September 20th, 2005
How Hybrid Cars Work
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
Last week I paid a heart-stopping $3.39 a gallon for premium gas in California. The guy next to me was filling up his SUV and said to everyone in earshot “Well, that was only $75.” But while I am not an H2 driver, I also am skeptical of the latest hybrids even after applauding the technology years ago. Sure they save money, but weren’t they plagued by problems and didn’t really save all that much at the end of the day compared to a more reasonable non-SUV sedan? It sounded like I needed some facts, so I turned to the gang at HowStuff Works.com for answers:
Quick Hybrid History Lesson
“Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. In fact, many people have probably owned a hybrid vehicle at some point. For example, a moped (a motorized pedal bike) is a type of hybrid because it combines the power of a gasoline engine with the pedal power of its rider.
“Hybrid vehicles are all around us. Most of the locomotives we see pulling trains are diesel-electric hybrids. Cities like Seattle have diesel-electric buses — these can draw electric power from overhead wires or run on diesel when they are away from the wires. Giant mining trucks are often diesel-electric hybrids. Submarines are also hybrid vehicles — some are nuclear-electric and some are diesel-electric. Any vehicle that combines two or more sources of power that can directly or indirectly provide propulsion power is a hybrid.
“You can combine the two power sources found in a hybrid car in different ways. One way, known as a parallel hybrid, has a fuel tank, which supplies gasoline to the engine. But it also has a set of batteries that supplies power to an electric motor. Both the engine and the electric motor can turn the transmission at the same time, and the transmission then turns the wheels.” Source: HowStuffWorks.com
Stephen says:
Hybrids due get much increased mileage on around the town drives when the electrics can kick in. On highway jogs they get whatever their gas engines can give you in terms of MPG. Most people who commute long distances are disappointed in the mileage but because they aren’t aware that they only get the benifit of the electric motor at speeds below 20mph and sometimes when accelerating on the highway.
Issues:
1) You pay a big premium for the benefit of driving these…$3000 to $5000 over the gas only.
2)Nobody knows how long the battery packs will last. Replacemnet costs are $3000+ but will probably come down.
3) How efficient are th batteries in COLD climates? I’ve seen nothing on this.
4) Enviromental disposal costs are big for these.
5) Safety for rescue workers could be an issue. I think Toyota recommends taking the key at least 16 feet away from the vehicle to make sure it doesn’t start up when they hit the iginition button to ensure the electrics are off.
September 20th, 2005 at 3:04 pm
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
How Hybrid Cars Work
Last week I paid a heart-stopping $3.39 a gallon for premium gas in California. The guy next to me was filling up his SUV and said to everyone in earshot, “Well, that was only $75.” While I am not an H2 driver, I also am skeptical of the latest hybrid…
September 20th, 2005 at 11:44 pm
Stan says:
I bought a Toyota Prius several weeks ago and have been getting around 53 MPG on average. The car is roomy, safe (air bags all around) and performs well. I paid about $28k and the entire hybrid system carries a 100k mile 8 year warranty so batteries aren’t an issue for a while. The electric system can be hazardous to rescue personnel in a crash, but my local small town volunteer fire department have already had training on hybrid rescue. I read Prius owners groups on the web and have yet to hear from anyone who doesn’t like it. Honda makes some good hybrids too. Ford has a hybrid SUV (Escape) but the fuel economy is not that great.
September 21st, 2005 at 4:15 am
martinelli says:
Where we live, the regenerative braking used by Toyota Prius alone puts a pretty good wallop in against the gas bill and will spend less time heating the environment and polluting it with brake dust. Now Honda, not so good.
September 21st, 2005 at 7:28 am
Mick says:
$3.39 a gallon? You guys have it easy in the States.
In the UK we are currently paying up to £5.20 a gallon - close to $8.00.
Pardon me for not being too sympathetic…
Hybrid vehicles are a transition stage towards zero emitting vehicles. While zero emission might not occur for a long time in cars fuel cells would reduce vehicle emissions to very low levels assuming hydrogen was used a fuel.
It’s doubtful if fuel cell power would be cheap as long as platinum is used as a catalyst. Perhaps not until development of the high temperature fuel cell types that use cheaper (iron?) catalysts will we see fuel cell powered cars become more common.
September 21st, 2005 at 11:08 am
Mike says:
I’ve had my Prius for nearly 2 years now, so I can address at least some of these issues. I travel mainly freeway, but often head into the mountains on weekends, and I’m now averaging about 50 mpg on a tank. As far as cold weather driving, last year we had one week where it didn’t get above the teens, I think the high was 18F, and I never drove at the peak temperature time. My gas mileage was 38 mpg that week. As far as replacing the battery, you’re right in that we don’t know exactly when they’ll wear out, but mine came with an 8 year warranty, so I’ve got about 6 more before I have to worry about it. I have recently changed jobs, and found that even though the temperature is starting to go down, my gas mileage is going up, probably due to the longer commute I now have giving the battery more time to thaw out than my old route, which was less than half the distance, and a LOT more hills.
September 21st, 2005 at 6:17 pm
michele says:
everyone needs to read brock yates recent editorial in car and driver magazine regarding hybrids. maybe not as ecological as we’re led to believe.
September 22nd, 2005 at 7:24 pm
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September 14th, 2007 at 6:11 am
nancy says:
I am looking at buying a hybrid. Most of my travel will be highway to and from work but we have a lot of traffic…does that help me get better mileage as opposed to 65-75 mph the entire trip?
February 9th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Mike T says:
Hybrids are great for the environment and cost more, but they do end up saving you money
April 26th, 2008 at 8:46 am
John Brown / Hybrid Cars says:
Thanks for adding some measurements to your article.
June 26th, 2008 at 5:02 pm