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Hybrid CarsHyundai Sonata Hybrid
 Description:The hybrid model of the Hyundai Sonata was officially launched during the Los Angeles International Auto Show 2008. This is the first gas-electric vehicle to be produced by Hyundai in America. Initially Hyundai had planned to enter the US market with subcompact hybrid vehicles but these plans were delayed even before the first car could be launched. It finally seems that the company is back on track and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is expected in 2010. During the introduction, Hyundai had proclaimed that their hybrid vehicles would be able to attain an average mileage of 35 miles per gallon by the year 2015. The president of Hyundai Motors America had also disclosed their plans to make Hyundai the most fuel-efficient car, bypassing Honda & Toyota. According to spokespersons of the company, one should expect a fuel efficiency enhancement between 20 to 25% in the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The existing Sonata midsize achieves 22 miles per gallon in the city and 32 miles per gallon on the highway. If one accepts the views of the company’s spokespersons, this translates to the Hybrid Sonata achieving 30 miles per gallon. Comparatively the Camry Hybrid beats its conventional version by 20 to 25% and the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid achieves 9% more than its gas-powered version. Hyundai has developed the hybrid architecture for the Sonata Hybrid in-house. The technical plans that are also referred to as “parallel hybrid system” will act as the base for future hybrids to be introduced by Hyundai. So what is this parallel hybrid system? In such a system the gas or electric engine or both of they directly power the wheels together, without resorting to gears or axles. Ford and Toyota employ a similar type of design. Those who are planning to purchase this SUV will be interested with its lithium polymer battery. This battery is able to provide 10% greater efficiency than the nickel metal hydride batteries, while occupying 50% less space and weighing 30% less. Whereas the lithium polymer batter is costlier than the nickel metal hydride ones, and they are not as easily available, Hyundai is not duly worried. According to them, this is the battery of the future, and being a late entrant in the hybrid field, they are eyeing the market of the future rather than the present. The engineers at Hyundai are not looking at the present but are foreseeing where will things stand 5 years from now onwards. Their entire planning, including that of the battery used for the car revolves around that foresight. Nobody can predict the costs of fuel one year onwards, when the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid will make its appearance, but as things stand today this model can easily beat the fuel economy ratings of currently available cars by a great margin. While there is no doubt that the competition too will research and come out with better technologies in the future, Hyundai has taken a head start. They have taken the correct approach by planning for the future and not for now. Hyundai Accent Hybrid
 Description:For quite a long period of time, nearly five years, Hyundai has been fighting a tough battle in order to develop the quality of its cars. There was a period when cars manufactured by Hyundai were not perceived properly and they were through to be low budgeted choices. Of late, this Korean car giant has managed to overcome all these hurdles and ranks at the top as far as quality and build is concerned. Check out any car related consumer surveys and you would observe Hyundai sitting at the top of the charts. Now that it has managed to win the minds of people, this car manufacturer from Korea is setting out to prove its worth and is preparing to manufacture hybrid cars at market them at affordable prices. All of a sudden, when things were rolling along smoothly, this organization slammed the brakes on its plans. There are reports in the market that 2009 will be the earliest before one can see Hyundai hybrid cars in the market. The reason cited for this is the rising value of the `Won’, the currency of South Korea. Primarily there is a general recession all over the world along with economic chaos that has slowed down the sales of cars. Add to that the falling value of the US$. This translates that Korean cars sold in the US will not fetch the manufacturers their true value in Wons. Apart from that there are some problems for the company at the topmost level. Recently the chairman of Hyundai Motor was charged with misappropriation of funds to the tune of $136 million. This embezzled sum of money was used to create political slush fund. According to newspaper reports Hyundai was forced to postpone important projects due to this problem. Among the important projects that got postponed were the development of the first plant of Kia in America and also the development of hybrid cars. Towards the end of 2005, at the 3rd Guangzhou international exhibition that is held on an annual basis in China, Hyundai had shown a hybrid version of one of its car, the Accent sub-compact. According to Hyundai, this car would group a 1.4 liter gas engine, capable of achieving 90 horsepower along with a 16 horsepower electric motor. The Korean car giant had also promised to increase the fuel efficiency of this hybrid car by over 40% compared to the only-gas Accent that provides 32 miles per gallon. Launching of a Rio Hybrid model along with the Hyundai Accent Hybrid was also planned. Most car manufacturers have their own design for hybrid cars and Hyundai too is developing their own design. Though the plans have been put on the freeze, its Accent Hybrid was expected to deliver 98 HP that would have pitted it against the Honda Fit hybrid subcompact that it expected to achieve 109 horsepower. Then again the Honda Fit, according to current reports might deliver 60 miles per gallon compared to the 45 miles per gallon on the Hyundai Accent hybrid. Honda Global Subcompact Hybrid
 Description:Honda has announced that it plans to launch a new, small and affordable vehicle in 2009. There were rumors in the Japanese press and they claimed that the next hybrid of Honda would be a gas-electric model of the Honda Fit subcompact, but the fact is that Honda is planning to a totally new model that will be solely hybrid. According to Honda, there were not planning about Jazz (Fit) hybrid at the moment. They further proclaimed that the gas version of the Jazz has adequate fuel efficiency. They would rather come out with a dedicated hybrid model that will be released in 2009, instead of coming out with a hybrid version of the Jazz. Both these cars will be of the same class, but the models will be different. Though Honda has kept its lips shut about this new model, details about battery, cost and design are slowly emerging. Spy photos are also emerging that portray unofficial photographs of the new Honda hybrid. Looking at these images one can observe that Honda has made a change of design since introducing the Honda CR-Z concept hybrid. Whereas the CR-Z had a sleek and sporty look the new Honda appears like a Prius Junior. Honda is targeting sales of about 200,000 vehicles worldwide and is planning to cut down on costs to make it affordable, when compared to other like vehicles. This new Honda will be manufactured in Japan and will cost approximately $1,750 to $2,000 more than similar hybrids. Environmentalists have come down hard on the hybrid SUVs and high performance SUVs. According to them, this is blatant misuse of hybrid technology. The promise of the subcompact hybrids has provided them reason to cheer about. The environmentalists complain that the hybrid technology was aimed to reduce the earth’s pollution, instead all the SUVs released till date are giving more emphasis on speed and size rather than CO2 reducing performances. All these are playing a negative role vis a vis the environment instead of improving it. The standard fuel run Honda costs approximately $14,000 and if Honda can stick to their words and release the hybrid at a premium of $2,000 it will easily beat the Prius by $7,000 or the Civic Hybrid by about $5,000. As can be observed, Honda seems to be keeping apart its hybrid technology specifically for small sedans. With this approach it is moving in an opposite direction from Toyota who plan to use their hybrid system for both small and large cars. This approach of Honda will also set them apart from General Motors who are employing two types of hybrid systems. A full 2 mode hybrid for trucks and SUVs and a mild hybrid system for small vehicles. At the moment Honda is looking at the whole scenario from a different angle. They are planning to use diesel engines solely for large vehicles whereas the hybrid system will be reserved for small vehicles. There are some other options too which Honda is looking at. GMC Sierra Hybrid
 Description:Thanks to people realizing the benefits of hybrids, it was not long before hybrid trucks too made their appearance. People have realized the value of using hybrid vehicles and they have seen the amount of fuel savings one can obtain by using hybrid vehicles, so it bound that the trucks would follow the same route as SUV’s. The pioneers of this trend, of introducing hybrid trucks, are GMC with their Silverado Hybrid and Sierra Hybrid pickup. The launch of these trucks was not publicized a lot and the numbers produced too were low. The fuel economies offered by these trucks were not worth shouting about, just 2 miles per gallon. The production of these trucks dropped silently in 2006, as silently as they had been introduced in 2004. Realizing the potential of such trucks, GM has started planning it again. At the moment they are the only automaker in US who are planning to manufacture full size hybrid pickups that have a capacity of over 20 miles per gallon. A new and improved hybrid technology is being used that will enable the GMC Sierra Hybrid stand up heads & shoulders above the other full-size pickup trucks available in the market. This new avatar of the Sierra Hybrid will have a 25% improvement over its fuel sibling as far as mileage is concerned and it will also offer 40% higher fuel economy. This hybrid system that is being jointly developed along with BMW and Daimler will permit all electric and gas free driving at low speeds. Under these conditions 4 of its 8 cylinders will remain turned off. This pickup truck will boast a 6.0 liter V8 engine with 332 horsepower. The primary idea is to provide maximum fuel savings to the owners by providing them savings in fuel when driving at highway speeds. Keeping these factors in mind, the vehicle is being designed in such a manner so that it provided maximum fuel efficiency even when the truck is towing a trailer or even when it is fully loaded. However there is a slight deficiency as far as the towing capabilities is concerned. It can only tow 6,100 pounds whereas certain gas powered Sierras can easily tow up to 10,500 pounds. There is also a sacrifice in the cabin space with room behind the back row being forfeited to make way for a 300 volt nickel metal hydride battery. Most buyers will not mind trading this space in exchange for the fuel efficiency this truck provides along with the smooth ride it offers. To enhance highway driving smoothness, especially on choppy and rough road surfaces, an innovative hydraulic mount has been introduced which is located on the side of the chassis where the passenger sits. This truck boasts of improved aerodynamics and the 300 volt air conditioning compressor that runs off electricity cools the passenger section even when the gas engine is turned off. There are many other features that ensure that this hybrid pickup truck will find the success that evaded its predecessor. Saturn Vue Green Line Two-Mode
 Description:The Saturn Vue Green Line Two-Mode will be marketed along with the mild hybrid version, though both the cars will serve different segments. There are people who will prefer the 4 cylinder engine and there are those who would love to have the performance & power that the V6 offers. Boasting of a 3.6 liter direct injection engine that delivers 262 horsepower. The 2 mode hybrid system that has been jointly developed by BMW, Dailmer, Chrysler and GM is mated to the V6. The end result is a compact intersect that can accelerate from standstill to 60 miles per hour in just 7.5 seconds and has the capability to tow 3,500 pounds. It is expected to deliver 28 miles per gallon in the city and 31 miles per gallon on the highway. Comparatively the 4 cylinder Vue Hybrid delivers 25 miles per gallon in the city and 32 miles per gallon on the highway. The Vue Green Line is able to offer this high mileage due to its dual mode. You will not miss out its solid bulk of 4120 pounds, but despite this fact, the car runs silently and smoothly. Like other hybrids, this car too is tough to identify as a hybrid unless one examines it closely. Take a glance inside the car and you will notice differences. Though the dashboard and the trim are the same, the tachometer has been replaced with an “efficiency gauge” that indicates the maximum fuel economy only when the car is running in electricity only mode. One has the choice of selecting an optional navigational system that provides a screen seen on the Prius that indicates things like the power flow among regenerative brakes, electric motors, battery and engine. If one does not opt in for this navigational system, they can just observe the basic information that is required for fuel economization on the efficiency gauge. According to the engineers, their toughest task was joining together of the standard friction braking with the regenerative braking and making sure that the engine would switch of and on smoothly under any circumstances. This system works perfectly with the friction braking coming to regenerative mode whenever required without any perceptible transition apart from the light on the dashboard that indicated that the battery is recharging. Apart from this there are some other nifty features like the emergency brake mode. In this mode, the regenerative braking mode is done away with totally and the normal brakes are put to action to stop the vehicle as fast as possible. The engine switching on and off is hardly perceptible unless one looks out specifically for it. The whining noise that is heard in most hybrids, when driving in all electric mode cannot be heard on the Vue Green Line. One can expect a range of 0.7 to 0.8 miles from this car when running in sole electric mode. Expected to be available at stores around January to February 2009, the estimated MSRP is expected to be under $33,000.  |
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