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Fuel
Efficient Cars
The
FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) Program is developing more energy efficient
and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable
America to use less petroleum. The long-term aim is to develop "leap frog" technologies
that will provide Americans with greater freedom of mobility and energy security,
while lowering costs and reducing impacts on the environment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plug
in Hybrid Cars The cost for electricity to power plug-in hybrids for all-electric operation in California has been estimated as less than one quarter of the cost of gasoline. Compared to conventional vehicles, PHEVs can reduce air pollution and dependence on petroleum, and lessen greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Plug-in hybrids use no fossil fuel during their all-electric range if their batteries are charged from renewable energy sources. Other benefits include improved national energy security, fewer fill-ups at the filling station, the convenience of home recharging, opportunities to provide emergency backup power in the home, and vehicle to grid applications. As
of September 2007, plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles are not yet in production.
However, Toyota, General Motors, Ford, and Chinese automaker BYD Auto have announced
their intention to introduce production PHEV automobiles. Toyota obtained permission
in July 2007 to sell their plug-in Prius in Japan, while BYD Auto expects to introduce
their PHEV-60 sedan in the second half of 2008, and General Motors expects to
introduce plug-ins in 2009 or 2010. Conversion kits and services are available
to convert production model hybrid vehicles to PHEVs. Most PHEVs on the road in
the U.S. are conversions of models from 2004 or later of the Toyota Prius hybrid
car, which have had plug-in charging added and their electric-only range extended.
A kilogram of petrol, diesel, kerosene and the like in a vehicle leads to approximately 3.15 kg of CO2 emissions, or 2.3 kg/L (19 lb/gal). Additional measures to reduce overall emission includes improvements to the efficiency of air conditioners, lights and tires. There is also a growing movement of drivers who practice ways to increase their MPG and save fuel through driving techniques. They are often referred to as hypermilers. Hypermilers have broken records of fuel efficiency, averaging 109 miles per gallon driving a Prius. In non-hybrid vehicles these techniques are also beneficial. Hypermiler Wayne Gerdes can get 59 MPG in a Honda Accord and 30 MPG in an Acura MDX. Hybrid vehicles can conserve petroleum fuel and therefore be more efficient than conventional vehicles. The most efficient machines for converting energy to rotary motion are electric motors, as used in electric vehicles. However, electricity is not a primary energy source so the efficiency of the electricity production has also to be taken into account. Currently railway trains can be powered using electricity, delivered through an additional running rail or overhead catenary system. Any pollution produced from the generation of the electricity is emitted at a distant power station, rather than "at site". Some railways, such as the french SNCF and Swiss federal railways, derive most, if not 100% of their current from hydroelectric or nuclear power stations, therefore atmospheric pollution from their rail networks is very low. This was reflected in a study by AEA Technology between a Eurostar train and airline journeys between London and Paris, which showed the trains on average emitting 10 times less CO2, per passenger, than planes, helped in part by French Nuclear generation, which however creates its own waste which air flight does not. So only comparing CO2 is misleading. [8]. This can be changed using more renewable sources for electric generation. In the future hydrogen cars may be commercially available. Powered either through chemical reactions in a fuel cell that create electricity to drive very efficient electrical motors or by directly burning hydrogen in a combustion engine (near identically to a natural gas vehicle, and similarly compatible with both natural gas and gasoline); these vehicles promise to have zero pollution from the tailpipe (exhaust pipe). Potentially the atmospheric pollution could be zero, provided the hydrogen is made by electrolysis using electricity from nonpolluting sources such as solar, wind, or hydroelectricity. One advantage of fuel cell vehicles is that they can electrolyze water using their own fuel cells, operating in exactly the same closed-loop fashion as any other rechargeable electric battery. In any process, it is vitally important to account for all of the energy throughout, i.e., cradle-to-grave. Thus, in addition to the energy cost of the electricity or hydrogen production, we must also account for transmission and/or storage losses to support large-scale use of such vehicles.(wikipedia) | Find gas saving tips, and compare prices of cars with great gas mileage!
Use
less energy and save big on your fuel bills! Compare prices of cars with great
gas mileage and tax incentives! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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