The next hybrid vehicle introduced to the Japanese market place (after the Prius) was the Toyota Estima hybrid minivan. This minivan was introduced in Japan in 2001, as being the initial mass-made four-wheel drive hybrid.

Toyota hybrid cars stand out from among the other models on the market by their multi-leveled superiority: the engine, the mph rate it gets within a few seconds and all the road conditions it provides are some of the best, not to mention that the reliability of the concept and the price are equally profitable for car owners.

The cylinders were also improved with the Toyota hybrid cars but the upgrades have not reached the maximum development point. Not everybody is ready to embrace vehicles in the green line, and this is the reason why the production as such remains pretty limited. People interested in Toyota hybrid cars find info and assistance with local dealers, and they are the ones to intermediate the purchase. Before going for the purchase, check the technical data and even compare them together with a pro in the field .

The bad part is that more advanced Toyota hybrid cars are worth a fortune, and they are far from the reach of the average user who cannot afford to buy up to $165,000 for a car even if it has a much lower fuel consume. The future model expected to be unveiled in January 2010 is the one to keep the consumers hopes up. New Toyota hybrid cars will be designed as a more powerful and larger vehicle with an engine growth to 1.8 liters. The range of all-electric fuel-free driving option will be created without making Toyota models bulkier.

Even if the future Toyota hybrid cars will undergo some upgrading, they will still operate on the nickel metal hydride batteries without offering any plug-in choice. The Prius design to be launched will be available in several models from the wagon and the pickup to the compact and mid-sized SUV. The new Toyota hybrid cars owe a great deal to the first Prius models with the all-electric mode available for anything below high speeds. Then, the joint power engine of the gas and hybrid engine devices will allow you to enjoy the speed of a comfortable ride while saving on fuel.

These were the premises for the transformation of the power SUV vehicles in to hybrid SUVs. When you decide to buy hybrid SUVs, keep in mind the fact that not all of them are advantageous when it comes to the costs, which means that you have to do some research before picking up among the diverse hybrid SUVs. To be of help in this matter, analysts at automotive-cost tracking Web site IntelliChoice.com ran a study for CNNMoney.com, in which they investigated and put side by side projected 5-year ownership costs for hybrid vehicles the average expected costs of which were similar to SUVs. The elements followed in this study were fuel, maintenance, finance costs and depreciation. Analysts wanted to learn whether specific costs measured up to their expectations. They also compared the difference amounts between non hybrid and hybrid SUVs. The research revealed that hybrids beat expectations with approximately $4,000.

Among the hybrid SUVs advertised on the market at present, we could count a number of vehicles like Lexus hybrid, Acura RD-X, BMW X5 Hybrid, Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Equinox, Dodge Durango, Ford Escape, Lexus RZ 400h, Saturn VUE, to name just a few of them. So, as you can see almost all the big automobile companies have become interested in doing something about the environment and finance and have already come up with a number of hybrid SUVs on the market.

How much can a hybrid engine save in terms of fuel? All the data available are statistical as the calculations are approximated and influenced not only by the initial price but also by the driving specificity of every owner. All in all hybrid SUVs, and hybrid vehicles in general, though bulkier, seem to bear their bigger weight better than conventional vehicles, and this is apparent if we consider the problem of fuel efficiency and costs. Consequently, choosing from hybrid SUVs types is a true pleasure; take a driving test and see for yourself. Hybrid SUVs are definitely worth paying for.

When hybrid vehicles first came out, they made a statement about the owner. They said “I am ecologically aware”. They said “I am an environmentally superior because I have invested in a new technology, and I am single handedly changing the pollution problem”. They screamed that they would all run off and join ‘Greenpeace’, if only the Prius could float. I wanted one in the worst way. I was in the market for my current car, and I really, REALLY wanted a Prius. I did my homework, as much as could be done because the test drive portion of the car shopping experience was unavailable due to a lack of inventory at all the dealerships in my area. All I could do was read about how awesome they were, and how great it was to be driving a car leaving a lesser carbon footprint. I suppose this is where I should say that I was, in fact, raised by environmentalist parents.

There was one economist out of the billions who were weighing in on this topic. Should consumers buy hybrids? Should they not? Only one that I heard rationalize it the best. If you want one, NOT because they will be superior cars, or because they get great gas mileage. Of course these are benefits, but if you want those, cars with proven track records are readily available. However, if you want one for the pleasure of driving an environmentally friendly car, that would be the right reason. If you wanted to be on the cutting edge of vehicular history, that was a reason to buy one. That made me want one even MORE!!

Of course, most of the time, you don’t want to be the consumer guinea pig. You don’t want to buy the model where someone says ‘Ooopsi Daisies’ when your car spontaneously combusts, due to a faulty design of some sort-that they now know needs a design fix for the next model year. Then again, the early model Prius cars didn’t have ’sticky floor-mats’, (referring to the current Toyota recall that any day now, will include the Prius) so that proves that the ‘Oopsi Dasies’ moment can come at any time.

The pros and cons became even more defined when, a few years ago, the price of oil spiked, and gas shot up to 5 dollars a gallon. THEN the Prius owners had to try really hard not to smirk all the time. I really wished I could have been smirking with them.

The pros and cons are pretty well documented, but the pros and cons list that makes the biggest difference, is if you are a smirker- or a non smirker. If you have no interest in smirking, then a high efficiency car would probably suit you just fine.

the top design from the Lexus hybrid models is the 1st type of car within its category not to mention that it also scores the record as the very 1st back wheel drive hybrid auto. This kind of car translates as little stress in the natural environment, yet also more rewards for person who rides it.

The fuel-powered engine works in combination with a quite sophisticated electrical engine that takes care of the operation of the auto from standstill to instant motion. Even if the engine is the 6.-liter model,

The Lexus hybrid engine proves outstanding by means of the quite low emission range. Apart from the environmental advantages that electrical vehicles stand for there are the major results and goal achievements of hybrid and electrical vehicles in general, and Lexus hybrid models also bring an large degree of enjoyment that is just specific to luxury vehicles such as the reclining ottoman or the Shiatsu massage system.

The power button in a Lexus hybrid will only activate the electric power system, and although you’ll be pressing the acceleration, there are no gas emissions whatsoever

the most important accomplishment in the creation of the Lexus hybrid vehicles is that the 2 power sources, electrical and fuel-based can be capable to work as one single system. This is reflected in the way the electronically controlled continuously variable transmission works allowing smooth acceleration possible without the inconvenience of changing gears several times. This kind of transmission equipment has a crucial impact in the saving energy properties specific to Lexus hybrid vehicles.

Furthermore, the noise level changes to very low levels, you’ll be operating a quiet vehicle that will not bother either the occupants or the neighbors.

How long can an electrical battery work properly? That is the main problem for anyone purchasing a Lexus hybrid. The manufacturer states that the battery power is designed for extended life usage: it is a 288V Nickel Metal-Hydride device that is located in the back part of the car so as to ensure a good weight distribution in the economy of the vehicle. eventually, a Lexus hybrid car are more silent and energy saving from acceleration to slowing down. When slowing down and you press the break pedal, the engine becomes a generator. motion power that is reduced and lost is captured and transformed into electrical energy that is sent back to the battery recharging

The third generation of Toyota Prius, the 2010 model, has EPA ratings of 51 miles per gallon in the city, and 49 miles per gallon on the highway. Even for a hybrid, that’s not bad, and it’s a step up from earlier years’ Toyota Prius models.

But a new pricing structure is lined up for this hybrid. The Toyota Prius I, II, III, IV, and V are reportedly already available.

The most economical model is the Toyota Prius I, which should run for around $21,000, while the Prius V starts at $27,670.

The new line of Priuses will include a range of features, but it gets better.. A solar-powered roof package is available for the Toyota Prius II, III, and IV Models – but not for the V.

The solar roof system costs between $3,600 and $4,500. It uses solar panels to supplement the vehicle’s power and to get even better mileage. This package also includes a solar-powered ventilation system, a navigation system, a power tilt/slide moon roof, and remote-control air conditioning (for those of us who just can’t be bothered to lean forward and turn the knob?)

With the combination of hybrid technology and solar power, a whole new range of fuel efficiency may be well within our grasp. The solar powered version is said to make mileages of up to 70 mpg possible, under ideal circumstances.

If you live in or often visit a sunny climate, the solar roof might go a long ways in reducing your gas bill and pollution emissions.

Under some (although somewhat theoretical) circumstances, the driver of a solar-powered Toyota Prius might never need to buy gas at all.

But at the very least, a driver of a solar powered Prius who uses the vehicle’s “eco” settings and follows basic guidelines can expect to stop for gasoline far less often – so infrequently, in fact, that he should probably take care not to forget to stop for gas at all.

About the author: Megan Barlow helps others learn how they can live greener and more environmentally friendly lives.

To learn more, visit her blog, Green Gadget.

Source Article: Solar Powered Toyota Prius

A little black box the size of a Zippo cigarette lighter is plugged into a port below Chris Williams’ steering column. It lets him know how he’s doing behind the wheel and lets his employer make the company’s drivers safer and more fuel-efficient.

Williams, group leader of special projects for EnCana Corp.’s U.S. division, was surprised by his first driving report, delivered to his e-mail from the wireless device.

“I always said I thought I was a really good driver until I started receiving my scorecard,” said Williams, who works in the energy company’s Dallas office.

Williams, determined to improve his score, quit hitting the brakes so hard. He went from eight incidents of hard braking per hour in July to 3.3 in September. His overall score rose from 80 to 96 on a 100-point scale.

That’s the kind of improvement EnCana hopes to see as it rolls out use of the device that began as an experiment in Dallas and Denver, where the company financed a driving pilot project for the city.

“We saw some very positive results and felt like this was something we wanted to do divisionwide,” EnCana spokesman Doug Hock said.

The Canadian-based oil and gas producer is interested in saving gas, cutting pollution and, most importantly, keeping drivers safe, Hock said. “We had a vehicle fatality in Texas early this year,” he said.

EnCana teamed up with Denver last year in what was believed to be the first-of-its-kind experiment to test whether drivers could reduce emissions by adjusting their driving styles. The company gave the city a $400,000 grant for the project, which included 160 city vehicles, 240 private vehicles and 30 EnCana employees.

City officials said the results showed a 10 percent drop in vehicle emissions and overall better driving, including a 35 percent decrease in idling.

Denver-based Cartasite Inc. provided the telemetry technology to transmit data from the vehicles over the Internet. The company provides real-time tracking of vehicles and remote equipment, including offshore drilling rigs, for corporations.

The equipment Cartasite used for the pilot project included three brick-sized boxes and antennas in the car.

“We knew we wouldn’t be commercially viable unless we could reduce the technology,” said Cartasite CEO David Armitage.

A Chinese company repackaged the technology into a little black box named Rover — Realtime Onboard Vehicle Evaluation Reporting. The device tracks hard braking, rapid acceleration, speeding, idling, fuel efficiency and the amount of nighttime driving.

The company provides the service, including the device and drivers’ weekly scorecards, for $1.50 a day.

EnCana is expanding the service to all its U.S. vehicles — 575 total in Colorado, Louisiana, Texas and Wyoming.

Hock said a test run of 50 company vehicles in Texas over the summer showed an overall 35 percent reduction in idling time, resulting in a weekly $8.30 savings in fuel per vehicle. Hard braking dropped by 20 percent and the percentage of drivers deemed aggressive — initially 7 percent — was negligible at the end.

Some employees were concerned about “Big Brother” looking at their scorecards, Hock said. But EnCana is interested in tracking driving trends companywide, not focusing on individuals, he said.

“The individual data is really for that person for self improvement,” Hock said

Source AP Denver;
By JUDITH KOHLER
Associated Press Writer

Given that hybrids are new to the used car market, they have been somewhat of an unknown quantity. Figures from Kelley Blue Book are now showing that the depreciation of hybrids is significantly more than other used cars, with the Prius holding only 58% of its value after two years and 41% after five years, and the Civic Hybrid holding 60% after two years and 43% after five years. This compares to the gas-engined Civic which maintains 66% of its value after two years and 50% after five years. The good news is that buying a used hybrid will save even more money over buying a new model, however the depreciation continues and when you go to sell it, you will lose more than other vehicles on the road.

So why is the depreciation on Hybrids so high? There are a few factors at work here.

Firstly, the cost of replacing hybrid batteries is much more than other car batteries. The batteries on a hybrid store the energy that has been produced through regenerative braking, and use it when the car is running on electric. These need replacing after 8-10 years or 80,000 – 100,000 miles and it is a big investment, costing between $2000 and $5000. If you buy a hybrid car that is ready for a battery change, you may be slugged with a replacement cost that makes the savings of buying a used hybrid redundant.

Another important consideration is that hybrids are still more expensive to maintain because there are a lot fewer mechanics that are qualified to repair the completely different mechanical system. On the other hand, overall maintenance should be less than a regular gasoline car due to the reduced stress on the engine and the brakes in a hybrid.

The computer system of a hybrid is extremely sophisticated in order to manage the two engine systems and switch between them at the appropriate times. This relies on a system of sensors throughout the car and a central computer, and like all computers, things can easily go wrong. If the used hybrid is outside of its warranty period for computer maintenance, this could end up being an extremely expensive investment to repair it.

Finally, the insurance of a hybrid car is higher than other cars due to the high cost of maintenance.

Given these issues with used hybrids, it is even more important than with other cars to have the car fully inspected before you buy it, to understand exactly what you are buying and what kind of costs you will be up for. Hybrids are still surrounded by a fair degree of hype, so sellers will often be looking to add a premium just because it is a hybrid. To avoid this, be sure to research the true value of the car in Kelley Blue Book and other local selling guides and as with any other used cars, the better your homework, the more likely you are to get a great deal.

About The Author
Danielle Ali Shah is a contributor for Autotropolis, a full-range car buying and research site dedicated to providing car buyers with the information they need to navigate both the new and used car markets.

Visit the author’s web site at:
Autotropolis.com

Hybrid Cars

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VanDyne SuperTurbo Inc. has just spun out of Fort Collins-based Woodward Governor, where the technology for the superturbocharger was developed during the past four years. The spinoff will bring the product to the high-volume automotive market, which does not fit in with Woodward’s core business lines of aerospace, and power generation and industrial controls. Woodward Governor will retain an equity position in the company.

The superturbocharger technology allows automotive companies to reduce the size of their engines while maintaining performance. Results have shown a 25 percent to 30 percent efficiency improvement for gasoline engines and a 7 percent to 10 percent improvement for diesel engines.

VanDyne SuperTurbo Inc. is effectively a new company determined to develop products that will help manufactures cut the fuel consumption and reduce the carbon emissions of their engines, no matter what fuel they are using. According to local reports, low-volume production is slated for late 2011.

Around 48 percent of American consumers asked said they would be extremely or very interested in buying a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), according to a new Pike Research survey.

(Credit: Pike Research)

PHEVs promise better fuel mileage, lower carbon emissions, and less oil dependence than cars that use gasoline exclusively.

These hybrids can typically reach a distance of around 40 miles on a single charge. But that fits well within the needs of many drivers. Around 82 percent of those questioned in the “Electric Vehicle Consumer Survey” drive 40 miles or less per day, and on average travel only around 27 miles daily.

Citing the benefits of electric hybrids, 85 percent of consumers said greater fuel efficiency would be important when picking their next car. Pike estimates that the cost of electricity to charge hybrids would equal around 75 cents per gallon of gas.

Around 65 percent of respondents said they’d be willing to pay a premium price for a hybrid, on average close to 12 percent over the cost of a standard gas-powered car.

The survey found that 79 percent would buy a fast-charging electrical outlet for their homes. But many also expressed the need for charging stations at work and at public places.

Younger people and those with higher levels of education did express a somewhat greater desire for hybrids than did other groups. But overall, interest didn’t differ much among age, gender, income, or education, leading Pike to believe the vehicles should appeal to the mass market.

Among those not interested in plug-in hybrids, 45 percent said they’d want to wait until the technology is more proven, while 33 percent said 40 miles on a single charge would not meet their needs.

(Credit: Peak Research)

Following their market introduction next year, more than 600,000 PHEVs will be sold in the U.S. by 2015, forecasts Pike. A number of auto companies will soon debut hybrids that can drive a certain distance using only battery power, then switch to gas when the battery is drained.

The research firm gathered its findings from a Web-based survey of 1,041 U.S. consumers during the second quarter of 2009.

Other surveys have uncovered similar results. Last year, a JD Power survey found high consumer interest in hybrids, even with their premium price tags.

Source: cnet news

MPGe = (miles driven) / [(total energy of all fuels consumed)/(energy of one gallon of gasoline)])

MPGe is a simple, well-defined measure of overall vehicle efficiency. MPGe is easy to explain, accounts in a neutral manner for any combination of fuels, and reduces to the familiar MPG in the case of gasoline fuel only.

To make it easier to understand (and get some intuition about) MPGe, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE developed a spreadsheet available here. It includes three simple calculators:

(1) Enter the distance driven and the amounts of all fuels consumed – result is MPGe. The formula for this calculation is the one given above.

(2) For the special case of gasoline-electric PHEVs, enter the gasoline usage (MPG gasoline) and electricity usage (watt-hours per mile) – result is MPGe.

(3) For the case of any plug-in vehicle, enter the charging time and the charging efficiency – result, for three different electric circuit types, is the total energy added to the battery, expressed both as kWh and as (energy-equivalent) gallons of gasoline.

This is a hard time for the automotive industry. But it’s also an exciting time of change and innovation. Consumers will soon have a variety of energy efficient and environmentally friendly vehicle choices as diverse technologies and alternative fuels come to market. This diversity will make it harder to evaluate and compare vehicles, and how best to do so is a difficult question. MPGe is not the entire answer, as it must be presented in the context of driving style, frequency, and distance.