Thread: Hybrid Cars

Hybrid cars are the in thing with everybody trying to go green. Being eco friendly is fashionable today and so are hybrid cars.

Hybrid cars are powered by both electric and gasoline. These cars use different energy sources at different times. And the best part is you don’t have to recharge these electric batteries by plug-in.

Hybrid cars cost a lot but the saving are huge on fuel and maintenance and very economical in the long run . Hybrid cars offer better mileage and efficiency in addition to low emissions.

The hybrid car technology is new and many auto manufacturers are manufacturing these cars. Many hybrid models are already available in market
Hybrid cars market is growing with more people opting for these models.

I wanted to comment on this for long but somehow skipped my attention. Here is some info on the subject:

• The typical hybrid car (petrol-electric or diesel-electric) has a small IC engine and an electric motor.
• The IC engine is much smaller than the traditional engine but is more advanced. The petrol/diesel fires this engine just like a standard car.
• The electric motor is very adavanced. It not only acts as a motor but also as a generator.
• While on electric power the motor powers the vehicle but at the same time the generator part also charges the batteries.
• The hybrid car contains a bank of batteries. They usually last 4-5 years or about 100,000 km.

Hybrid cars work as follows:

• During the startup and intial low gears, the car is powered by the IC engine as well as the electric motor.
• During city cruising, the IC engine shuts off and the electric motor takes over.
• When driving at high speeds on the highway where we brake less, do not change gears too often, the IC engine kicks in again.
• During the time when car runs on IC engine, the batteries are continuosly being charged.
• When the car stops, say at the traffic signal, the IC engine switches off and the electric motor takes over

The above mechanism allows the car to yield better mileage. But these are not the sole reasons:

• When the car is braking, the traditional car looses all its kinetic energy in form of heat. But on the hybrid car, the electric motor also kicks in and uses part of this energy to recharge batteries. Thus some energy is saved and stored back.
• The smaller size IC engine means that the bore is smaller, the pistons are lighter, the stroke is lesser. All this results in lesser use of the hydrocarbon fuel.

But the hybrid car also has a drawback. It is sluggish. This is because the engine is smaller and has less power. Some of the lack of power is compensated by the electric motor. When the car is climbing over a hill, both the IC engine and the electric motor are working to result in the extra power.

In India, the only hybrid car as of today is the Toyota Prius. The Honda Civic Hybrid was launched with much fanfare a couple of years ago. But Honda had to offer a massive 50% discount to clear off the stock. The reason is because of the lack of foresight by Indian government.

The Indian Government's customs duty structure is very rigid and flat. For cars manufactured entirely in India with some parts imported, the duty on imported parts is less. For cars, imported as kits and assembled in India, or complete assembled import the duty is something like 125% (not exactly sure). Unfortunately, hybrid cars are imported as kits and attract full duty. This makes the Toyota Prius sell at the ex-showroom price of 30+ lakhs. Add to this local taxes, handling, RTO, insurance, etc. and the car is easily 35+ lakhs. The Indian Government should promote hybrid cars by giving a duty exemption.

I agree that Hybrid Cars are very environmental friendly but it's a bit expensive compared to other car types and it the battery which is supposed to last a lifetime is not affordable too. Other studies show that Hybrid Car is about to be replaced by newer model by year 2013.
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Sometimes, we need car advisor to help us.

Cost is the Hybrid Car Killer
Btw FUEL cells are also in the fray


LPG and CNG on combustion give around 75% water vapour and 25% Carbon Dioxide
(Lesser Than a hybrid car)