Hybrids Tech

With multiple mentions at this week’s Democratic presidential convention, public awareness of plug-in hybrid vehicles can only continue to grow. So Toyota’s announcement that it will speed up a previously announced program to offer limited numbers of Prius hybrids that can use grid electricity to recharge a larger battery pack is significant.

Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe told reporters in Tokyo yesterday that fleet tests of an experimental Prius, modified to be rechargeable, will be moved up to late next year from 2010. According to a Toyota spokesman in the States, the cars will go first to “non-consumer fleets” like electric utilities—a traditional test bed for experimental electric vehicles.

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Get the lastest midsize SUV and full-size SUV classes. Dodge’s hope is that the Durango will therefore be appealing to SUV customers who need more interior room and towing capability than a midsize SUV can

typically provide, but have neither the garage space for a full-size sport-ute nor the desire to drive something so cumbersome on a day-to-day basis.

The past about Dogde Durango is launched in 1998, the first-generation Dodge Durango brought big-rig looks to a segment full of what essentially were tall station wagons. Then as now, the Durango was considered midsize, but looked and felt more like a shrunken full-size SUV. It was a sport-ute for the truck person: a vehicle that sat eight, but in pretty much every other way, was the antithesis of a minivan.

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With the popularity that hybrid vehicles are enjoying in the media and with all the attention they have been getting from environmentalist groups and advocates, one wonders how sales of these hybrid cars are going. Let us look at some secondary data provided to get a glimpse at just how marketable these hybrid cars are.

As of the first quarter of 2007, data from Forbes show that in the US alone, hybrids garnered a combined sale of more than 17,000 units, a remarkable 10% increase from the same period in 2006. The demand is definitely rising, and this demand is translating into actual sales. Sale of hybrid vehicles vis-à-vis the total number of light-duty vehicles sold also increased by as much as 1.4% compared to previous year levels. This only means more and more buyers prefer hybrids to conventional-fuel models.

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Care for the environment? Want to save the planet? Then you must think in terms of fuel efficiency, non-polluting, and eco-friendly transport. The answer lies in purchasing and using a hybrid car. They not just make a statement that I care but are compact and fuel efficient.

Here are some insights that may just tempt you to buy a hybrid.

1. Made of lightweight materials hybrids are small in size. The engine is designed to be fuel efficient. When the car halts at a signal, the engine will automatically shut down and restart when the car shifts into gear.

2. These cars have the advantage of being powered by a gasoline engine and an electric motor that takes care of acceleration.

3. The batteries of the electric motor recharge automatically by harnessing the kinetic energy produced during braking.

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