger vehicles are able to absorb more crash energy than smaller ones.
read more - 2008-04-23 16:09:44
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Feebates, Unlikely Solution for Reducing Car Emissions
Experts on fuel efficiency and vehicle markets gathered on Monday, April 21, in Sacramento, Calif., to explore the idea of feebates as a strategy for reducing carbon emissions from cars and trucks.
California is trying to bridge the gap current greenhouse gas laws—and the level of emissions the state has pledged to reach under AB32, the far-reaching Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The state is targeting the transportation sector because the 25 million cars and trucks in California produce almost 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
read more - 2008-04-22 18:45:33
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CAFE Increases Coming Sooner Than Expected
One day after AAA announced that for the first time, Americans are paying an average of more than $3.50 per gallon for gasoline, The New York Times is reporting that a recent 40 percent increase in CAFE standards is about to get even more dramatic. In December, Congress approved an increase of the minimum fuel efficiency average to 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020, leaving it to the Bush administration to decide how fast to implement the increases.
read more - 2008-04-22 05:27:58
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Has the Oil Crisis Begun?
Oil futures closed at $117.48 a barrel on Monday—a new record on the New York Mercantile Exchange. And the price of a gallon of gasoline moved above $3.50 a gallon for the first time, according to AAA.
The spike on Monday was caused by minor disruptions in oil production. There were reports that a Nigerian rebel group blew up pipelines in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. An attack on a pipeline last week forced Royal Dutch Shell to reduce exports. And a Japanese oil tanker was damaged Monday when it was attacked by a small boat off the coast of Yemen.
read more - 2008-04-22 02:07:22
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Pay-As-You-Drive Car Insurance
Thanks to Progressive Auto Insurance's MyRate program and a small wireless device, drivers will be able to pay only for the accident risk they incur in each mile they drive. According to the Brooking Institution, a widespread pay-as-you-drive approach to calculating car insurance rates could save Americans around $52 billion dollars a year.
read more - 2008-04-22 01:09:16
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Th!nk Electric Carmaker Coming to U.S.
Electric carmaker, Think, has secured funding from two U.S. venture capital firms to help bring its business into North American markets. Financial backing came from Silicon Valley-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Boston-based Rockport Capital Partners. Both firms have invested in the clean-tech sector prior to this partnership. The joint venture has allowed Think to set up shop in Menlo Park, California under the banner Think North America. “Think has established this joint venture in the US for the assembly, distribution, retailing, and service of Think EVs.
read more - 2008-04-21 18:46:45
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President Bush Offers New Carbon Emissions Target
In a much talked about speech from the White House Rose Garden, George W. Bush set out to weigh-in early on his administration's environmental legacy. The president outlined his philosophies, accomplishments and hopes for the future on the issue of climate change. The highlight of the speech was the announcement of a "new national goal," to stop the increase of America's carbon emissions by 2025.read more - 2008-04-19 04:57:07
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Can GM Ramp Up Hybrid Sales?
Despite an enormous marketing and technology push, hybrid sales for General Motors were abysmal for the first quarter of 2008. Even with the introduction of the highly touted Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size two-mode hybrids, the figures are so low, they almost don’t sound realistic, especially for a carmaker of this size. The total hybrid sales for GM from January to March was an astonishing 843. That number breaks down to 655 Tahoe and Yukon models, 158 Saturn Vues, 20 Saturn Auras, and 10 Chevy Malibus.
read more - 2008-04-18 15:14:46
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Frayed Cords in Electric Car World
The process of building an electric car is—as one Silicon Valley venture capitalist put it—not a matter of “bolting an electric motor to a chassis.” That’s even truer for a hybrid that plugs in for a jolt of extra power. It takes lots of money, talented people and the right materials. Even with all the ingredients, it is not always a smooth road. Take the latest news rocking the relatively small world of electric vehicles.
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Do Hybrid Owners Prefer Obama?
After a Hillary Clinton supporter referred to Barack Obama supporters as "latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust fund babies," Ethan, from Urbanspoon.com, wondered whether there was actually a statistical correlation between a voter's tastes in cars, footwear and caffeinated beverages, and their taste in Democratic Presidential candidates.
read more - 2008-04-16 22:18:27
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McCain Proposes a Summer Holiday for Gas Taxes
On a day when oil prices hit yet another record high, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain proposed suspending federal gas taxes this summer. Summer is typically when the cost of gas hits its peak for the year, and this year, many analysts expect the average price at the pump to exceed $4.50 cents a gallon.
read more - 2008-04-16 02:28:54
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High Gas Prices and High Hopes
Oil surged to new height today, almost reaching $114 a barrel. Retail gas prices rose to a new record of $3.38 per gallon. Diesel jumped to $4.19. And AAA is warning that these prices will continue to rise. The first reaction might be to panic, or make a mad dash toward a single technology solution. But a recent talk by John German, manager of environmental and energy analyses at American Honda Motor Company, suggested that we remain calm.
read more - 2008-04-16 00:39:08
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Jimmy Carter on the Autobahn
A decision by the German state of Bremen to install a speed limit on a portion of the famed Autobahn, has turned the spotlight on an international carbon emissions debate. It's always been known that driving above the speed limit can decrease fuel efficiency --- going 75 mph in a 60 mph zone can increase your fuel use by as much as 20 percent ---, but only now are we beginning to see a push in some areas to use lower speed limits to curb carbon emissions.
read more - 2008-04-15 00:59:52
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