The fuels that power most cars and trucks, and indeed motorcycles and aeroplanes, is one of the most volatile commodities on the market. Oil and petrol are not only becoming more costly, but the crises in the Middle East threaten to disrupt supplies as well.
This state of affairs is very worrying for individuals and governments alike. As the price of oil rises, citizens complain and blame the government and the increasing price of oil affects the cost of living and the balance of payments.
On top of that, environmental groups are unanimous in blaming the consumption of fossil fuels, which includes oil, for most of the degradation of the environment and the consequent disappearance of species. A possible answer to all these problems is the development of a different kind of engine that does not burn so much oil. Enter the hybrid engine.
All the top car makers are busy producing energy-efficient hybrid cars. Ford, Honda and Toyota are at the vanguard of producing stylish cars that contain hybrid engines which run off petrol and electricity. In fact, the car in essence has two engines which share the mechanism for delivering the power to the wheels.
These cars use petrol while the batteries need charging or while the car needs extra power, say for overtaking or going up hill, but they automatically switch the petrol engine off and the electric engine on when electricity can provide enough power to achieve what you need the car to do, like cruising in city traffic or standard, unhurried driving. The batteries are charged by the petrol engine, by braking and by plugging it into the national grid.
Trucks naturally use a great volume more gasoline than cars and so the possibility for saving is a lot higher to. The problem is that the electric motors are not really powerful enough to be able to entirely take over from a petrol engine if a great deal of power is needed to drive a fully laden truck.
It can 'assist' - that is reduce the load on the petrol engine, thus saving some of the costs, but can it save enough fuel to justify it's relatively high cost? That is the big question for all truck owners. However, the technology is being improved quickly and it probably will do one day.
Again the big three are doing all they can to compete in this potentially highly profitable market. If they could make hybrid engines that are powerful enough to pull a fully loaded truck at a good speed, manufacturers are convinced that truck owners will go for them in order to save on their ruinous fuel bills.
This along with decreasing the price of hybrid cars is the key to decreasing a country's dependence on imported oil. If you are not too concerned about the high cost of buying a hybrid car, then you should buy one merely to do your bit for the environment, but if you want to buy one to save on your fuel bills, you will have to get the calculator out and do your arithmetic carefully.
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