Hybrid Vehicles: The Car of the Future…Today
Caitlin Woyak
Amherst High School
11/02/05
When the first hybrid car, a two-door Honda Insight, became available to the mass
market in 1999, many referred to this vehicle, with it’s advanced technology and complex
parts, as “the car of the future.” Now, though, as consumers continue to grow tired of
pouring precious dollars into gas tanks, the demand for a more conservative vehicle has
put the spotlight back on the new generation of automobiles. The future is here…
A gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle is able to operate using both a gas-powered engine
and an electric motor. Although in most hybrids, gasoline is the main source of
propulsion, the electric motor is also used to assist the gas engine when more power is
needed, such as when passing or climbing a hill. The motor is powered by batteries that
have the capability to recharge themselves as the car is being driven. Gas-electric hybrids
can differ according to how and when the motor and engine connect, but the most
common type is the parallel hybrid, in which the electric motor is used only to boost the
engine.
Although the extra power coming from the electric motor is a fairly attractive
component for some, many buyers are also drawn to the economic efficiencies that the
hybrid has to offer. The Honda Insight was recently ranked the most fuel efficient car
overall, with 51 miles per gallon, and the Toyota Prius came in close second with 44
mpg’s. In terms of fuel, the average driver can spend up to $1,441 on a standard model
vehicle per year, whereas the Honda Civic Hybrid would cost the same driver $958 a
year, at the pump. The Toyota Prius also produces 90% fewer harmful emissions than a
vehicle with only a gas engine. An emission is a substance discharged into the air,
especially by an internal combustion engine.
Features like auto shut-off (also called idle-stop) and regenerative braking are key
factors behind the efficiency of the gas-electric hybrid. The auto shut-off feature saves on
fuel by allowing the gas-powered engine to turn itself off while the vehicle is stopped.
Regenerative braking helps to recharge the batteries of the vehicle. When the brakes are
applied, or when the vehicle is coasting, the electric motor also becomes a generator by
capturing the energy that would have otherwise been lost as heat. This energy is then
transformed into electricity. With sleeker, more unconventional designs, manufacturers
also hope to decrease the drag on the vehicle, thus allowing the vehicle to use less power,
and save on fuel.
With all of the new technology being thrown into the hybrid, many buyers are leery
about the driving performance and difficulty of adjusting to driving these strange cars.
Barbara Wolcott recently published an article in Mechanical Engineering about her
experience with her Toyota Prius. Although driving the hybrid did take some adjusting,
Wolcott soon found that the adjustments took little time getting used to, and the ride was
smooth overall. She also said that the exchange of power from engine to electric was
“smooth and effortless.” While driving the Prius home, Wolcott quickly discovered her
relief for the fast acting engine when another driver pulled out in front of her. “It was just
another reason to be happy about the decision to get this hybrid car,” Wolcott said.
So if gas-electric hybrids can get ten to fifteen miles more per gallon than their standard
counterparts, and are also better for the environment, why haven’t all automobile owners
traded in their gas hogs?
While hybrid vehicles can save consumers money at the gas station, they can also cost
more in other areas of driving. Because the individual parts that make up the hybrid
vehicle are so complex, it may cost more to replace them, and the parts may not be as
readily available. Some states are also charging additional fees to register a hybrid
vehicle. The main downfall that is keeping most buyers away, though, may be that retail
prices of hybrids can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000+ more than the non-hybrid
version of the same vehicle. For example, the retail price of a Honda Civic Hybrid is
$19,900, compared to $13,260 for the standard Civic. In the United States though, state
law makers are now recognizing this problem, and feel that the expense of the car should
not keep buyers away from purchasing a cleaner vehicle. Consumers who buy or lease a
hybrid vehicle are now entitled to a tax deduction through 2007, of between $1,500 to
$2,000 to help offset the higher initial cost. The Senate is also offering other benefits,
such as a free fast lane transponder, access to carpool lanes for single passenger vehicles,
amd reduced prices for municipal parking. But some feel that it is still not enough. “I
think that creating awareness and educating people would be more prudent than giving
financial incentives. Education is lifelong, incentives are short lived and can be misused,”
commented Anoop Kumar, on a recent National Geographic web blog.
Auto manufacturers, such as Takeo Fukui, Honda Motor’s CEO, also feel that tax
deductions are not enough. Fukui feels that the best way to decrease the price, is to
increase the production and gain more control over the cost of the unique components,
such as the battery, computer module, and electric motor. Honda needs to figure out a
way to cut the 15% difference in price between their top-of-the-line Civic, and the new
2006 Civic Hybrid, Fukui said. Honda also hopes to increase production of hybrid
vehicles to about 50,000 vehicles per year, up from about 30,000 in recent years. Fukui
feels that these changes will be easier to accomplish as consumer demand grows.
And it is. In 1999, when the gas-electric hybrid first became available to the world,
about 9,350 cars were sold. This number has seen a steep increase since then, with sales
of 200,000 units expected in 2005, and 260,000 units expected to sell in 2006. About 7%
of car buyers strongly considered buying a hybrid vehicle in 2004, but as gas prices
continued to climb, the number of people considering a hybrid also increased, to about
20%. Experts say that hybrid sales will account for about one-eighth of the automobile
market by 2010.
Honda is not the only manufacturer of hybrid vehicles that has had to make changes in
order to meet the increasing demand for hybrid vehicles, though. Toyota Motor Corp.,
Japan’s largest car producer according to volume, has also recently decided to increase
ownership form 40% to 60%, in Panasonic EV, an energy company. By doing this,
Toyota hopes to secure it’s supply of the key components that are necessary to
manufacture hybrids, but other competing car makers are saying that Japan’s car industry
is locking up the supply of parts. Regardless, Toyota also launched a $30 million
advertising campaign in the United States, whose purpose was to emphasize Toyota’s
dominance over the hybrid technology field.
Car makers are also trying to make hybrids more attractive to a wider audience by
increasing the number of models available. In 1999, only two models of the gas-electric
hybrid were available. Now, however, there are over eleven models of hybrids, including
the Honda Civic, Ford Escape, Toyota Prius, and Honda Insight, and more are on the
way. Toyota now offers hybrid engines for every vehicle in it’s line-up, and GMC and
Chevy are currently making the C15 Silverado and C15 Sierra, hybrid versions of the
standard Silverado and Sierra. The Chevy Malibu is expected to be available as a hybrid
in 2007, and for all the families who find it hard to trade in their roomy SUV for a
compact car, Lexus, Saturn, Honda, and Chevrolet are planning hybrid versions of SUV’s
within the next two years. Yes, even the vehicles who started the hybrid epidemic are
being allowed to reform!