Can someone explain hybrid cars to me, please?

[mousme]

I am Posty McPostalot today!

Here's the deal. I don't understand the concept of hybrid cars, except in the most minimal of ways (they use both electricity and fuel to run: yay!).

So... can someone explain this to me? Or point me to a good web page/resource for them?

Sometime in the not-so-near future, when I move far away from my job, I will likely look into getting one, but only if it makes sense to do so. If I end up spending just as much on gas as I would with a normal car, then it would defeat the purpose of getting a hybrid. Also, maintenance and overall reliabilty/functionality will be a major consideration. If my car spends half the year in the shop, that too will defeat the purpose.

Help?

Comments

[karine.livejournal.com]

First off: http://www.hybridcars.com/

This website seems to be a comprehensive guide to all things hybrid in automotive. The "research" section has a lot of information about what they are, how much the consume, and other such things.

What I originally learned about hybrids is that some are electric first, and gas-powered second, which means they run on batteries in slow driving and the gas kicks in on highway speed. Others do the opposite. I'm not so sure that's entirely true; the link above will surely answer the question.

the_adzo got himself a hybrid last year and he really likes it. You might want to ask him about it.

[merccom.livejournal.com]

hybrids are stupid.

remember basic physics. every time you convert energy from one form to another you suffer conversion losses and hence become more inefficient.

now thats not to say that hybrids dont get good gas mileage because they do but i've got to wonder what kind of mileage the same car would get running on only gas without all of the extra stuff to make it a hybrid.

also because of they way that hybrids work they dont get as good of mileage on the highway as they do around town.

[karine.livejournal.com]

In a regular car you lose a lot of energy that is being recuperated and converted to electricity in a hybrid. Instead of just wasting the energy that comes from braking, the energy is captured and reused. I don't see that as stupid at all. It's actually a pretty intelligent design. Don't just burn fuel: use power to make go, use brake to make power.

Last statement depends on the type of hybrid you're getting. The Toyota Prius is excellent on gas mileage for highway driving.

Plus, the main reason to get a hybrid is to reduce pollution. If you want a true comparable, check out, for example, the several Honda models that exist in both regular and hybrid modes, like the Civic.

[dizietsma.livejournal.com]

Regular gas cars are less efficient because the driver is constantly making the engine do things that are not as efficient as cruising at 55mph at 3000rpm. Hybrid cars take some of that inefficient stop-start usage away from the gas engine and drive it from the electric engine instead, which is a lot more energy efficient at low speeds. Electrics can also use regenerative braking to turn forward momentum into charge when you slow down the car, something which is completely wasted in a regular gas powered car.

[toughlovemuse.livejournal.com]

Biggest problem with hybrids: The battery costs $8000 to replace. And like any car battery, it's at the end of its life in 3-4 years. This is one of the reasons why they were off our list.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

How much does a normal car battery cost?

Also, I've never heard of anyone having to replace their car battery after 3-4 years. Do I just know exceptionally lucky people?

[toughlovemuse.livejournal.com]

Perhaps I'm mistaken in the time? Most of my knowledge in these matters comes from reading repair books about average replacement times, not from owning a car, and it's been a while.

As such, I'll refrain from commenting on how much a regular car battery costs to replace, since my memory is probably wrong on that too. But $8000 is a LOT.

[ladyiolanthe.livejournal.com]

My (gas-powered) 1999 Toyota Tercel finally had to have its battery replaced this past fall. Mind you that is probably a pretty good record because my cars don't get driven a lot. It's 9 years old and has less than 100 000 km on it. I got a Canadian Tire brand battery for less than $100.00. It would have cost more if I'd bought a Toyota brand battery. I doubt that hybrid cars have batteries available from anyone except their manufacturers yet so they do probably cost more because of the brand name/inability to get them at any old hardware store.

I hadn't heard that hybrid batteries cost $8000.00 - you may want to look into that. The bad thing I had heard about hybrid batteries is that they are not recyclable (yet) so when you do trade them in for another battery they create toxic waste that has to be disposed of.

[curtana.livejournal.com]

I believe the battery issue depends whether they're nickel cadmium (bad) or nickel metal hydride (not so bad). My understanding is that most hybrids today use NMH batteries. which can be recycled. The manufacturers claim they'll last for 150,000 to 200,000 km, but a bit of web searching reveals stories of people who've had to have them replaced earlier - most of those, I think, are slightly older-model hybrids, however, so possibly some of the problems are being worked out. The first story I came up with of someone having his hybrid car battery die was this one, from 2006, driving a 2000 Insight, still under warranty - several people in his comments relate similar stories, and one mentions a $5000 battery replacement cost, because the car in question was no longer under warranty.

So, basically, like almost any other car matter, it depends on the particular car and the type of warranty you get on it ;)

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

Made to last over the lifetime of the vehicle, a hybrid car's warranty covers the battery for a time period that lasts between eight and ten years. In terms of mileage, a battery pack is expected to last between 150, 000 and 200,000 miles, and it probably lasts longer than that.

Battery toxicity is a concern, but not a major concern

Hybrid cars use NiMH batteries, not the rechargeable nickel cadmium. Nickel cadmium batteries are usually detrimental to the environment, but the NiMH batteries that are used in hybrid cars are fully recyclable.

http://www.jb-pub.com/hybrid-vehicles/all-about-hybrid-car-battery-packs.php

There's lots more info on that site. Personally I'd just go for a good subcompact, not bother with the hybrid because generally if you aren't doing a lot of braking, the mileage is not as good and I'd be driving highway. In the city, do you need a car?

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

A hybrid still might be good in the 'burbs. But, probably not for someone like me. I roll to stops at traffic lights (I really don't understand the guy who races ahead of me, just to wait at the red light longer). I maintain a decent following distance. I try to avoid needing to use my brakes. I even put the car in a lower gear, going downhill.

I love those little Smart cars. I just don't want to drive one in North America. Even if it does have lots of safety, it's going to act like a billiard ball if it gets hit by something big.

[conscioussoul.livejournal.com]

Note that this company in ottawa should offer very shortly a program to refit the toyota prius and convert it to a full plug-in hybrid.
http://www.hymotion.com/faq.htm

Plug in hybrids are great because you can charge the battery directly from your garqage electricity (from a regular plug) so you ONLY use the gas on long run or when your enginre reaches more than 65km/hour.

As long as you plug it every night and use it in the city only, you would actually NOT consume ANY gas.

[ladyiolanthe.livejournal.com]

The one thing with plug-ins is that the electricity you use to charge the batteries from your garage has to come from somewhere. It comes from a power plant... What does the power plant use to produce energy? A lot of them use fossil fuels like coal or diesel. I have yet to see a comparison between how much fossil fuel you'd burn with a gas-powered car and how much greenhouse gas you indirectly create by using electricity produced by the power plant that runs on fossil fuels. It probably is less, but I just don't know.

I'd sure like to see such a comparison before buying a plug-in electric car.

[conscioussoul.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is definitely a concern and that is why electric cars will not solve the problem on the energy consumption level.
It is an important step because there are several clean ways to produce electricity, while there are no clean way to produce and consume gas.

However, as far as mouseme is concerned, remember we are in Quebec and here, all of our electricity comes from Hydro plants from the Bay James, so 100% of our electricity is clean.