Car Design Electric Is Gaining In Popularity
With the world's population focusing on the environment and the ever-rising cost of a barrel of oil, the electric-hybrid car is gaining in popularity and proliferation. This article will focus on the two major electric car designs: the parallel mode hybrid car and the series mode hybrid car. This article will discuss the pros and cons of each system used in today electric car designs.
First, we will focus on the parallel hybrid electric car design. The parallel hybrid is a design in which the hybrid's internal combustion engine and the battery powered electric motors both have the ability to turn the transmission at the same time. The transmission then turns the wheels. Thus, the internal combustion engine and battery powered electric motors can propel the car at the same time. Also, the internal combustion engine and battery powered electric motors can turn the transmission independently, allowing either power source to propel the car.
An example of a parallel hybrid electric car design is the Honda Insight. Even though the Honda Insight is an electric car design, Honda utilized aerodynamic tricks to achieve the greatest fuel efficiency possible. These tricks include lightweight, aerodynamic shape, and special tires. These tricks allow the Insight to achieve the highest rated fuel mileage of any retail car sold today.
Second, let us talk about the series hybrid electric car design. The series hybrid is an electric car design in which the hybrid's internal combustion engine turns a generator. This generator can then either charge the battery pack in the car (which can provide power to propel the car) or power the electric motor that turns the transmission, which then propels the vehicle. In this way, the series hybrid's engine never actually propels the car. An example of a series hybrid electric car design is the Toyota Prius. Actually, the Toyota Prius is a combination parallel and series hybrid electric car design, but it is the only available retail design that in some way provides series hybrid characteristics. Unlike Honda, Toyota decided not to focus, too much, on aerodynamic tricks, but rather on the power train and electric drive systems. Taking this approach allowed Toyota to create a highly fuel efficient electric car design with a good deal of practicality. Toyota's Prius is classified by the EPA as a mid-sized vehicle, while the Honda Insight is a sub-compact vehicle, and when considering vehicles, practicality seems to trumps super efficiency, as evidenced by sales numbers. Both electric car designs have their pros and cons. For the parallel hybrid system, the pro is that the system is simple in design and cheaper to produce. The con is that the system is less efficient. The pros and cons of the series hybrid system are exactly the opposite of those of the parallel hybrid system.
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