No To The Gas Guzzler And Hello To The Hybrid Car
The concept behind the creation of hybrid vehicles is to get as much
fuel efficiency out of a car made of lighter materials with a smaller
engine as possible. No one wants a gas guzzler of a car eating up all
of his or her hard earned cash and that’s where the hybrid comes
in. The hybrid vehicle answers the call for helping save dollars at the
gas pumps.
It is estimated that depending on their model, hybrid cars can give
drivers anywhere from 20, to 30 and in some cases even 60 miles per gallon
more than the standard non-hybrid vehicle. Hybrid vehicles have as good
a performance, if not better than traditional vehicles and the ride is
smooth. Gas guzzler it is not. Many drivers are uttering the words, “Hello
hybrid!” more and more these days.
Automakers chose to build a car that was considered very complex to
both improve gas mileage and also to reduce emissions from the tailpipe.
In the United States carmakers are mandated by law to meet what is known
as “Corporate Average Fuel Economy” standards (or abbreviated
to CAFÉ). The current standard dictates that all new vehicles
sold to consumers must have an average mileage of 27.5mpg (or if you
go by the metric system, 8.55 liters per 100 km). To put it another way,
this means that if a car company is able to sell one hybrid car with
an average mileage of 60 mpg (better than the average standard) or 3.92
liters per 100 km, then this is good news for them because they can then
turn around and sell four, large and expensively priced luxury cars that
get a great deal less out of the mileage (20 mpg or 11.76 liters per
100 km).
Let’s take a closer look at how a hybrid most definitely does
not fall into the category of being a gas guzzler. In order to get the
best mileage possible, there are many tricks of the trade that automakers
rely on. Three that we will focus on include the reduced weight of the
hybrid, the small, efficient engine, and the advanced aerodynamics.
In the making of most hybrid cars, a lightweight aluminum body as well
as structure is used to cut down tremendously on the weight of the car.
Together the lightweight body and smaller, lighter engine allow for the
excellent performance that is expected of all cars, hybrids or not. For
example, the Honda Insight doesn’t even begin to tip the car scales
at less that 1,900 pounds (or 862 kg). This is only a fraction of what
traditional gas guzzler types of cars weigh. Other materials often used
to make hybrids include composite materials such as carbon fiber and
other lightweight metals such as magnesium.
A small, efficient engine goes a long way in saving on mileage in hybrids.
Big engines expend more energy when they accelerate and in particular
when they accelerate up hills or inclines. As well big engines are equipped
with more cylinders and require more work from the cylinders to allow
them to do their job properly. All these things contribute to the need
to buy fuel for your car more often. The hybrid vehicle’s smaller,
more fuel-efficient engine doesn’t have this problem. To use the
Honda Insight as an example once again, its engine weighs a mere 124
pounds (or 56 kg) and contains a very small 1.0 liter three-cylinder
that makes it possible for the car to produce approximately 67 horsepower
at 5,700 rpm. Plus the VTEC system and lean burn technology are incorporated
into the car to make fuel efficiency even more of a reality in this hybrid.
The hybrid car is not a gas guzzler for a third reason- it uses advanced
aerodynamics to help reduce drag. When you are driving along a busy freeway
the majority of the work that your engine needs to do involves the force
needed to push the vehicle down the highway (or through the air). This
force is given the name “aerodynamic drag.” This aerodynamic
drag can be reduced in two different ways- first by constructing smaller
frontal areas on hybrid cars and secondly, by limiting and/or reducing
disturbances around items that protrude from the car. For example, airflow
is smoothed tremendously by placing covers over the wheel housings and
drag is also reduced. On some hybrids tiny cameras are placed where mirrors
are generally positioned on conventional cars.
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