The History of the Hybrid Car

Due to the demand of having a car wherein everyone can consume less fuel and will not contribute to the air pollution, the hybrid car was finally created to meet this end. And due to the rapid advancements in the gasoline engine, the hybrid car has become extremely popular.

A hybrid car is a means of transportation using two power sources; it uses a rechargeable energy storage system found on board and a fuelled power source as the vehicle’s driving force. The hybrid car pollutes less and uses less fuel.

Back in 1899, Ferdinand Porsche have developed and led the way to the very first working hybrid-electric vehicle. Other people followed suit in Ferdinand Porsche’s invention. Many people who became interested in the hybrid-vehicle concept have been continually making hybrid cars.  However, there was no major car manufacturer who invested in the hybrid concept and mass produced hybrid cars until the late twentieth century. The hybrid technology was mainly utilized in developing diesel-electric submarines during that interim period.

The diesel-electric submarines mainly operate very much the same as a hybrid car. However, the submarines main goal was to conserve oxygen rather than spend less fuel. During the later years, submarines have evolved and have begun using the nuclear power as a substitute for diesel.

During the 1990’s, the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight were the first successful hybrid cars available in the market. It was two of the pioneers in the hybrid car concept which virtually changed the way the world thinks about cars.

An idealistic inventor, Victor Wouk, manufactured a hybrid electric and gas motor vehicle that siphoned fuel at half the amount as practically all the other cars being built then. He built the hybrid car thirty years before the Toyota Prius got the attention of the U.S. as an energy-anxious nation.

The account about the hybrid car and its inventor, who died in May, 2005, at age 86, is unfamiliar among even the most avid fans of the growing hybrid car association. In terms of hybrid car knowledge, it is in fact America that should have led all other countries. Wouk said that the government program that he developed about hybrids was unknown to everyone.

Victor Wouk founded and sold two successful electric industrialized companies in the late 1940s and 50s and in 1962 he was approach by Russell Feldman, one of the founders of Motorola, who recognized the pollution from the automobile as one of the biggest problem of the environment and he wanted to discover the possible solutions with regards to this problem. But his experiment did not work much for the possible solution.

Having an idea, Wouk pondered the problem throughout the 60s and ultimately reached a clever solution. He combined the low-emission benefits of an electric car with the power of a gasoline engine to produce a hybrid vehicle. But Wouk did not get any response to his ideas for creating a hybrid car; in fact he was heavily criticized for not believing in a full-electric system.

With the help of his colleague, Charlie Rosen, who shared his belief about hybrid cars, gave him the chance to prove his ideas of creating the hybrid car as one of the solution to the rapid health cost of auto-pollution. And now the impressive capabilities of the invention of Wouk, the hybrid cars, can now be a very great help in terms of less fuel consumption and less air pollution.

Wouk and Rosen put up a new company particularly to developed their hybrid car idea and make it possible to be in the market and be used as an everyday car that belched far less harmful vapors than contemporary vehicles.

The Prius

Ever since the Toyota Prius was released in the market, it has been able to remain as the premier choice of hybrid cars available. It is true that old hybrid cars looks more like an alien car and cost far more than the conventional car. However, because of the latest technology installed in newer versions of hybrid cars, it looks more like a conventional car and is far cheaper than its predecessors. It is a fact that hybrid cars today looks very much like conventional cars. However, it will enable you to cut fuel consumption in half.

For example, the Honda Civic Hybrid car looks very much like its conventional version. However, when you look at it closely, the hybrid version of the Civic is able to conserve fuel much better than its gasoline counterpart. The Civic Hybrid can get you 50 miles in just one gallon of gasoline.

During the year 2004, Ford has developed and introduced the very first hybrid SUV, which is the Ford Escape Hybrid. A year later, Toyota also introduced their line of hybrid SUV called the Highlander Hybrid.

Because of the growing demand for hybrid cars, other car manufacturers are now following the footsteps of the other companies who already released a version of their hybrid car in the market. For example, Nissan is now planning to develop and introduce a hybrid version of the Nissan Altima.

Nowadays, over 300,000 hybrid cars are running on American roads wherein 95 percent of them are Japanese made. The hybrid vehicles are truly very different technology that can both save money and our environment.

The advantages of hybrid cars.

Nowadays it’s pretty obvious that traditionally fueled cars are not a sustainable model as the cost of fuel and the damage it cause to the environment cannot be ignored. Hybrid cars are beneficial to the preservation of the environment. The reason behind this is that hybrid cars do not depend mainly on fossil fuel for it to have power, but it also makes use of electricity that results to a smaller amount of fuel consumption and less emitted air pollution. 10 years ago these were simply pipedreams but now anyone can own a hybrid car, from teenagers, to housewives, to taxi drivers, on to pensioners.

A hybrid car combines an electric motor and petrol engine  to provide power to the vehicle with least fuel usage and fewer emissions. They are far more fuel-efficient than purely gas-powered cars, and far more practical for everyday use than purely electric-powered cars so combining the two sources of power leads to less fuel consumption which means it possesses enough power to have freeway speeds that does not need too much fuel, it is also great for the stop and go driving in busy built-up areas.

Hybrid cars do not need to be ‘plugged in’ to recharge. Instead they charge themselves by means of power usually lost during coasting and braking and can also be charged by the car’s gasoline engine.

Here is a list of the many advantages hybrid cars:

1. Less Pollution

Damage to our ozone layer is due to the greenhouse effect and increased carbon emmissions. The measure of carbon dioxide emitted by the hybrid vehicle is principally relative to the quantity of fuel it consumes; thus hybrid cars can absolutely be a contributing factor in lessening the advancement of global warming.

2. More mileage with less fuel consumption

The obvious advantage of hybrid car is that it saves on gas. With the use of hybrid cars, you are able to save gas money because you don’t need to buy gas after every long trip wherein you can go several miles consuming less fuel.

3. Hybrid cars can help lower your taxes

Tax rebates are available to hybrid cars buyers, so if you buy a hybrid car your tax refunds can be withheld from your taxes and will provide you with additional savings.

4. Your money gains more value

A hybrid car can retain a higher resale value. If you ever want to trade or sell a previously owned hybrid car you can be sure that you will get more of what you paid for it.

5. Efficiency and performance are what defines Hybrid Cars
Hybrid cars have smaller engines than the regular petrol cars and they also have a higher efficiency percentage.

6. “Hybrid car technology” is the greatest solution to today’s increasing problem in car air pollution

Hybrid cars uses lesser fuel and a groundbreaking technology which could be the solution to our current enironmental problems.

Hybrid cars are more expensive than ‘traditional cars’ but this initial expenditure is soon overcome by the savings you will be making over the lifetime of its use.

Guest Article by Jessica Stevens