These cars are suppose to save you money on gas correct? What about electric bill? Does anyone know how much my monthly electric bill would increase if I get one of these?
Question about fuel/economy: "hybrid" - gas/electric cars
- Thread starter FreshPrince
- Start date
You don't plug them into an electrical outlet to charge them. They generate electricity by regenerative braking (as you brake, the battery charges up).
Somewhat off topic, the new Toyota Prius (redesigned one) is the one to get. It is a) much bigger than its predecessor b) is a hatchback so has more utility c) roughly same price as Camry d) offers 50+ mpg e) almost zero emissions.
What's not to like? Plus it has a really cool LCD screen that gives out tons of info (if you like to have lots of numbers thrown at you like I do) and the exterior design is unique as well.
EDIT:
Prius has 16.1 cu ft of cargo space while the 04 Camry has 16.7 cu ft. Not that big of a difference. And hte Prius only costs ~$20k USD. Not bad at all. A Camry is also ~20k USD.
oh really? is this true for the new civic hybrid? I don't know anything about cars so you'll have to bear with me
Originally posted by: FreshPrince
oh really? is this true for the new civic hybrid? I don't know anything about cars so you'll have to bear with me
yup the Civic hybrid has the same type of system.
Don't worry, only way to learn is to ask questions. Check out HowStuffWorks. They have articles on these types of things.
Listen to the Mad Indian - He knows of what he speaks!!
Your question, though, is valid on pure electric cars. Everyone seems to conveniently forget about the cost of the electricity to recharge them, and the cost to generate that electricity.
Your question, though, is valid on pure electric cars. Everyone seems to conveniently forget about the cost of the electricity to recharge them, and the cost to generate that electricity.
thanks.
do they even have pure electric cars though? I don't think there are any production ones, those that are talked about are just technology showcases. The real deal will be in hybrids and fuelcells (hydrogen hopefully).
ok, I read an article about hybrid cars. So basically the main engine is all electric, but it needs a smaller engine, or generator to keep other stuff running. In this case, I guess the gas tank shouldn't be very big correct? Does anyone know how big(gal) the civic hybrid gas tank is? Just curious how much each trip to the gas station will cost
I thought that someone (not a major player) was making a pure electric car. I could easily be mistaken, but I'm thinking about some development that went on a few years ago dealing with local delivery vehicles - USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.
It has a small gasoline engine, as well as an electric engine. I believe the electricity that the belt driven electrical system that the gas engine powers, as well as energy recovered during braking, both help charge the battery that runs the electric motor. Both are running at all times when the car is moving, if I'm not mistaken, although I think that the gas engine will shut itself off when you're stopped to save gas. The gas motor is doing most of the work, but its helped out by the electric motor, especially down low where magnetic motors make lots of torque, if I'm not mistaken.
You can go for a prius or a civic hybrid, i'd say you should drive both of them. I'd guess the gas tank is like 6 gallons or something, look around on edmunds.com in specifications and it'll tell you.
Also, you gotta do research cuz there's a not too often talked about down the road expense for these hybrid cars when your battery packs can no longer take a charge and you gotta replace them for a few grand...definately offsets some of the dough you saved on gas over the years.
Anyhow, hybrids are great. if you're in the market for a 20k economical car and you could bear something slow I'd say go for it.
You can go for a prius or a civic hybrid, i'd say you should drive both of them. I'd guess the gas tank is like 6 gallons or something, look around on edmunds.com in specifications and it'll tell you.
Also, you gotta do research cuz there's a not too often talked about down the road expense for these hybrid cars when your battery packs can no longer take a charge and you gotta replace them for a few grand...definately offsets some of the dough you saved on gas over the years.
Anyhow, hybrids are great. if you're in the market for a 20k economical car and you could bear something slow I'd say go for it.
by the way edmunds says the prius has a: Fuel Tank Capacity: 11.9 gal.
Damn! can you say roadtrip, there and back on 1 tank of gas. Thats crazy.
Damn! can you say roadtrip, there and back on 1 tank of gas. Thats crazy.
Indian, either you are a little off on this one or you didn't explain it well. Although the newest ones have regen braking (I don't think the original Prius did) this is not the major source of electricity. The battery is kept fully charged by running the engine at low demand conditions (like cruising or idling). Then in high demand (acceleration) the battery and motor boosts the engine output to give normal performance in spite of having a very small low power engine. By only requiring the engine to operate in it's most efficient range, the gas mileage is raised considerably.
Right now, if you drive a lot of miles, you can probably come out at least even on a hybrid (although list is only a little higher than other cars, they don't seem to be discounted much) due to the tax credit that currently applies. If you don't drive much, the battery will go bad in 10 years or so and bankrupt you to replace it.
I guess I did forget to add that the battery does get charged during crusing and such. Also worthvile to add is that the gasoline engine is usually turned off at stoplights and such to reduce emissions.
well i had the civic hybrid for a month and I could tell you that it regens only when braking, and not while cruising. The engine cuts off completely when at a full stop and its the gas engine that's working all the time. The electrical engine will help out when you accelerate or you're on a hill. The Prius on the other hand has the electric engine as the main source of power while the gasoline engine helps out in acceleration. I feel that the civic is more responsive than the prius and has a real nice interior (the sound system comes with a sub, automatic climate control, ...).
The batteries will last pretty long so you don't have to worry about that, unless you keep cars for more than ten years.
Oh and i have to say that this car is completely silent and that CVT is quite extraordinary...
The batteries will last pretty long so you don't have to worry about that, unless you keep cars for more than ten years.
Oh and i have to say that this car is completely silent and that CVT is quite extraordinary...
Triumph
Lifer
- Oct 9, 1999
- 15,031
- 14
- 81
GM had the EV1 in the mid 90's, a completely failed venture by almost any measurement. Range was something like 100 miles on a full charge, of freeway driving at a maximum speed of ~70 mph. The range for city driving with all of the acceleration necessary was considerably less. The batteries were heavy, took up a ton of space, and were prohibitively expensive to replace. The car was very expensive for the consumer and sold at a loss by GM, all because California had a misguided law in place that wanted a certain percentage of new cars sold in their state to be all electric by 2001 (I think).
Electric cars have basically gone the way of the dodo, mainly because of the lack of development in battery technology. We simply do not have good enough batteries today to supply all of the energy necessary for powering a car. Hybrid electric is a much more promising technology, with less expenditures by the manufacturers for development, and they are better for the environment than pure electrics. All electric does is displace the emissions and burned fossil fuels from one local (the car) to another (the power plant). It won't be long now before a hybrid electric option is added to many vehicle lines, and the technology will allow it to be an more inobtrusive and transparent operation to the driver.
But the hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cells still has to be produced, right? It's not like we just have a standing supply of free hydrogen like we have gasoline...
sure we do. The air we breathe has hydrogen in it. It's just a matter of extracting it and packaging it for use. And thats what takes a lot of resources right now. If we can simplify the process it would be a great boon to us.
There is not enough hydrogen in air to make it worth the effort in extracting. The potential sources of hydrogen are water and hydrocarbon fuels (oil and especially natural gas).
From what I know, Prius has an 8-year battery life warranty and free 24/7 roadside assistance as benefits. Gov't subsidies, standing against blood for oil, what's there not to approve about these efficient vehicles. It's a shame America doesn't embrace this.
Good post. This is an informative thread.
The hybrid system basically just makes the internal combustion engine more efficient by using some wasted energy to charge the batteries. It has to charge all the time... unless the electric motor is used very rarely or something.. I don't think you could possibly regain enough energy just while braking to keep the batteries charged. I'm sure the alternator is constantly doing its job.
I think we may see a proliferation of cars that rely more on electric power than the internal combustion engine in the future, as we see fuel cell technology mature. In these hybrid cars, I imagine we will see the continued trend of smaller, more efficient internal combustion engines, while relying more on the awesome power electric motors can provide.
I think it would be cool in a way to open the hood and see a fuel cell plugging away. It wouldn't be the same, no.. but it would be technologically cool.
Just to add.
The Civic hybrid uses both gas and electric when accelerating from a stop and while cruising, the newer Prius uses the electric motor up to speeds of 40mph (50 as of last time i read a tech article about it) and then the gasoline motor turns on to help it out as necessary. This is one reason the new Prius can achieve even better fuel economy in the city than it does on the highway.
The Civic hybrid uses both gas and electric when accelerating from a stop and while cruising, the newer Prius uses the electric motor up to speeds of 40mph (50 as of last time i read a tech article about it) and then the gasoline motor turns on to help it out as necessary. This is one reason the new Prius can achieve even better fuel economy in the city than it does on the highway.
Kelemvor
Lifer
- May 23, 2002
- 16,928
- 8
- 81
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 24K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 20K
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter