Welcome to HYBRID CARS

 

Hybrid Cars Article

This is a selection among article about Hybrid Cars. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.

BMW Goes Green Author: Anthony Fontanelle The increase in awareness in the global community regarding global warming is already widespread. Different sectors in the community of nations are already taking steps to combat the further destruction of the environment. One industry making great leaps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere is the automotive world. Different car makers have come up with developmental plans that will see production of vehicles totally independent from fossil fuel use. Car manufacturers all around the world are also looking for ways to reduce the emission of conventional diesel or gasoline engines. One car manufacturer joining the fray of auto makers going green is the Bavarian Motor Works commonly known as the German based car maker BMW. Recently, BMW's Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer reported that the company is focusing on the production of a new lineup of fuel efficient engines for their vehicles. Reithofer stated that the star of the lineup will be a Mini that will have a gas mileage rating of 53.4 miles per gallon. He said that the new generation of eco-friendly engines is part of BMW's commitment to address the global warming issue. "The auto industry is facing a fundamental paradigm shift," says Reithofer. "It cannot be overlooked any longer that the global climate is changing." Indeed, the climate all over the world has changed drastically for the worse, and every part of the global community needs to contribute to stop any further destruction of the environment. Global warming should be stopped in its tracks as effectively as an EBC Redstuff brake component can effectively stop a car. Reithofer announced that in order for their cars to be eco-friendly, they need to work on some parts of their vehicles. Some systems that they will be working on are the brake-energy regeneration, light-weight construction, and automatic stop-start functions. Brake-energy regeneration is an important technology since in this technology, the force generated during braking will not be wasted but instead will be re-used. As for light weight construction, the lighter the vehicle, the less power it needs to be driven. And this then translates to lesser fuel consumption. Automatic stop-start functions are in the stage of development. This technology is aimed to reduce the amount of fuel consumed during idling. This technology is currently being used by hybrid electric vehicles. Aside from pointing out the different systems that the company will be actively looking into, Reithofer also stated that his company believes that the future of clean fuel technology is hydrogen. Hydrogen which is used as fuel for vehicles reduces the amount of emissions to zero. While the technology promises a lot in terms of greenhouse gas reduction, there are still many aspects in the use of hydrogen as fuel that needs more research. For one, the construction of fuel cells is costly and the currently used fuel cells are fragile. The auto industry and its partners need to work on a design of a fuel cell that will be sturdy and will cost substantially less. About the author: Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.

Other Hybrid Cars related resources

INSERT YOUR OWN BANNER HERE!

Hybrid Cars News

Ill. 5th in nation for hybrid cars - St. Louis Business Journal

Illinois ranks fifth in the nation for sales of new hybrid cars, a new study reveals. There were 6,107 hybrid cars bought in Illinois from January to May, according to a report released Tuesday by the Travelers Cos. Inc. and the Polk Center for ...

Read more...

---

Toyota cuts 2009 sales f'cast, speeds up electric cars - Guardian Unlimited

TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp cut its 2009 vehicle sales forecast by nearly 7 percent as high fuel prices hammer demand for large cars and pickup trucks, and said it will speed up the rollout of hybrid and electric cars as their ...

Read more...

---

UPDATE 3-Toyota cuts 2009 sales f'cast, speeds up electric cars - Reuters

TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ) cut its 2009 vehicle sales forecast by nearly 7 percent as high fuel prices hammer demand for large cars and pickup trucks, and said it will speed up the ...

Read more...

---

Toyota slashes 2009 global sales target on weakening demand - UPDATE 2 - CNBC

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said on Thursday it plans to sell only 9.70 million vehicles globally in 2009, reducing its previous target to deliver 10.4 million cars due to weakening demand amid surging gasoline ...

Read more...

---

U.S. loans to Detroit 3 will have strings - Detroit Free Press

The future cost and availability of energy are too important to be left to market forces to control. That's why we are about to witness the most demanding, meddlesome period of U.S. federal involvement in the affairs of Detroit's automotive industry ...

Read more...

---

California leads U.S. in hybrid car purchases: study - Xinhua News Agency

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- California drivers buy more fuel-efficient hybrid cars than any other state, and most of them do it due to financial rather than environmental concerns, according to a study released Tuesday. A total of 39,830 new ...

Read more...

---

Chicago is Hybrid Car Country, Study says - MSN MoneyCentral

Recognizing the interest in hybrid vehicles, Travelers made a commitment to provide the right insurance solutions for this growing segment. The company was the first to offer an auto insurance discount of up to 10 percent 2 to hybrid drivers ...

Read more...

---