Hybrid Cars

Hybrids don't just conserve energy, they PRODUCE it!
When you step on the brake of a regular car, all that happens is you slow down or stop. When you use your hybrid brakes, the braking energy charges the electric engine. Making energy by hitting the brakes is just one of the ways that hybrids are evolving. Check out other state-of-the art technologies that make hybrids burn less gas…

Take a look under the hood!!!
Hybrid cars are powered by two engines - an electric motor and a gas engine. The electric motor provides power when you are cruising along. The gas engine kicks in with you need an extra boost of power.

No plug required.
The electric engine gets charged when you step on the brake. You fill up a hybrid at the gas station just like any other car. But you don't have to go there as often.

No idling.
When you stop, the engine automatically shuts off (this makes your music sound louder at red lights). Step back on the accelerator, the engine clicks back on. If every new car did this, America would save almost 840 million gallons of gasoline a year and cut global warming pollution by nearly 12 million tons.

The net effect?
Less toxic fumes, less global-warming carbon dioxide, less need to drill into the earth, less need to rely on middle-eastern dictatorships for fossil fuels that we're going to run out of anyway. That's evolution.

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Hybrids you can buy

Take a look at the three hybrids on the road today. They are leading the way, with more on the way.

• Honda Insight - With its launch in 2001, the Honda Insight was the first hybrid to hit the streets. At 63 miles per gallon, this two-seater has come in as the most fuel efficient vehicle in the U.S. four years in a row.

• Toyota Prius - The newly redesigned Toyota Prius took home the 2004 MotorTrend Car of the Year Award. It's well deserved. Talking about evolution, the new Prius is larger, more powerful, and pollutes less than the original Prius.

• Honda Civic Hybrid - The Civic hybrid likes to be incognito. This hybrid looks almost identical to other Civics until you take a look under the hood. Then you realize that this Civic is evolving.

• Ford Escape hybrid SUV - Who ever said an SUV couldn't go farther on a gallon of gas? Getting a combined 33 miles per gallon, Ford's new Escape hybrid shows that SUVs don't have to be gas-guzzlers.

• Honda Accord Hybrid - Honda's new hybrid Accord uses evolved technology to raise the fuel economy of its powerful V-6 sedan. This new hybrid boasts 255 horsepower while getting 33 miles per gallon - significantly better than a conventional Accord.

There are even more hybrid vehicles on the way - including SUVs.

• Lexus 400H SUV - Toyota's first hybrid SUV will likely be its luxury Lexus 400H. This hybrid SUV will have the same body as the Lexus RX330, but go twice as far on a gallon of gas. It is expected to arrive in early 2005.

• Toyota Highlander hybrid SUV - Toyota is also expected to introduce a hybrid version of its Highlander SUV. The hybrid Highlander will be available in early 2005.

More hybrids are in development and are expected over the next two years including sedans, SUVs, and pickup trucks.

Further reading:
Renewable Energy | Energy Efficiency

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