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Toyota Prius Mask
What's Up with Hybrid Vehicles?
If the price of gasoline has got you scared, and you’re thinking about maybe trading in your car for a moped, you’ve got half the solution right. It might be time to trade in your car, but forget the moped – get a hybrid car instead. The dictionary defines the word hybrid as: Offspring resulting from breeding between parents of two different species, and that’s a good definition for our purposes. That’s because a hybrid car has a power plant that’s a cross between a gasoline po ...
Author: Diane Nassy
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The Hybrid Car
A hybrid car has a small engine
that is fuel efficient, which is combined with an electric motor
that aids the engine when additional power is needed during
acceleration. The electric motor gets its power from battery banks
which continuously charge while you are driving.
Energy is conserved when you stop because the engine is shut off
automatically. Then, when you apply gas, it automatically restarts.
The hybrid car also uses a more advanced aerodynamic lightweight
body, and combines it with low roll resistant tires that are stiffer
and narrower to help reduce drag.
In 2004, out of the 17 million vehicles sold there were around
80,000 hybrid vehicles sold. By 2005 that number had increased by
1.2% to 200,000, and it's estimated that by 2007 more than 400,000
hybrids will be sold.
There are several hybrids currently available in North America. They
include the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius,
and the Mercury Mariner. There are also Hybrid SUVs available - the
Ford Escape, the Lexus 400H and the Toyota Highlander, and many new
models are on the way.
The Toyota Prius holds 52% of the hybrid market with just under
108,000 vehicles. The Honda Civic is the next most popular with
25,000 vehicles.
Now that consumer support for the hybrids has arrived, auto
manufacturers are increasing the pace at which they introduce hybrid
models. Just starting to come out are the Honda CR V SUV, Saturn Vue,
Hyundai Accent, and Kia Rio are being introduced as hybrid models.
In 2007 we will see the Toyota Camry, Honda Fit, Mazda Tribute,
Chevrolet Malibu, and Nissan Altima; and 2008 will see the Ford
Fusion and Mercury Millan available as hybrids.
And as an added bonus in the United States, consumers that purchase
a hybrid will get a tax break. Those purchasing fuel-cell vehicles
will get up to $8000 in tax breaks, and those purchasing alternative
fuel vehicles that weigh less than 8,500 pounds get a $2500 tax
break. It's a nice pleasant surprise!
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Article of the
Day:
Hybrid Hype and a Small Price Hike
Drive by any car lot in the United States and ask to see the latest hybrid car models. Don’t be stupefied if eight out of ten tell you that they can’t seem to keep them on the lot—that they’re just selling too fast! There is reasoning behind the hype: consumers believe in one (or all) of three things, that they’re going to be getting a better deal once gas prices hit $2.50 a gallon, that they’re not sacrificing performance and that they’re helping the environment. Let’s first take a look at how these cars are put together ...
Author: Michael Walker
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Toyota Prius Mask: Toyota Recalls 75,000 Prius Hybrids (AP)
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mostviewed/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051013/ap_on_bi_ge/prius_recall"><img src="http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20051014/capt.sge.rbr44.141005044516.photo00.photo.default-384x218.jpg?x=130&y=73&sig=GBZbmFkRaf65UE05VVZs1w--" align="left" height="73" width="130" alt="Toyota's gasoline-electric powered Prius (L). Toyota Motor has issued a recall for about 160,000 Prius cars sold mainly in the United States and Japan due to a potential software glitch that may cause sales of the hybrid to stall(AFP/File/Kazuhiro Nogi)" border="0" /></a>AP - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it is recalling 75,000 Prius gas-electric hybrid cars because their engines can stall due to an electrical problem.</p><br clear=all>
Toyota Prius GT?!
It has been called "the answer to the question nobody asked": Introducing the 2005 Toyota Prius GT concept car, first seen at the 2004 Paris Auto Show. Not quite a speed demon, but certainly a more responsible way to...
Toyota Recalling Prius to Remove Easter Eggs
TOKYO, Japan - Toyota is recalling 160,000 of its popular Prius hybrid cars because of what the company initially called "an electrical problem that could cause the engine to stall." But in a subsequent announcement, Toyota president Fujio Cho was more forthcoming, saying, "It is our duty to admit to our consumers that non-malicious, but potentially inconvenient, computer code was introduced into the Prius sub-system. These so-called Easter Eggs are not truly dangerous, but we do not wish to dishonor our loyal customers by leaving them in place. This recall will correct the offending code." The recall work can be performed by any Toyota dealer free of charge.
Problemi di Software per la Toyota Prius: quando un'auto va in crash...
Slashdot | Software Glitches Stall Toyota Prius: "CNN/Money/Tech reports that 2004 and early 2005 Toyota Prius models have software bugs that cause them to stall while traveling at highway speeds. While no accidents were reported to have been caused by the software glitch, could we be heading into an era where our automobiles will require software updates and fixes to keep them from literally 'crashing'?'" [attivissimo.blog/. il grassetto è mio] "Hanno un bug software che può provocarne l'arresto finchè stanno viaggiando a velocità autostradale..." Ohmammamia Io questa l'avevo sentita solo nel famoso comunicato stampa delle General Motors in risposta alle affermazioni delle Zio Bill, ed era in pratica una barzelletta
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