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Will Diesel Hybrid Cars Be The Next Big Hit?

August 9th, 2010
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Four years ago hybrid cars would rarely be seen in roads and freeways. But as lots more people noticed and realized the great advantages this eco-friendly cars offer, and the savings they get, more and more hybrid cars are now plying our roads. So much so that hybrid cars are now as mainstream as the conventional engine cars that we got used to. But, it would not be a surprise if new developments and innovations come out to further develop the existing hybrid technology or to provide new technologies.

Many stories and rumors has circulated in the motor world of different discoveries and concepts that can further revolutionize the hybrid technology in motorcars, but many questions also have arisen on why some certain prior technology have not been incorporated with the hybrid innovation. This includes the diesel hybrid concept.

Diesel engines have been vastly popular in Europe and Asia. While North the US have not embraced the diesel engine as much as their overseas neighbors, developments have been manufactured in the United States to get rid of the characteristics which have made it a poor choice here. Recent developments have eliminated the extreme smoke generated and the loud rattling noises of the engines. Additionally, biodiesel fuel has had an increasing following and is seen as a solution to save the depletion of natural resources like oil. Combining hybrid technology and the new biodiesel fuel seems to be a better answer to our growing problems. Biodiesel is now cleaner and is in addition less expensive than regular gasoline.

While there have been no serious R&D done on diesel hybrid cars just yet, Ford has brought out a diesel hybrid concept car at the North Auto American Auto show in Detroit last January 10, 2006. Ford dubbed it as the Reflex sportscar. This is a car that is infused with a power source that uses a combination of a diesel engine, an electric motor and solar cells. Also, the Ford Reflex is all wheel drive car that Ford claims gets 65 miles to a gallon.

The Reflex, which could be the cornerstone for future diesel hybrid cars operates much the same way as gas/electric hybrid cars. It also has a hybrid battery pack to provide backup power to the vehicle that gets recharged by the engine and the heat generated by braking. The diesel Hybrid car by Ford uses lithium-ion batteries, the same kind used by the latest gadgets today, like cellular phones and portable computers. Most hybrid cars use nickel-metal hydrite batteries since they’re far more less expensive, but lithium-ion batteries have much more power capacity.

But the Reflex also extracts power from solar cells located inside the headlamps and taillamps. This is a technology patented by Ford. There are also solar collectors placed in the roof of the car that provides power to fans that operates inside the car to cool the interior when it is parked under the hot sun.

We can just wait until hybrid diesel car technology is more available. Until then, we can wait until diesel fuel can supply the same power as gasoline fuel. But when the technology is refined, we can all be certain that diesel hybrid cars will surely catch on and we’ll be seeing it more often.

 

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Pedestrian Safety Threatened By Quiet Cars

July 26th, 2010
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You would think that quiet cars would be welcome on any street, but some pedestrians may be thinking otherwise.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that hybrid cars have a much higher rate of pedestrian-involved accidents than other vehicles. At the SAE World Congress, David Strickland, chief of NHTSA, remarked, “Our analysis of limited data from 12 states shows that hybrid electric cars do have a significantly higher incidence rate of pedestrian crashes than internal combustion engines for certain maneuvers — like slowing or stopping, backing up, entering or leaving a parking space, and making a turn.”

Two automobile manufacturer organizations, AAM and AIAM, have teamed up with two organizations for the blind, ACB and NFB, to send a letter to Congress today stating their support for legislation that requires future hybrid cars to create artificial sounds when moving at low speeds. This proposal could become part of the Motor Safety Act of 2010, a bill now moving through Congress.

Under this proposed law, the alert sounds cannot be customized as if they were cell phone ringtones. Instead, the sound options would be provided by the vehicle manufacturers and activate automatically at lower speeds. The sounds will most likely mimic the engine noises of louder vehicles. Vehicles will not require artificial sounds at higher speeds.

If these proposals go into effect, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) must begin writing legislation within 18 months and finalize the law within three years. The NHTSA would be responsible for setting the minimal noise level a vehicle would have to make at lower speeds.

These safety regulations would benefit all pedestrians, not just the deaf and hard of hearing. Sighted pedestrians such as small children and bike riders were also targeted by this proposed law.

Not everyone would be thrilled by such a law—one of the many benefits of a hybrid eleectric car is its quiet performance, and the addition of artificial sounds would be unappealing to some drivers.

Drivers aren’t the only ones who wouldn’t be thrilled. The organization NoiseOFF writes on their website, “The NFB (National Federation for the Blind) is using money and political clout to increase noise pollution levels and adversely affect millions of people in the name of pedestrian safety” and that an alternative solution would be to give receiver devices to the blind that will alert them when a hybrid is near. The downside to this alternative is that it does nothing to protect sighted pedestrians and blind pedestrians must carry them around all the time.

Still, this law will make roads far safer for pedestrians, and to many the benefits outweigh the consequences.

 

Written by Bob Stogey: Car Dealers Springfield, Dallas Ford Dealers, Los Angeles Honda Dealers

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My Car Buying Experience

July 12th, 2010
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Last week I decided that I would finally get around to buying a car for myself. I have taken the bus way too many times over the past six months. Though not the worst thing to have to take the bus, I hate the lack of freedom that comes with your own car. I want to go when I want to go, but I don’t have any money to spend. I decided that my options were either going to a car dealership, police car auctions, public car auctions, or government car auctions.

I think the auctions would have allowed me to save a lot of money, but it felt really weird knowing that those were confiscated by the police or the government in one way or another. Those cars could have been used by criminals in a drive by shooting or some other terrible event. If you owned a car like that, you might liken it to living in a house where you’re aware that someone has died. It would not be good. So anyways, I decided to go to the dealership instead of looking into the auctions. What I hated about my experience there is that you have to haggle.

I never understood why there is a price on the car, the sticker price as it is called, but then the salesman tells you that no one actually has to pay the sticker price. Once you decide which car you want, you have to go and negotiate with them. I cannot get over how weird that is. The price is non-negotiable with most things you are going to buy. What’s in it for the car dealers when they let their businesses take shape like this? How come everybody doesn’t pay the exact same thing?

Was there a time when car dealerships came to realize more money could be made by negotiating with the customer or was it always that way? I think that deep down they are just looking to take advantage of people who are not good at negotiating. As they say, everything in life is a negotiation. I guess even if I did decide to go to police car auctions, public car auctions, or government auto auctions, I would have had to bid against other people anyway.

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