Hybrid Car As A Key To The Future - Essay Example

THE INTRODUCTION: The Future is upon us. Or should we say it has driven itself to us ? The Hybrid Car is the Car of the Future. It’s main attributes are reliability , relatively affordability, less consumption of gasoline compared to most other cars on the road. They can be seen everywhere; in supermarket parking lots, at the mall, etc. The Hybrid Car as the next stepping stone seems to be an inevitable plight. So What does the use of these Cars Mean to us, The Common Consumer?? In Hybrid cars, less fuel is consumed because hybrid cars do not use gas in order to operate. They also make use of electricity, a power source which does not have any negative impact on the environment. Another obvious advantage of a hybrid car is that it saves on gas. Using Hybrid cars, helps one save out on gas money as he doesn’t have to travel for long and can go for several miles by consuming relatively less fuel.Another Incentive of Owning a Hybrid car is that it helps reduce tax. In  January 2006, in accordance with the new Energy Policy Act, the federal government began awarding unprecedented tax credits to consumers who bought hybrid cars. Although they are gaining popularity slowly and steadily, they are still not completely successful. This is because the hybrid cars, like the Toyota Prius have received mixed reaction. The hybrid-electric car uses a battery and electric engine to increase gas mileage, to bring down emissions and fuel consumption. On the outskirts of it, it seems like these cars are better for the environment. However, if the cost of manufacturing is considered, Hybrid cars may actually be worse than fuel efficient cars for the environment. Major environmental concern is not the car itself, but the materials obtained to create the car. The car is not a new invention. The history behind the car shows, how the entire idea of hybrid car was introduced. It was then scrapped due to efficiency constraints and Petroleum powered counterparts. II. Predecessors; Past Uses or Equivalents: The hybrid car came into being centuries ago. The first of the Hybid Vehicles was an Electricity powered Carriage created by Robert Anderson of Scotland. However, USA had already started taking interest in the these vehicles in the 1880s when the Electric Tricycle was created. By 1897, USA introduced its first Fleet of Electrically driven taxis, and by 1900, its was enjoying it’s the prosperity and popularity of the vehicles. The vehicles has all the attributes that diesel powered vehicles did not.  The electric vehicle was the preferred choice of many because it did not require a lot of manual effort to start, There were also no problems with a gear shifter. The Vehicles did not pollute the environment as they did not use diesel. They did not have a bad odor or the tendency to vibrate violently. And although the steam powered vehicles had the same features, they required water only after travelling a short distance, and required that they’d be heated up, which sometimes took upto 45 minutes. The demand of hybrid cars began in 1920s, when several factors were brought to the forefront. 1. The Electric cars were just too expensive. With their Limited range and inefficient models lining up, the cars were just not in the range of the common man. 2. Henry Ford began the production of the Combustion engine in mass quantities, signaling the reduction in the Prices of the Diesel cars. Further decrease was bought by the discovery of Oil in Texas and the Invention of the electric starter. The Electric car concept had all but disappeared by 1935, and till the 1960s remained so. However, in order to combat the rising import prices of Oil from the foreign nations, reduce the problems of exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines, the Hybrid car concept was looked up again, and attempts were made to create an Alternative. The raw materials and resources that went in the construction of the vehicles started from the use of the first of Rechargeable batteries, which were made to improve over time. Electric cars at that time did not have much of an impact on the viewpoints of the common folk apart from initial fascination. This was because the price of such vehicles were very high, and only the upper class were able to enjoy them. The dangers of pollution or environment did not exist as they do now as the people were unaware. The Upper class had no idea, as these vehicles were simply used as signs of wealth and luxury. They had fancy interiors, with expensive materials, and averaged $3,000 by 1910.  III.PAST ORIGINS AND PATTERNS As mentioned earlier, the Predecessors of the Car highlighted the History to which what it has come to being today. The Origins of the Hybrid are not difficult to find out. Between 1665 and 1680, Flemish Jesuit priest and astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest had created plans for a miniature four-wheel unmanned steam “car” for Chinese Emperor Khang Hsi. In 1769, Frenchman Nicholas Cugnot built the first steam-powered motor carriage that was capable of six miles per hour. 1825 saw the British inventor Goldsworthy Gurney built a steam car that successfully completed an 85 mile round-trip journey in ten hours time, as the Steamers had dominated the automotive landscape until the late 19th century. In 1834, Vermont blacksmith Thomas Davenport, the inventor of the first American DC electrical motor, installed his motor in a small model car, which he operated on a short circular electrified track. Though Thomas Davenport was among the first to install an electric motor into a vehicle, an electric car in the conventional sense was not developed until 1890 or 1891, by William Morrison; the vehicle was a six-passenger wagon capable of reaching speeds of just 14 miles per hour (23 km/h). It wasnt until 1895 that Americans began to devote attention Shahan 4 to electric vehicles as, by that point, Europeans had been making use of electric tricycles, bicycles, and cars for almost 15 years. Many innovative ideas were bought forward, interest in motor vehicles increased rose in the late 1890s and early 1900s. In 1917, the first gasoline-electric hybrid car was released. Unfortunately, the hybrid was a commercially a failure, proving to be too slow for its price, and too difficult to service. Thomas Edison and an electric car in 1913 ( photo courtesy of the National Museum of American History) Acceptance of electric cars was initially hampered by a lack of power infrastructure, but by 1912, many homes were wired for electricity, enabling a surge in the popularity of the cars. At the turn of the century, 40 percent of American automobiles were powered by steam, 38 percent by electricity, and 22 percent by gasoline. 33,842 electric cars were registered in the United States, and America became the country where electric cars had gained the most acceptance. While basic electric cars cost under $1,000 (in 1900 dollars, roughly $26,000 today), most early electric vehicles were massive, ornate carriages designed for the upper-class customers that made them popular. They featured luxurious interiors, replete with expensive materials, and averaged $3,000 by 1900 (roughly $78,000 today). Sales of electric cars peaked in 1912. Up until 1960s, hybrid automobiles were relegated to the automaker and inventors. Then, in the late 1960s, the serious public health effect from use of internal combustion engines became more concerned and public official reprehending the auto industry for it, which renewed interest in the electric vehicle. In 1966, U.S. Congress introduced first bills recommending use of electric vehicles as a means of reducing air pollution.  The oil crises of 1973 and 1979 prompted another flurry of activity during the mid 1970s and into the 80s. The Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development & Demonstration Shahan 5 Act of 1976 not only brought government and industry research engineers together, it also brought federal funding in Hybrid research. During 1977 till 1979 General Motors spent over $20 million in electric car development and research, reporting that electric vehicles could be in production by the mid-1980s. In USA market, Honda introduced its two-seat hybrid in 2000, and the Prius followed several months later. In 2002 Honda introduced the Honda Civic Hybrid, its second commercially available hybrid gasoline-electric car. The appearance and drivability of the Civic Hybrid was identical to the conventional Civic which help gain hybrid popularity. In September 2004, Ford released the Escape Hybrid, the first American hybrid and the first SUV hybrid. Other automakers, both domestic and foreign, are also following the hybrid trend and popularity. Now we have more options than ever including Sedan, SUVs, Trucks, Luxury vehicles etc. It has now taken the Hybrid car more than 100 years, with an approximate 25 years to start the construction for the first viable hybrid, with many Millions of dollars spent in creating the look of the future. Materials that were once used were the Acid lead Battery, which was opted out in favor of the nickel hydride (NiMH) battery. The NiMH battery can accept three times as many charge cycles as lead-acid, and can work better in cold weather. The Only problem seems to be the disposal of the Battery, which Toyota claims will help to dispose of, with all scrap hybrids to be given to them, and offer a “$200 Bounty” on those which are left unchecked. However, this does not seem to a 100% efficient idea. While not nearly as dangerous as lead, nickel is not without some environmental risks, and is considered a probable carcinogen. There are also concerns about the environmental impacts of nickel mining, and apparent challenges with fully recycling the nickel used in hybrid batteries.Nickel Mining, which is often done in open cast mines with all the attendant pollution that goes along with excavating large holes in the ground. Luckily,nickel metal hydride batteries are non toxic and they can be recycled, but at a cost. As the sales of the cars have shown improvement, the need to work on the battery replacement would take atleast another 5 years. Shahan 6 IV. Contemporary Origins: In order to realize how the car reaches us, we need to consider all that occurs in the process of its construction. The Hybrid car is first designed according to the designs and simulations created by its manufacturers in order for it to be efficient as well as cheap as possible, all the while amending the style in order to make the real model adaptable to the battery. After all goes well, it goes into production. Seems pretty simple, does it not ? It all seems to be alright on a shallow level, and the public seems to be agreeing with it, but is it really that all that it claims to be? Even today, the environmental effects of the Hybrids cannot be fully measured. However, the sales of the Hybrid Vehicles give a positive response. According to Greenest Wheels; From January 2004 to April 2009, over 1.25 million hybrid cars and SUVs have been sold in the US alone, giving hope to environmentalists everywhere that we need to utilize the right kinds of energy sources to attack issues like global warming. However, though the fact that we believe that 1.25 million Hybrids are travelling on the roads, it represents around just 2.3% of the number of cars actually in the USA. In considering the latest economy turndown, the percentage has shrunk further down, to just 1.84% in December 2008.However, the good news is that the environmentalists hope that the sales will start rising again of the Hybrids, much faster than before. China has a near-monopoly on the rare earth metals that hybrid cars depend on. Rare earth metals going into the production of hybrid cars, which depend on them for components like the electric engine, may have already caused more damage to the environment than the vehicle could possibly offset. China is widely known for its disregard for environmentally-friendly mining techniques, especially when half of its rare earth metal mines are illegal. In fact, As quoted by Wang Caifeng, the top rare-earths industry regulator at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in China, has said “[rare earth mining] has caused great harm to the ecology and environment.” Shahan 7 Remember, though the car does not need fuel such as diesel, Petrol, and other Hydrocarbon based alternatives, it still charges itself at our home, with the electricity provided to us by the Power plants that generate the Electricity by burning the fossil fuels themselves. I n orders to maintain the level for the consumer enjoyment, the fossil fuels are burnt at a faster rate. Is this a good Trade off?? V. Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs)  The future of the Hybrid Car is here. In a decade or less, it would not be inconceivable to imagine hybrid batteries that are two or three times as efficient as todays batteries, but half as heavy and half as expensive. The American World can be seen as pushing the pedal towards the greater greener future. They had the Plans for over a century, which have been borne into fruition in the Past decade, and they are only going to improve. The dent on pollution will be made slowly and gradually, but with technology, money, and the goodwill to make the world a better place on their side, there is no reason NOT to believe that the Pollution free world will be upon us soon. Read More