Automobile News and Information

A dual fuel automobile is a vehicle that will operate on two or more types of fuels. There are many alternative fuels available, not just petrol. The advantages to owning a dual fuel automobile are:

Fuel costs are reduced dramatically. For example, compressed natural gas (CNG) in Utah is .73 per gallon. The current petrol price is $4.08 per gallon. To fill a 12.8 gallon tank of CNG would cost $9.34 compared to $52.22 for petrol. If you fill your tank every week your savings would be $2229.96 per year. If you live in a 2 car home the savings would be $4459.92. That is a savings of $371.66 per month!

You may drive in the car pool lane alone by owning a dual fuel automobile. This could save you hours of commute time, thus allowing you more time to spend with your loved ones and not in bumper to bumper traffic.

Dual fuel automobiles when operated with CNG and not petrol are environmentally friendly. The use of natural gas as a fuel reduces vehicular exhaust. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by 70-90% and Hydrocarbon emissions by 40-60%. Carbon dioxide emissions, a cause for global warming, are also reduced significantly.

When operating a dual fuel automobile with CNG your costs to maintain the vehicle will go down and the life of your engine will go up. CNG does not contain lead which extends plug life. CNG will not contaminate or dilute crankcase oil.

Many vehicles may run on CNG, Propane, Ethanol, Hybrid Electric, Petrol and Hydrogen. Each type of vehicle will have advantages and disadvantages depending on where you live and the infrastructure of the fueling capabilities. However, most of Americas’ fuel crises were produced because we allowed ourselves to have very few options. Owning a dual fuel auto you will never be left without options again. You will be left with your personal choice of what fuel you want to operate your automobile under. When you have choices at the pump you will have a choice of what cost you pay for your fuel.

Some vehicles come standard from the dealer as a dual, bi fuel or dedicated auto. These conversions that are standard from the dealer are usually EPA certified systems.

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Our society has stated using biofuels as an energy source which uses organic matter. We will utilize these fuels as energy source replacement to the current fossil fuels that we are using. What is included in the biofuels umbrella is its aegis ethanol and some that has been derived from plants such as sugar cane, vegetable and corn oils. Although often used as an alternative for gasoline, ethanol doe have other uses. The International Energy Agency (IEA) tells us that ethanol could comprise up to 10 percent of the world’s usable gasoline by 2025, and up to 30 percent by 2050 but today, the percentage figure is only two percent.

On the other hand, this biofuels research needs to be improved and a study from the Oregon State University showed that it can be convenient and profitable. Unfortunately, despite many people’s hatred of petroleum based gasoline products, nothing yet developed is as efficient.

To measure energy efficiency, we need to know the quantity of the required utilised energy that we can gain from a certain amount of input energy. It never occurred that mankind has employed anything that obtained more energy from output than from what was the needed input.

We measure it like this: the input energy is the effort required to achieve the output energy we are looking for. According to a study by the OSU, the energy efficiency of corn-derived ethanol was found to be only 20% and that gasoline made from petroleum is 75% energy efficient with 69% energy efficiency for the Biodiesel fuel. On the brighter side, the study reported that cellulose-derived ethanol weighed up against the extremely efficient nuclear energy showed an even better efficiency of about 85%.

Even investors are beginning to see the advantage and the Chicago Stock Exchange is investing heavily in ‘grain’ futures as it can see the profit potential in this area. In fact it is now believed among scientific circles that by 2030, around thirty percent of the world’s fuel used for transport will be supplied by these fuels. If governments start to promote the use of these eco-friendly fuels more then some analysts believe the use of diesel and gasoline will reduce accordingly.

There are a number of nations which are concerned and attached with the advance of biofuels. Each year, it generates ethanol of about three and a half billion gallons. The United States, while being the world’s greatest oil-guzzler, is already the second largest producer of biofuels behind Brazil. Meanwhile the European Union lags way behind with only four million tonnes per year. Now eighty percent of Europe’s biodiesel comes from rapeseed oil with the remaining twenty percent from soybean and a little from palm oil.

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Technorati Tags: Automobiles, environment, fuel costs, gasoline, hybrid cars, hydrogen car, hydrogen conversion, saving money, Science, Water For Gas

Originally, it started as an engineering concept at the start of the 21st century. Gas-Electric “hybrid” cars were the dream of the modern society and they were displayed at auto shows to gauge public reaction and market potential. Yet within a few years alone, hybrids have evolved into one of today’s most important automotive trends. Electronic components have really developed over the last ten years and are now more geared than ever to accommodate for the ‘greener solutions of our time. Every bit of a car from basic fuses to solenoids have been updated and modified to be friendlier for the environment. Numerous other components have come into play in the advancement of this technology, but one element in particular, copper, has been indispensable in helping to propel the growth of hybrid vehicles.
According to General Motors Chief Engineer, Time Grew, “Copper has two important roles in hybrids: It runs the electricity, so you have large amounts of copper in the motor and battery, and, more importantly, the copper technology is making hybrids viable from a financial perspective”. Fortunately enough, hybrids have come into the market in a big way. People are more than keen to get their first hybrid car and contribute to saving energy resources.
These days there are not many cars that are not hybrid cars really. Car companies have a responsibility to now be far more conscious about polluting the planet. It is interesting to try and comprehend where technology will be this time in a few years. Will our cars be designed to be even more energy efficient? Only time will tell but I am sure that automotive technology will have a lot of surprises for us up their sleeve. It simply depends on what is going to be viable from a marketing point of view.

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In a world where the cost of fuel is rising and the environment becoming polluted, it seems that the use of hybrid cars paints a different picture of the future than the one we are heading.It seems to be the right move to make in these demanding times.The reason behind this is that hybrid cars do not depend mainly on 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.

The hybrid car cuts down on fuel usage and emission by using an electric motor to supplement a fuel engine; this allows the car to get as much power as required, remaining friendly to the environment.There is more fuel efficiency in hybrid cars than the cars that are powered solely on gas, and there is more practicality to them than the cars that are powered solely on electricity.When you compare hybrid cars with gas engine cars, you find that they are more efficient for fuel and when you compare them with electric cars, you find that they are more practical.There is enough energy in the hybrid car to be driven adequately on the freeway and with less fuel that too!

Hybrid cars need recharging but all you need to do is to plug it into an electric socket.The car’s gasoline engine or the car itself can provide for the power that is lost due to continuous coasting and braking.Here are some reasons why the hybrid cars are considered to be much more beneficial and practical than the gasoline cars.

The carbon dioxide emanated by the vehicles is significant in causing the greenhouse effect, which in turn is responsible for causing a deterioration of the ozone layer.The amount of carbon dioxide that a vehicle gives out will depend directly upon the amount of fuel that it takes in.As they use more electricity than gas, and because electricity is not harmful to the environment, hybrid cars are environment-friendly.

You can save some money with your hybrid car because hybrid car buyers are given tax rebates.A hybrid car can retain a higher resale value so 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.Since the hybrid cars get their power from two different sources, the engines are smaller in size.The engines are combined with an electric power supply and that enables them to perform well, though their sizes are smaller.

The technology of the hybrid car is the best answer for the problem of increasing air pollution due to traffic today.Hybrid cars have a great edge over the conventional cars in saving the environment because they use less fuel.However, hybrid cars are unaffordable to most people today; yet, this must be considered as a sort of investment that will keep paying off. While many of us can’t afford to get a hybrid car due to financial hardship, we can always check out Aston Martin pics to cheer us up.

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Technorati Tags: advantages of hybrid cars, hybrid cars

There is not a single driver among us who would not prefer to spend less of their hard-earned cash at the fuel pump. That is why people are becoming more and more aware of the many simple and cost effective ways that they can improve their fuel economy.

It has become common knowledge that one way to get better gas mileage is to drive slower. Even so, it is rare that people will do this, especially on the highway. So, if you really want to save on gas, find ways to do this that you are actually going to do on a regular basis.

First and foremost, recognize that your vehicle really needs to have regular maintenance checks. It has been shown that having a clean air filter can give you 80% better gas mileage than a dirty one.

Proper tire inflation can help increase gas mileage and a spark plug change can increase fuel economy by more than 10%!

Similarly, too many drivers are carting around a vehicle full of unnecessary things that are robbing them of valuable gas mileage. For every 250 pounds of excess gear in your car, you can count on around one mile per gallon lost! Also, make sure that you take bike racks and other items off of your vehicle when it is not the proper season.

Next time you pull up to the gas pump, you can actually save some money! When pumping gas, wait for the auto shut off, then remove the nozzle. Don’t try to force extra gasoline into the tank in an effort to fill the tank to the very top or come up with a nice, round payment figure. This is actually a waste of money because most of that extra gasoline does not enter the tank correctly.

As a final note, be sure to use all the features your car has to offer. Using cruise control, for example, can help you get better gas mileage by eliminating the differences in pressure that you may put on the gas pedal.

It is vital that you not only know the methods for increasing gas mileage, but that you are consistent in their implementation, unless you want to keep visiting the gas station regularly!

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It’s been ten years since Toyota introduced their first hybrid car, the Prius, to the market for energy and pollution conscious consumers. The model has seen significant success and maintains a steady waiting list for this interested in owning one. The market is booming and yet where is the competition? Honda hopped on with hybrid models of their popular Civic and Accord models, and Nissan is looking to edge their way in as their market share grows world-wide, but the original developers of the automobile, the American Auto Manufacturers, with the exception of a product line equivalent to sticking their toe in the water, have remained rather silent on the issue.

It looks like 2007 will be a step in the right direction though as 10 new hybrid models will release this year alone, six of those from Detroit’s big three automakers. Ford, Mercury, and Saturn each have their single entry in the field. As it stands though the full support and development budgets that the technology really needs to take off have yet to appear.

So, as GM, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler rev up their sales and attempt to take on a Japanese market with a decade’s head start, what can we look forward to in our hybrid vehicles?

The answer is exciting when you stop to think about the amount of development money and time that could really go into the market if these companies realize that there’s money to be made. When the consumers react and a dozen or more different brands hit the market in competition, the need to step up and offer bigger, better models to stay ahead of the curve will breed the kind of technology race that the auto industry hasn’t seen since the 1970s.

Recent reports released by the UN and the global scientific community state that with CO2 output as it currently stands, worldwide temperatures will rise by nearly 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. There are still hold outs on the consensus that technologies such as the automobile are causing harm to our planet, but as more and more come to the realization that this is a reality, the corporations will react accordingly. And if the government takes the steps to curb emissions and raise CAFE standards, it’s entirely likely that the industry might start to shift much of their focus to the hybrid car market in an attempt to curb the inevitable downturn in their profits.

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Technorati Tags: Auto, Automobiles, autos, cars, emissions, environment, hybrid cars

The hybrid car market has built upon us slowly but steadily over the last decade ago. If you can remember back that far you’ll recall that gas was hovering around a dollar a gallon and we were in an economic boom, right on the edge of the dotcom bubble and the economic reality of the new millennium.

The last half decade or so has brought a few other realities as well, the most prevalent being the truth in global warming. The social effects are just now starting to be seen, right alongside the commercial effects. The evolution of the automobile has sidled right up to the plate as the next major development. For those interested in helping out by owning one of the new generation of the car, your choices were limited for a long time, but with each passing year a whole new slew of options open up as car companies hop onto the bandwagon, realizing that there is in fact money to be made in this market.

Until Ford finally announced their Escape model recently, the market has been dominated by Japanese automakers, and even now as more American companies get involved, they have nearly a ten year head start in the market.

Toyota Prius – The most popular and oldest of all hybrid models, the Prius is one of the cheapest models available as well as the most efficient with nearly 60 mpg. There is a downside to being the most popular however – a waiting list of two to nine months.

Honda Insight – Honda’s new entry, the Insight is a straight up competitor to the Prius, with a slightly lower price point and slightly higher mpg. It doesn’t have the establishment of brand name like Toyota hybrids, but the success of Civic and Accord hybrids in Honda’s line places them in a better position than any other car company to take Toyota on.

Ford Escape – The Escape Hybrid is the first time an American car company has offered a hybrid vehicle to the public. Their first entry is an attempt to pacify both markets at the same time, offering a more expensive SUV hybrid that gets significantly better mileage than most SUVs on the market, but still fails to come anywhere near the Toyota or Honda mileage standards.

Lexus and Toyota have offered their own entries into the SUV hybrid arena, with the Lexus RX 400h and Toyota Highlander respectively. The popularity of the SUV being what it is, the price point is rendered partially if not entirely mute, as those on the cusp of buying an SUV because of gas mileage might reconsider when these options are presented.

With upwards of 10 new models supposedly being unveiled later this year, the list of hybrid cars available to the public is growing rapidly, finally catching up to the demand that Toyota and their over-stuffed order forms can attest to. What remains to be seen now is if the kind of technology race that this market needs is coming right behind.

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Technorati Tags: Auto, Automobiles, autos, cars, emissions, environment, hybrid cars

The auto industry has been abuzz about the developments and introduction of new technologies for as long as it’s been around. The big new of this decade is the introduction of the Hybrid car. It’s not quite the electric machine everyone thought we’d be driving by now, but it’s halfway there and it’s a good solid step in that direction. But what exactly goes on under that slick new hood that makes these cars so special?

The science is a bit stuffy, but the basics are simple enough. It’s not even new technology necessarily. Buses and trains have been running with the help of electricity for years, but now it’s a consumer product, something you and I can go out and pick up from the car lot and drive around town.

Electric cars have a lot of drawbacks. They’re hard to maintain, harder to charge up, and don’t go nearly as far as you’d like, and we all know the drawbacks of the gasoline powered machines we drive around now. The mixture of the two is an attempt to cut back on car emissions and gas mileage while not falling victim to the pitfalls of electric cars.

Basically, with hybrid cars you’re bypassing the negatives of both sides. You still run your car on gasoline, but now it takes half as much and instead of the gasoline powering your car directly, it powers the batteries and generator that do most of the actual work.

If you brake or release the accelerator, the generator takes and stores energy from the motion in the car’s motor, putting it back in the batteries and recycling it into the all powerful energy that will propel your car forward. It sounds complicated but it’s really a matter of inserting a middle man between gasoline and your car that doesn’t pollute or deplete as you use it.

The fact that you’re still using gasoline is a necessity at this point as it would take a 1000 pound battery to emit as much energy as 1 gallon of gasoline. Gasoline is still an amazing formula capable of storing vast amounts of energy. Until a suitable alternative can be found and refined to the degree needed to operate a motor vehicle in our high powered, quick moving world, the hybrid is the scientific equivalent of a godsend. Our only other alternative is walking, or to start breaking the laws of physics.

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