Heavy Air or Heavy Wallet? (My Research Paper)

[ranger808]

Hey everyone! I'm a student at Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu,Hawaii and for my English class we were assigned to conduct research on a topic of our choice and post our reports on a applicable online website. Wee my research was on Hybrid Technology and here goes! (any and all comments are appreciated)

Heavy Air or Heavy Wallet?

Beginning in 1908 with the introduction of Ford Motor Company’s “Model T” (the first mass produced automobile), mankind has been polluting the atmosphere with harmful chemicals such as Carbon Monoxide, and Nitrogen Oxides. These gasses are formed by the burning of fossil fuels and are especially bad in cars which are “out of tune” or not functioning properly due to incomplete combustion of the gasoline, thus producing harmful byproducts. After a century of polluting air and only seeing matters become worse, a breakthrough occurred! Between 1999 and 2000, the debut of hybrid vehicles on American soil finally became a reality. Honda Motor Corp. unveiled the Honda Insight with a claimed 61mpg (miles per gallon of gasoline consumed) of city driving, and 70 mpg highway driving. In 2000, Toyota debuted their Prius which claimed 52 mpg during city driving, and 45 mpg highway driving. This is a huge breakthrough considering the average sedan of that time had an efficiency of 20-25mpg average. Today, there are many skeptics and people who are hesitant on buying a hybrid vehicle. Some say it’s unreasonably priced, while others say they pollute more than help the environment due to production factory pollutants. Since their debut in 2000, Hybrid Vehicles have come a long way in areas such as public appeal as well as sophistication and efficiency.
Hybrid Vehicles are just like any other cars on the road today, but with gasoline and electric motors working in tandem. Since regular gasoline engines are only 25%-30% efficient at using the energy released in burning gasoline, a process called Regenerative Braking can recover kinetic energy which is usually lost during conventional braking. In conventional cars, the brakes engage and create friction which dissipates kinetic energy in the form of heat. In hybrids, the electric motor is used to slow the car and when this happens, the electric motor turns into a generator and charges the hybrid battery while coasting or during light braking. This gives back some of the energy you used to get the car moving and stores it in a rechargeable battery cell usually composed of Nickel-metal Hydride (NiMH), or Lithium Ion (Li-ion). In the event of an emergency braking situation, the conventional brakes take over and braking performance is the same as conventional systems (Rockhold).
There are three variations in the actual operation of hybrid systems. A “Full Hybrid” utilizes an electric motor which can run the whole car for an extended period of time and also has an electric motor which may run at the same time for the extra power when needed, and to power the car when charging the Hybrid Battery. A “Mild Hybrid” has a full time small displacement gasoline motor paired with an electric motor for powering accessories at idle and for providing a little boost in acceleration when needed. Finally a “Hollow Hybrid” or “Muscle Hybrid” has a regular size gasoline motor and has an electric motor whose sole purpose is to run the accessory items during idling so the gasoline motor can shut off yielding only a 10% gain in efficiency at best (Rockhold).
On the consumer side of the market, quite a few things may deter potential buyers from getting a hybrid vehicle. The main obstacle is the price of purchasing a hybrid, which the retail price may be anywhere form $3000-$5,000 more than a gasoline car (Exum and Messina 143). What most people look at is the cost in the short run, and the fact that it cost so much when they can get a luxury car for that amount. The actual fact they are missing is that after 2006, owners of hybrid vehicles are eligible for a tax credit from $250-$3400 depending of the cars fuel economy (Rockhold). The next big plus of owning a hybrid is the gas efficiency which may go upwards of 200% more than a gasoline car. A few states also offer incentives to hybrid drivers such as free parking at designated parking meters (Rockhold).
Some consumers end up buying a hybrid and taking it back to the dealership because they claim it’s not getting even close to the advertised fuel economy. The secret is that there is a special way to drive a hybrid. Hybrid engines are most efficient at high speeds and high torque. This means that it will use less gas accelerating hard for a short time (using torque) than if you were to accelerate slowly for a short time (Nakaya 189). Another must do is to brake as early as possible to recover as much energy back into the system as possible.
To help mange the energy statistics during operation, hybrid cars have a display which the driver can use while driving to see where the energy is going whether it be all powered from the gas motor, strictly from the electric motor, or regenerating energy from slowing down or coasting. Maintenance is also rumored to be very expensive due to special procedures and high technology. The truth is it is the same if not cheaper than gasoline motors due to the fact that the gasoline motor is not used as much as regular cars, and the fact that the electric motor and systems associated with are designed to last over 100,000 miles. California and five other states require hybrids top be covered by a manufacturers warranty for 10 years or 150,000 miles (Exum and Messina 151). The only “must do” is that it be serviced only at the dealership because they have specially trained professionals specializing in hybrid maintenance.
Environmentalists may argue that these cars although as efficient and “eco-friendly” as they may seem, may pollute and may be even worse than conventional cars. The reason behind this is that the pollutants from the production factory may be doing more damage to the overall environment than the car itself may save from lowering emissions. Another point is that the hybrid battery is made if harmful chemicals that if not disposed of properly may be very hazardous. The batteries are not of the Nickel Cadmium type which posed an environmental threat. They are of the NiMH type which is fully recyclable and car companies like Toyota and Honda are even posting bounties on discharged batteries up to $200 to ensure they are recycled or disposed of properly. It is true that the factories manufacturing these cars are also polluting, but when put together with the amount of SUV’s, trucks, other high pollution vehicles on the road along with the exponentially rising number of drivers in the world, the actual amount of pollution each automobile produces is very critical.
So is buying a Hybrid Vehicle worth the extra cash up front? Of Course it is! With a mathematical model using average figures of the fuel economy of an average car (21mpg ) and the average hybrid car (46 mpg), also factoring in the rising gas prices going up a meager 10 cents per year, after 5 years you’ll save $4,658 by driving a hybrid; after 10 years, $10,287( Nakaya 184-85). Sure it may not be as powerful as a HEMI V8 but it uses only a small fraction of the amount of gas consumed. It’s not like everyone is using all 300 horse power pedal to the floor the whole time; if that were true, there would be car wrecks everywhere. Hybrids were designed to make the best of all the times when raw horsepower means nothing such as in the middle of the city or during rush hour which is when a hybrid will navigate using only its electric motor, or the car will shut off when there’s no where to move in traffic which will save gas. That means these will benefit a driver with the most stop and go traffic as Regenerative Braking will recover nearly all of the energy it took to get the car moving and just reusing it to go again, and again. There used to be a saying about hybrids, “Choose between heavy air or a heavy wallet”, it really should be “Have lighter air and a growing wallet!”




















Works Cited

Exum, Kaitlen J., and Lynn M. Messina, eds. The Car and Its Future. H.W. Wilson Company, 2004. 143-153.
"Hybrid Vehicles" 13 Apr. 2008 <http://www.hybrid-vehicles.net/>.
Leavitt, Wendy. "Hybrids Hit the Road." Fleet Owner Feb. 2008: 52-58. Academic Search Planner. EBSCO. Kapiolani Community College. 13 Apr. 2008.
Nakaya, Andrea C. Cars in America. Thomson Gale, 2006. 183-189.


Nice, Karim, and Julia Layton. "How Hybrid Cars Work." HowStuffWorks. 13 Apr. 2008 <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm>.
Rockhold, John. "The Hybrid Revolution." Mother Earth News Oct.-Nov. 2005: 38-43. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Kapiolani Community College. 13 Apr. 2008.

[tom]

Excellent article.

I really enjoy the good comparison between the hybrid cars and normal gasoline cars.

I agree the buying a hybrid is definitely worth it financially!

Thanks for sharing.

[autoguru]

Great read. I like how you talked about the way you drive a hybrid can actually increase your gas mileage. Most people are unaware of it.

I hope to buy one soon, once there are more selections.

[Jeremy LA]

Yes, Hybrids should bulge your wallet after years of using. With the proper maintenance and usage of your car, you should have more savings in your pocket. And by applying the aplicable laws present right now, one can have savings in avoiding the fines caused by reckless driving. Being a smart owner and a smart driver of hybrids can determine savings.

[Dwaynez]

Great post you have here, I think I should bet on heavy wallet on this.

[dobylove]

Yes, purchasing a hybrid is really worth it, no doubt. Your wallet definitely could go heavy through the years.

[Uguis]

You said that right! Money can be made by buying hybrids than common cars. This can be a great investment, right?