Hybrid Cars-Toyota Prius

In Britain there had been several attempts to build steam cars with varying degrees of success with Thomas Rickett even attempting a production run in 1860. Lawson in 1896 and making their first cars in 1897. Since the 1920s, nearly all cars have been mass-produced to meet market needs, so marketing plans have often heavily influenced automobile design. Sloan who established the idea of different makes of cars produced by one company, so buyers could "move up" as their fortunes improved. Hybrid Hybrid vehicles are on track to achieve record U. Hybrids combine the best of electricity and gasoline. Hybrid technology also works on a larger scale. Hybrids sound good -- they are, for example, exempt from the range limitations of battery-powered cars. Automobile propulsion technologies under development include hybrid cars, battery electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, and various alternative fuels. Experts say hybrid sales on pace for record-setting year. Sales this year despite signs consumer interest in hybrids is waning, an auto information company. Full hybrid systems allow both the gasoline engine and electric motor to provide power to the wheels; often, this allows the vehicle to shut down the gasoline engine when stopped at a red light, and to start driving the car on electric power only. The hybrid systems available from Toyota, Lexus and Ford employ this technology. Mild hybrids, by contrast, use the electric motor primarily to boost the performance of the gasoline engine, when it needs extra power; this technology is seen most often in the hybrids sold by General Motors. In the mild hybrid vehicles available today, most use what's known as a Stop/Start hybrid system, which shuts the gasoline engine off at idle (like at a red light) and instantly starts it up again on demand (like when the light turns green and you hit the accelerator). Toyota Rather than ask engineers and designers what they had in mind for loyal owners, Toyota asked loyal owners what they wanted the engineers and designer. Toyota first demonstrated a futuristic hybrid concept vehicle at the Tokyo Auto Show in 1995. The Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybrid in the US. The hybrid systems available from Toyota, Lexus and Ford employ this technology. In 2000, Honda and Toyota both started selling "hybrid" electric cars that evade those bothersome range limits. The Toyota Prius, a five passenger hybrid about the size of a Corolla, gets 52 miles per gallon around town and 45 on the highway. Toyota was supposed to start introducing the lithium-ion hybrids between 2008 and 2010, according to the Journal. See all models Hybrid News Toyota unveils plug-in hybrid car; Japanese automaker Toyota has unveiled what it says is the world's first certified plug-in and go car for public use. A handful of other hybrid cars, SUVs, minivans and pick-up trucks are expected to go into production and be available in the next two or three years. All of the hybrid cars available today are considered "parallel hybrids," for the ability of both the electric motor and gasoline engine to provide power to the wheels. About the Author John Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of www.WeKnowCars.com. He provides more information on all types of car and car issues that you can research in your pajamas on his website.