Cars Go Green - electric hybrid vehicles Questions
Question #1:
How many kilometers can the Prius travel on 13 liters of gasoline?
Express your answer using two significant figures.
Question #2:
The September sales figures for automakers operating in the U.S. came out yesterday, you can read about them at Click Here .
Ford, in particular, took a big hit in profits. All of the former Big 3 makers had disappointing results, and there doesn't seem to be much hope on the horizon. Will market forces eventually sink the Big 3, and should the U.S. Government step in, like they did with Chrysler in 1980?
I, for one, would hate to see all of those jobs go away - but have these companies acted in the best interests of the American people? After all, did not U.S. makers, GM in particular, lead the fight to sink California's electric vehicle law? Aren't their most profitable vehicles - gas-guzzling, Mega-SUVs - helping to keep us dependent on Middle East oil? Aren't they dragging their feet on hybrid technology? Is this socially responsible? When do we pull the plug?
Question #3:
I am interested in ways to increase the mpg of my Wrangler. I have owned it for a year and a half and decided to crunch some numbers today which ended up shocking me... In 18 months I have put 35,000 miles on it, at an average of 13 mpg that means I have burned approx. 2,700 gallons of gas which at an average cost of $2.70 per gallon is nearly $7,300 in gas.. WOW!!!
I have already installed a Banks cold-air intake on it but hadn't noticed any mpg increase partially due to the fact that I enjoyed smashing the pedal down to hear that intake growl. Realizing just how much money and gas I have used though should make it pretty easy to break that habit. I have been researching the benefits of a full exhaust system upgrade including torque tube headers, 2 1/2" tubing all the way to the back and a high flow catalytic converter and muffler along the way. Just recently I also read that converting the engine cooling fan to electric as opposed to belt driven can provide noticeable increases as well since the electric fan will only turn on when needed.
Will these proposed upgrades net me noticeable gains in the gas mileage department with the 4.0L engine if I can keep my foot out of the pedal? If so about how much would you guess?
Please no comments telling me to sell the Wrangler and buy a hybrid.. I do my part to be green, using cloth grocery bags, recycling, shutting off the water whenever possible, etc. My Jeep is my guilty pleasure and I have never been in a more comfortable or beautiful vehicle before.. it is my most prized material posession.
Well in all truth I did lift the Wrangler 4" a couple weeks ago and put 33" tires on it. I was running 31's before and I have kept the factory gearing of 3.73. My milage didn't really change much though, maybe half a mpg at most.
Question #4:
Life was simpler under the petrochemical monopoly. Miles per gallon was just that. Then we find that hypermiling techniques can allow some drivers to go far further. The EPA doesn't actually drive cars it calculates mileage. Click Here
It might be somewhat simple to convert gasoline to energy and determine the equivalent energy used to drive an electric car. On this basis the Tesla Roadster gets 244 mpge. (miles per gallon equivalent) Click Here
By law the EPA must provide a mileage rating, but hasn't come up with an official release: Click Here
So fast forward to what DOE's regulations would give us for mileage. Go here and scroll down to Petroleum-equivalent efficiency and tell me if this is something that would give you valuable information or is an intention to simply confuse the issue? Click Here
Linlyons, You are an intelligent person but you might take a moment to read the several paragraphs it takes to translate the DOE criteria. You might be as surprised as I to see what is included.
Nata, are you familiar with how much energy it takes to refine a gallon of gasoline and that you could drive an electric car further on that energy alone? Click Here Your numbers do not seem plausible.
Crash: Until you organize the United States of Crash we will have to consider the laws of this (US) country and not your wish list.
One point is clear, The DOE regs are not confusing if you don't look at them. One wonders if one head in the clouds is worth two in the sand.
Paula, altough I have, in the past, had some severe criticism of things you have written your answer is most on topic. Several different mileage ratings can be as confusing as one that is difficult to interpret. (As can this question if someone is not familiar with the issues.) We might hope that magnetic motors would work but the Australian, Oklahoma and Canadian work have all been discredited. (and it may not be revelant to EPA mileage.)
Question #5:
I have just a couple questions here:
If you have to plug it in and "attach" it to the electric grid, isn't that using "coal-fired" electric plants, which are highly polluting? And didn't Obama pledge to massively increase the cost of coal because it is a "dirty" energy source?
Also, I'm not certain I want to be limited to only 40 miles before a charge is needed, as people aren't going to let you just plug in your car and zap their electric bill, are they?
Don't these take hours to recharge? SO I guess wherever you are going with it, you better be prepared to stay for a while, right?
excerpt...
The long-anticipated Chevrolet Volt, General Motors' electric car, will cost $41,000, the company announced Tuesday, leaving consumers to decide whether its environmental appeal is worth a price far above that of similarly sized conventional autos.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.
But some analysts said they doubt that electric cars can reach a broad audience in the near term. Hybrid cars took about eight years to reach the million-unit sales mark in the United States, according to Energy Department figures.
"I'm not sure the Volt is going to be a volume vehicle," said George Magliano, director of automotive industry forecasting for North America at IHS Global Insight. "The technology still isn't there to make them cheap. At the end of the day, the consumer pays a hefty premium to make a statement."
Both the Volt and the Leaf will cost considerably more than rival gasoline-powered compact sedans, such as the Honda Civic or the Ford Focus, each of which costs under $20,000.
Price is only one potential barrier to mass adoption, however.
Consumers must also get accustomed to plugging the cars in at home. It takes hours to recharge the vehicles, and in the absence of a network of public recharging stations, drivers that run out of juice may need a tow truck.
Click Here
Ha M: According to EVERY FUCKING article on this suject, THE GOVT OWNS 61% of GM!!!
subject...not suject. My bad
Question #6:
I will be in the market for a more greener car like soon maybe early next year but id like to know if any manufacturers are making anything that is better or has more mpgs than a prius i know prius has like 48 mpg in the city but a lot of the newer cars use hydrogen like the honda so let me know if niot then ill just stay with the prius
this is the honda vehicle but its only in california
Click Here
Question #7:
We have been fooled into depenency on fossil fuels. Take the fuel motor out of a hybrid and replace it with an electric motor the vehicle becomes regenerative. Add a generator to an electric car or conversion kit. Add regenerative braking(already on some hybrids)and solar panels for optimum efficiency. Take the fuel motor off a home generation system and add an electric motor then you have regeneration without the use of fuels. Run power plants with electric drive sysytems. Yes it is that easy. Tesla knew this that is why some of his work is classified. This information is free to all.
Question #8:
I just don't understand how the momentum captured from breaking can be used to a charge an electric motor, which can then efficiently make short distance trips on a 3,000+ lb vehicle.
Is there more to it?
Question #9:
What do hybrid electric cars and regular gasoline vehicles have in common? how are they different? thanks.
Question #10:
for a while now, ive been wondering why companies put so much time and money into building concept cars. i know concept cars provide a visual of what an automotive company is capable of doing. these companies are using all these materials that could be used for vehicles that will actually be put into production because all concept cars do is sit in museums or garages and collect dust. they are simply undrivable. dont you think that automotive companies should provide another, more efficient way of visualizing their capabilities instead of building millions of cars that wont even be sold to the public. ive also seen many vehicles that can perform on different fuels like corn and nitrogen, why do you think it is taking so long to put these technological advances into our everyday vehicles. another thing is, most newer concept cars use magnets that are vital for newer hybrid cars and future electric cars. these magnets are very scarce; shouldnt companies try to conserve these magnets.
i do understand the whole point of concept cars, but wouldnt it be practical to conserve these important materials that are necessary for future vehicles.
Sdf: yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
Question #11:
1. Switch to hybrid vehicle.
2. Switch to nuclear power.
3. Switch to electric cars.
4. Uses buses instead.
5. Walk.
6. Plant trees.
7. Cut its Co2 emissions by x% by x years.
Question #12:
Question #13:
Question #14:
I bought a prius from a private seller who assured me vehicle was in perfect mechanical condition. Like an idiot i believed him. The car handles great steers wonderfully holds an alignment very well
About a week after purchase the car master warning lights came on so i took it to a Toyota dealer where i was informed the vehicle needed $10,000 in work ( new inverter and transanxle) also informed the car was in a very sever accident at one point but knew nothing about frames so was not able to tell if there was any damage
I found a private hybrid specialist who was able to repair the tranaxle as well as the inverter at a fraction of the cost they also had to do a weld as something was not welded to the radiator support as it should have been but i had to tow the car 1500 miles from my home and then drive it back. Afterward car has been mechanically perfect until I went to sell the vehicle ( which i could not morally do without disclosing the information I was given at the dealer about the accident)
A prospective buyer knowing of the accident wanted an inspection so he had a friend who owns a frame and body shop visually inspect the vehicle. Now this is a prius i do not know if a specialty shop is in order however they said the frame badly damaged ( car fax states no frame damage and the prius specialist didn't mention anything either.) I should also mention car max inspected my car and offered me a whopping $8500 Would they even buy it if it had significant damage?
I am unclear as to keep this car as I am now concerned about safety. I have not taken vehicle into frame and body for an estimate because I am flat out of money.
the electric water pump started leaking so I went to have it repaired come to find out the previous owner instead of replacing ( $100 part $200 labor) used silicone gasket sealer to piece it together.
he clearly knew he was ripping me off. and did so with a very high safety risk to me and my kids. A portion of the inverter wiring was bare and also taped with normal electrical tape. The inverter wiring carries up to 240v of electricity from the hybrid battery pack. I am left wondering what else he super glued together.
So I am wondering can I sue the private seller? I have spent all my money on the purchase and repair of this vehicle. I can not afford another. Total amount I have paid is $10,800 original purchase, over $2000 repairs, and another $ 3000 cost of trip and towing. If I have to pay to have frame repair not that i can afford it but at that cost I could have bought a brand new car.
Is there anything I can do to hold the seller responsible?
i want to add the party who inspected frame only did so visually. no computer involved. Also i totally trust the hybrid specialist who fixed my other issues
Question #15:
which one
fuel economy standards that are much higher than any other country in the world
the development of sugarcane-based ethanol fuel program
legislation that requires all Brazilians to drive gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles
the extraction of oil shale found in the southern part of the country
Question #16:
Question #17:
Companies such as BMW and VW produce diesel vehicles receive 36mpg (with 425ft pounds of torque) and 55mpg (with $250 worth of mods) respectively. While diesel engines are still a little more pricey, they last longer, producing less waste. We've had engines that last over 500,000 miles for a few decades and the public is still floored that Toyota often gets over 300,000 miles on a single engine. Also, diesel is not refined as thoroughly as gasoline, making the process to produce (and also to burn) easier on the environment.. Luxury automakers such as Lexus have been piggybacking electric motors on top of engines (instead of vice verse) and engineers from Ferrari are starting to follow suit. In my opinion, extracting 450+ horses out of 30mpg (15:1 power to mileage efficiency) sounds like a larger achievement than a whopping 130 horses from 55 mpg (2.4:1 efficiency) in many hybrids. Why not cut the power by 65% and back it up with some low-end torque from a motor? Performance, value and mileage rolled into one vehicle.. So why is it that we are investing most of our research and development into a weak vehicle who's lithium ion battery is heavy, unsafe in crashes and the resources to produce this quintessential building block is running out quickly?
Question #18:
I am curious about making this special modification to this vehicle. Since this has been deemed a hippie van back in the 60's and 70's I want to make it into the ultimate hippie machine. I want to have it run on electricity like a hybrid or be able to run on alternative fuel sources like dare i say hemp or more realistically corn or such. I know that it would take a TON of money but i just want to know that it could be done just a simple yes or no. Ive always had a fascination for this model and the culture icon stuff is only part of it and i want to improve the environment so i thought what better than the hippie van that can drive on nothing but electricity or hemp oil? Thanks
Question #19:
This afternoon, I was watching a Town-hall style meeting of United States President Mr. Barack Obama on Television. In that meeting, their was a small conversation between an audience person and Mr. Obama:
Audience person: Mr. President, You promote clean energy, talk a lot of green house gases etc, but you ride in Limousine, why not in a Hybrid or eclectic car?
Mr. Obama: Aaaa, I will be honest with you, (pause), I will be honest with you, (longer pause), let me be very honest with (with stammer), Limousine is a too heavy for electric engine but I have ordered to replace 25% of vehicle in white house to be replaced with electric engine.
Please give your onion, is this an honest opinion from Mr. President, or face saving exercise?
@neil s, unfortunately I cannot post my television set on this forum. My apologies for my helplessness.
Question #20:
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