What's Your Opinion on Hybrid Vehicles?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cardude2004
  • 63 comments
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What do you think about hybrid vehicles?

  • Total voters
    24
  • Poll closed .
What do the wheels have to do with anything!? What the hell are you talking about?! Why are you now bringing engines into this?!

Look, let's just say that hypothetically there are two ways of mounting an electric motor in order to provide torque to the wheels (or for simplicity's sake, let's just say a single wheel): mounted at the wheel itself, or mounted away from the wheel attached to a transmission.

Forget the transformers and other garbage you've been bringing up.

If the motor is mounted at the wheel the motor's rpm will be the same as the wheel's. If mounted away from the wheel attached to a transmission the motor's rpm will be different than the wheel's. In either case you can easily determine the motor's rpm. No matter what.

And that's it!
 
Firebird
What do the wheels have to do with anything!? What the hell are you talking about?! Why are you now bringing engines into this?!

Look, let's just say that hypothetically there are two ways of mounting an electric motor in order to provide torque to the wheels (or for simplicity's sake, let's just say a single wheel): mounted at the wheel itself, or mounted away from the wheel attached to a transmission.

Forget the transformers and other garbage you've been bringing up.

If the motor is mounted at the wheel the motor's rpm will be the same as the wheel's. If mounted away from the wheel attached to a transmission the motor's rpm will be different than the wheel's. In either case you can easily determine the motor's rpm. No matter what.

And that's it!
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Well i was working under the assumption that it would use transformers.

And while you could always measure the rpm at the wheels if indeed the wheels where the place the motor is positioned, what use would that be if the current has already been through a series of transformers, all that would tell you is how fast the car was moving, which you could just look on your speedo for.
In a engined car, you want to know how much torque you have at what revs, for gearing and such. It would be useless if you replaced all that with merely how fast the wheels were spinning. So while you are technically correct in saying that the motors revs can be found by measuring the number of times it rotates. This is not equivelant to the revs you measure from the crank of a combustion engine.
 
It's the EXACT equivalent of the revs of the crank of a combustion engine.

I guess I'll just finish up so we can end this ongoing stupidity by saying that none of what we've been talking about really matters. RPM for an electric motor is useless, especially in a torque curve, because electric motors generate constant torque over any RPM range.

Take the Prius' electric motor as an example: 295 ft-lbs from 0 to 1200 rpm. :p
 
I'll wait for the performance hybrids, something like the volta concept by toyota....

Nissan is going to use some kind of electric motors in the GTR to power the wheels similar to the technology in the Nissan March...
 
I just saw the most practical use of a Hybrid I've seen yet, a 2nd gen Prius taxi. Think about it, durability, good interior space, and the great economy, makes it a great car to be a taxi.
 
Takumi Fujiwara
Actually, as long as there is gas in the tank, a hybrid's batteries will never run out. If there is a drain on the battery, the car will sense it. When the level falls below acceptable levels, the car will start and recharge the batteries. A co-worker of my father, who has a Prius (actually, he's on his second, he just traded in his first gen model), once left his lights on all night. in the morning, the car had used a bit of gas, but the battery was at full power, and the car started and ran flawlessly.
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A nonstop uphill stretch will kill the Prius's battery, leaving the poor little underpowered engine to fend for itself.
 
Takumi Fujiwara that can happen to anybody. My dad's car had to be towed to reprogram the computer because it malfunctioned and it was a Honda Accord. Lexus also has an SUV out that uses a hybrid. My parent's leave their gasoline vehicles at the airport for a week or more and they start.
 
I don't really care for current hybrids on a personal level, they are a step ni the right direction but it will need a bit more development before I'd consider one. I think LPG is better at the moment, and GM has that Highwire is it, that produces 0 emissions which we should see the technology on the streets around 2010.
 
Two views, you decide.

FOR:
"There are also quite a lot of old cars still running around that have unfriendly engine systems. Try and get rid of these and the environment would be done a great favour. " -BMW X5 SPORTS, June 1, 2004 in response to the topic "Innovations to Cars to Help the Environment"

AGAINST:
"Screw the environment, I'll drive my SUV and burn my fossil fuels, until we run out. Then I'm screwed... But until they make a good looking hydrogen car I'll refuse to drive Eco-Friendly. I'm no tree hugger." -BlazinXtreme, June 1, 2004 in response to the topic "Innovations to Cars to Help the Environment"

Now my views. First of all, let's not just talk about these cars for looks alone. And if you ask me, the Toyota Prius is a very stylish car. But the primary point is that we can't boil these cars down to looks. It's the same thing some people do with concept cars. The point of a concept is to give an idea as to what the future may hold for that car in general. The point of a hybrid car is to care about something more important than performance (at least in terms of the environment)- the environment. Personally, I look at hybrid cars for their PURPOSE than... just cars. Ford has hybrids, Toyota surely has hybrids, as does Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Honda, and perhaps some others I cannot name. Hybrid cars. Say what you want about their looks, but it's what's inside that matters. Cars that can get much more than 20 MPG, can emit low to very low emissions... I'm taking environmental science, and I'm increasing my awareness of the environment as I go along. Don't call me a tree-hugger or a hippie or anything, I'm just saying. Let's just count hybrids for what they are. They are friends to the environment. So if the world runs out of gasoline and gas-guzzling machines still dominate the world, you have to have some other kind of way to power cars so that billions of people don't have to walk every day.
 
Well doesn't the honda insight have the lowest coefficient of drag of any of the production cars on the market?.....That's a plus....Second...If you can find a way to get some more power out of the elec motors without using so much power from the car...because an elec motor can easily be fast as hell....it can spin as fast as the magnets can absorb and release an electric charge (in theory).....And the fact that an electric motor has just as much torque at 1RPM as it does at 10,000RPM's can't be bad.
 
cardude2004
Takumi Fujiwara that can happen to anybody. My dad's car had to be towed to reprogram the computer because it malfunctioned and it was a Honda Accord. Lexus also has an SUV out that uses a hybrid. My parent's leave their gasoline vehicles at the airport for a week or more and they start.
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This one was wierd, though, she was driving down the street and the car just shut off, she pulled over and tried to restart, and the screen gave her an error message and the order to have the car towed immediately.
 
I weep for the day that microsoft makes an onboard computer for cars. I will invest in a motorcycle then.
 
Firebird
Microsoft already does.

BMW's iDrive uses Windows CE as its operating system.

:D
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Yeah. There's a TSB everytime a new vulnerability is discovered. :indiff: The 7 series is on Service Pack 6. If you don't apply the patch right, it BSODs the car when you turn the key.


(joke, people)

M
 
Manufacturers missed the chance to enter hybrid vehicles into the world of performace... They might not ever be the best, but the performance that you could get for the gas would definitely be interesting.
 
bengee
Manufacturers missed the chance to enter hybrid vehicles into the world of performace... They might not ever be the best, but the performance that you could get for the gas would definitely be interesting.
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The possibilities are there. Wasn't there some electric powered prototype that could accelerate at insane rates (eg 0-100km in less than 2 seconds). I saw it on this board, similar in concept to a SR3 but obviously not petrol powered.
 
AGAINST:
"Screw the environment, I'll drive my SUV and burn my fossil fuels, until we run out. Then I'm screwed... But until they make a good looking hydrogen car I'll refuse to drive Eco-Friendly. I'm no tree hugger." -BlazinXtreme, June 1, 2004 in response to the topic "Innovations to Cars to Help the Environment"
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Damn straight! I hate hybrids, even the Silverado wanna be hybrid. Hydrogen is the way to go!!! Or direct drive electric motors, like the electric S-10 GM made, it ran like a 13 second quater with just electric motors.

But cars like the Pirus or the Insight I think it is, look like crap, have little pick up, and are unsafe. I mean the cars are little and light there fore less metal around you. I like the bigger car feel, even if its not a big car.

Oh wait...I can't diss all hybrids. The Ford Escape isn't god aweful now that I think about it. Still wouldn't want one, but I don't 100% hate them.

Just remember Hydrogen is the best way once our fossil fuels are gone!
 
A diesel hybrid would be better than a petrol hybrid.

By the way, I am now in love with diesel cars, trucks with enormous amounts of torque even if its low on power. I guess the current crop of hybrid petrol 1s ain't good enough.
 
Diesel trucks kick ass! Ford puts out the best one by far, and the noise isn't to bad, but its a truck...not a lux cruiser.
 
Yup, the bigger vehicle rule is one of those unwritten rules that should be observed by others. If I was in a Geo metro would I try and cut off an Excursion? Think about it.

I don't see why Honda doesn't make a Hybrid Accord, I think it would sell pretty good. I mean nice mid sized car with a well developed power plant. I personally hate the stylin, but I know many people love it.
 
Honda's way ahead of you.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-06-30-accord-hybrid_x.htm

Hybrid Accord vows performance, efficiency
By James R. Healey, USA TODAY

Honda confirmed an open secret Tuesday, saying it will sell a gas-electric hybrid version of the 2005 Accord sedan, making hybrid power available the first time in a midsize family car sold in huge numbers.

Rival Toyota is likely to field a hybrid version of its midsize Camry sedan, but not for at least a year.

Honda also noted that the hybrid Accord will run on just three of its six cylinders part of the time to save more fuel. And it will be marketed not as a fuel-sipper for thrifty buyers, but as a high-end sedan with more power than the gasoline V-6 model, as well as better mileage.

"We see the (hybrid) market expanding, and a key part is offering both performance and fuel efficiency," says Honda spokesman Andy Boyd.

The Accord hybrid is to go on sale in November or December for about $30,000 — roughly $3,000 more than a top-end Accord EX gas car — outfitted with leather upholstery, side air bags, five-speed automatic transmission and other premium features.

Honda forecasts about 32 miles per gallon in town, 38 on the highway, same as a smaller Civic four-cylinder gasoline car. Accord EX with V-6 gasoline engine and automatic transmission is rated 21/30 mpg.

The hybrid system teams the Accord's 3-liter gasoline V-6 with a modest electric motor that kicks in when additional power is needed. Hybrids shut off their gas engines at stoplights and other long pauses.

The Accord will shut off half the V-6's cylinders under light load to save even more. Honda's redesigned 2005 Odyssey minivan will have the cylinder shutoff feature, too. General Motors and DaimlerChrysler also use cylinder shutoff on some models.

Accord hybrid will be rated 255 horsepower vs. the gasoline V-6's 240 hp.

Emphasizing performance "may very well be a good approach," says Jim Hossack, analyst at industry consultant AutoPacific. It distracts buyers from complaints and controversy about hybrids' disappointing fuel economy and injects an emotional appeal that helps command a higher price, Hossack says.

Lexus likewise plans to pitch its RX 440h hybrid as a hot-rod sport-utility vehicle that happens to get good mileage. It will be rated about 270 hp, vs. the gasoline V-6's 230 hp. RX 400h is due in December.

"It's unfortunate" that Honda will be first with the high-performance hybrid pitch, says Lexus spokesman Brad Nelson, "but it's not going to change our approach and our message."

Honda also sells a Civic hybrid and Insight two-seater hybrid. Toyota's hybrid is the Prius sedan.
 
They perform well on gas milage and in time they will be able to get more power and torque. From what I've heard electric engines can put out more torque. Most of the ones out right now do look kinda ugly with the exception of the Civic hybrid that looks basically like a normal civic with a different front bumper.
 
There isn't a street tire or drive train (unless it's freakin titanium) out there that could handle 0-100km in 2 seconds from a electric motor...
 
cardude2004
Takumi Fujiwara that can happen to anybody. My dad's car had to be towed to reprogram the computer because it malfunctioned and it was a Honda Accord. Lexus also has an SUV out that uses a hybrid. My parent's leave their gasoline vehicles at the airport for a week or more and they start.
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It's the Toyota Harrier/Lexus RX300. I think there's also a Kluger/Highlander in the works but I can't confirm that.
 

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