Hybrid Cars

Fueling the Future

Why Switch? U.S. consumption of crude oil is

approximately 20 million barrels per day of which 16 million are imported. This produces approximately 384 million gallons of gasoline per day--19.2 gallons per barrel. This results in 7.372 billion pounds of CO 2 produced per day.

Where’s all the oil? World reserves of crude oil are reported to be

687.43 billion barrels.

Using present consumption, this will provide crude oil for 29.2 years. This ignores increasing demand, most notably in China and India.

About 134 billion barrels will be found over the next 30 years. That is enough to meet current world demand for 4.37 years.

U.S. crude oil consumption is 7.3 billion barrels a year.

Whose Using all this Oil? Each year, 280 million Americans use

as much natural gas as 3 billion people in Europe and Asia.

What do they use it on? Cars. Though vehicles have become more

efficient in recent years, people are becoming more and more dependent upon their cars for transportation

Also, the number of cars in use has increased steadily.

What can be done to help? Higher gasoline prices have helped curb driving

habits such as: Freeway motorists have adjusted to

higher prices by making fewer trips and by driving more slowly.

After increasing steadily for more than 20 years, the market share of light trucks (including sport utility vehicles and minivans), relative to all new passenger vehicles, began to decline in 2004.

Used-vehicle prices have shifted, reflecting changing demand, particularly with respect to fuel economy: The average prices for larger, less-fuel-efficient models have declined over the past five years as average prices for the most-fuel-efficient automobiles have risen.

Facts Oil prices recently rose to well over 100

dollars per barrel. The price of a gallon of gasoline has

also risen to a ridiculous $4 or more per gallon

This causes most consumers to want to decrease the amount of gas the require.

The Best Solution? Hybrid cars offer the most practical

solution to both the energy crisis and high price of oil.

They are already in production, therefore we know we have the means to produce and distribute these vehicles.

How do Hybrids work? Most hybrid vehicles on today’s market

are gasoline electric vehicles They combine the power of electricity

and gasoline to significantly improve gas mileage and reduce emissions.

How does it do this? In a traditional hybrid vehicle, you have a complete

electric car. It includes an electric motor to provide all of the power to the wheels, as well as batteries to supply the motor with electricity. Then you have a completely separate gasoline engine powering a generator. The engine is very small -- perhaps 10 to 20 horsepower -- and it is designed to run at just one speed for maximum efficiency. The purpose of this small, efficient engine is to provide enough power for the car at its cruising speed.

How they work (cont.) During times of acceleration, the

batteries provide the extra power necessary. When the car is decelerating or standing still, the batteries recharge. This sort of hybrid car is essentially an electric car with a built-in recharger for longer range. The advantage is that the small, efficient gasoline engine gets great mileage.

Hybrid History A Hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that two or

more distinct power sources to power the vehicle.

Most popular sources- An electric motor with an internal combustion engine.

Other sources- Air, fuel cells, hydrogen, human power

Hybrid History(cont.) The first successful idea for a Hybrid

vehicle actually stems all the way back to 1905

H. Piper thought of a car that would use an electric motor with a gasoline-fueled engine.

Why didn’t they catch on? Much like people’s reason today,

gasoline cars were simply more powerful.

Gasoline was in an abundance and was the easiest and most mainstream way to fuel a car.

People were not aware of the damage that gasoline-fueled cars have on the earth.

Where did Hybrids go? It was not until the 1970’s that talk of

Hybrid cars began to appear in conversation.

The oil crisis that took place during the 1970’s caused car companies to frantically search for alternative fueling methods.

Once oil returned in abundance, Hybrids were once again forgotten.

The rise of the Hybrid Toyota was the first company to offer a

Hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius(1995). It was introduced in Japan because of

the steeping prices of oil. Many people were quick to buy a car that avoided these high prices.

Prius offered great mileage at a clean operation.

Why are Hybrids unpopular? People see electric cars as a sign of

weakness compared to a six-cylinder gas-guzzler.

People don’t think Hybrid cars can go as fast or get as much mileage. (Hybrid recently won 24-hour endurance race.)

Car companies have yet to make Hybrids available at a mainstream level.

Why are Hybrids unpopular? The Hybrid system costs more than the

modern six-cylinder gas engine. People do not think that the fuel savings

of a hybrid is worth spending the extra money to buy a Hybrid.

Hybrids only make up one percent of cars driven today.

Hybrid Advantages Gasoline is a nonrenewable resource;

electricity is not. Hydrogen is the most abundant element

on earth(makes up ¾ of all matter) and releases next to no pollution.

Hybrid cars get the same mileage and acceleration as modern cars but with much lower emission rates.

Hybrids Today Although many advances have been

made, car companies are still too focused on building excessively bigger or faster cars, disregarding pollution or lack of miles to the gallon.

Toyota Prius is at the top of the list due to its innovative idea of combining the battery-electric motor to a four-cylinder engine instead of a six-cylinder.

Hybrids Today(cont.) The four-cylinder engine lowers

pollution and emission rates. The success of the Prius showed

companies that people care about miles to the gallon, not just per hour.

The future of Hybrids Engineers from the Union of Concerned

Scientists have developed a new vehicle called the Vanguard.

For an extra $300 in conventional technologies, 40% of the car’s global warming pollution can be eliminated.

Also, in the long run, over $1,300 can be saved in the cost of fuel.

The future of Hybrids(cont.) Many potential buyers claim that they

are not willing to pay the extra money for a hybrid, but when the hybrid technology is used on a larger scale, the cost will decrease.

When it comes to buying a vehicle, one should always find the most efficient car that fulfills all of the buyer’s needs. The Hybrid car does just that.

Hybrids are the Future By making Hybrids mainstream,

Americans will no longer need to rely on oil to fuel their lives.

Hybrids are the future response to today’s crisis. Hybrids cannot bring an end to global warming, but it is one massive step in the right direction.