Fall 08 - T33 - G1

Our Chosen Topic
Hybrid Cars

Group Members
Lucas Weber Kelsie Jack Aneet

Advantage
Environment

-When switching to a hybrid car you are saving the earth a couple tons of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is one of the primary reasons for the increase of global warming. Hybrid cars release minimal carbon dioxide into the environment, which is lesser than that of normal vehicles. The quantity of carbon dioxide released by a hybrid car is proportional to the amount of fuel consumed.

-Hybrid cars combine clean energy of the electrical motor with the power of the gas-powered engine, which results in lower emissions into the environment.

-There is a reduced noise emission resulting from the substantial use of the electrical motor at idling and lower speeds.

-Air pollution emission is also reduced due to the lower consumption of fuel.

-Hybrid cars emit lower toxic emissions compared to the conventional vehicles because less gasoline is being burnt while the car is running.

-Hybrid vehicles help reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. This directly affects the fuel prices.

Economic

-The most popular economic advantage when owning a hybrid car is the amount of money that can be saved on gas. This is important during times of rising gas prices. The gasoline engine is quite small, since a hybrid car uses an electric motor with a long-range capacity of gasoline engine, 30 miles a galloon is saved.

-They are extremely fuel-efficient and provide a lifetime savings on the use of gasoline for an individual. When a hybrid car is stopped the engine automatically shuts off, which also helps the saving of fuel.

-There are also a number of tax credits available for the owner of the hybrid car. There are many financial incentives geared towards influencing the public to use hybrid cars.

Personal

-Hybrid vehicles are reliable and comfortable as any other traditional car

-They provide better mileage

-The battery does not need to be charged by an external source because it is automatically charged with the regenerative braking.

-Special warranties are provided for the battery pack because parts such as the electric motor can be very costly.

-Hybrids also have better steering control making it easier for the driver to control the vehicle.

Disadvantage
The Price

-Hybrid vehicles are very costly. They can range anywhere from $2,000-$5,000 more than any conventional vehicle.

-Some states in the United States charge an additional fee for the registration of the vehicle

-The maintenance of a hybrid’s parts is very expensive. Hybrid vehicles have very complicated systems, which need to be taken care of by experienced mechanics only.

The Battery

-Due to the battery pack in hybrid vehicles, the vehicle weighs much more than a conventional vehicle

-The warranty that is included by the manufacturing company only covers the battery from 80,000-100,000 miles but this varies for each car. The warranty is usually for 8 years. Carmakers say that the car battery lasts forever. However, if something happens to the battery and it not under warranty anymore, the battery costs a lot to replace.

-The battery in a hybrid vehicle also has to be charged at least every second week; therefore if one decides to go on a vacation, they will need to find someone to look after their vehicle.

-It has also been reported that there are problems with the battery in the cold weather.

Performance

-Hybrids are considered slow, which make it difficult for them to keep up with conventional vehicles on a highway.

-They have slower acceleration power and a lower top-speed than conventional cars.

Dangers

-In the even of an accident, there is a risk of exposure to high voltage wires. Most hybrid cars use metal hydride batteries and a high voltage wires, which is unsafe when the wires are exposed; therefore there is a risk that the driver make get electrocuted when involved in an accident.

-Due to the lightweight body of the hybrid, there is a serious risk of safety during an accident.

-Hybrid vehicles are very quiet, this has made it an dangerous situation for the blind pedestrians because they rely on the noise of the car to help them cross the streets

-Hybrid cars are usually smaller than normal conventional vehicles and are usually manufactured using lightweight. Although this might increase the speed of the vehicle, it also make the hybrid more vulnerable to destruction.

Threats
Global financial crisis

Since the subprime mortgage crisis broke out in summer 2007, major banks have filed bankruptcy and millions of jobs were lost. This had a ripple effect on all sectors of the workforce. As the economy is heading toward a recession worldwide, the demand for consumer goods is shrinking. Many auto-makers had declared huge sales drop in recent months and some barely have enough cash to pay its employees. As the cash flow of auto-makers drastic decrease, many research budgets to improve hybrid vehicles had been cut down. Financial crisis created a vicious circle as the consumers is not willing to buy new car and the auto industry doesn’t have the money to improve the hybrid vehicle technology.

Gas Price

Base on the data from Toyota Official website, the Camry Hybrid’s starting price is $26,150 and the mile per gallon is 33(city)/34(highway) and the Camry’s starting price is $19,145 and the mile per gallon is 21(city)/31(highway). For Toyota Camry, the starting price of the hybrid model is $7000 more expensive than the conventional models. However, its fuel efficiency is about 150% better than conventional vehicle. As we observe from the U.S. statistic, average miles a US passenger car is driven per year is around 13, 000 miles. That means conventional engine driver will consume 13000/21 = 619 Gallon of gasoline, while hybrid vehicle driver only used 13000/33 = 393 Gallon of gasoline. Hybrid driver can save approximately (619-393) = 226 gallon of gasoline per year. We will try to compare how much money the hybrid vehicle driver save using Los Angeles average gas price on June 24, 2008. The average gas price for the day was 4.61/gallon. If this was the average gas price for the entire year, hybrid vehicle driver can save 226*4.61 = 1041 dollar per year. It would take 6.72 year to recover the premium paid on hybrid vehicle. However, if we use the average gas price on Nov 22, 2008, 2.19/gallon, the hybrid vehicle driver only save 226*2.19 = 494.94 per year. The driver needs 14.14 years to recover the premium on hybrid vehicle. As we can see, as the gasoline price drop, the hybrid vehicles are not appearing to consumer from an economic point of view. Moreover, the conventional engine vehicles have not improved its fuel inefficiency a lot for the last ten year as the data pointed out. As the data points out, Camry 2007 has approximately the same fuel efficiency as Camry 1999. Vehicle value depreciated over the course of the years. As we can see from the depreciation calculator, on average a car lost half of its original values within five years. Average driver will not have a high motive to buy new hybrid cars if his old car still maintains in good condition without having to spend a lot on maintenances each year. In conclusion, hybrid vehicles have become a popular chose over the years when the gasoline price was rising. However, as we are heading toward a recession, consumers become more price conscience about their choices. Also, the gas price is currently at 5 year low and consumers are more reluctant to switch to new fuel efficient hybrid vehicles. These factors represent great threats for the development and the sales of hybrid cars.

Future Outlook
With automakers introducing new ideas at every car show in North America every year, it is difficult to see exactly how close the future is. The truth is its closer then we think; currently every car that’s deemed ‘hybrid’ is easily spotted in city streets, this ostentatious stereotype of the hybrid car is closing, and automakers are coming closer to the medium between luxury, environmental, and what everyone wants, speed. The ideas of corporations and inventors have flourished in the past century in the face of the reality, that our supply is limited. Since the 1960’s people have imagined a future of gravity defying hovering cars, teleporting, and holograms. As imaginations wandered, inventors worked. So far, what we can see is Electric and Hydrogen powered supercars, biodiesel created on fungis, and cars that run on solar power.(pictured right) This concept was designed and was set to be released and fully functional by 2030. Although solar powered vehicles have been around for quite some time now, many people find the cost and practicality very far out of their patience level, and price range. They need to be charged, maintained heavily, and in most cases, have special training to drive. A prime example of this type of restrictions is the universitys that have assigned full crews to upgrade, maintain,  and compete in races which actually In turn forward the technorlogy futher into the future. Top companies are hiring more and more engineers and concept artists to create the next ‘green’ car. Nissan has released a 3 seater fully electric car called the Pivo, while Toyota has released the Volta, the 408HP hybrid with 2 electric engines, which rivals the current ‘Scorpion’ and the electric Tesla. Which all have set their price point for well over $100,000. Although the gas free lifestyle seems to only find the rich and famous, us normal people will have to wait a little longer. With the Chevy Volt being one of the most affordable electric cars being released next year, the common person will, by 2012 be able to afford greener vehicles. Even though these electric vehicles are expensive to produce, it hasn’t stopped Aston Martin, from producing a 700HP machine of innovation. They have created a car with a maintenance free engine, fully powered by electricity, which takes an acclaimed 10 minutes to charge, all while the the engine sits in the wheels, using what they call regenerative breaking which negates wheel spin, and basically recharges the battteries. So as it may seem that electricity may be the fuel of the future, there is still heavy competition in the hydrogen area, which is slowly becoming more attractive common people, which currently only really has about 2 cars in the market competing against one another. The BMW Hydrogen 7 and the Ford Escape. Although the threat has been made almost every other company with at least one concept model of hydrogen propelled car. Since 1807 the world has been working with different types of hydrogen systems, all of which progressed slightly to become what we have today, and what we are working for tomorrow. So as almost every car company has realized the demand for alternative fuels, Toyota is the company that seems to be making it happen, with 7 other car companies licensed to use their ‘winning formula’ including Porsche and Audi, our selection of anti-noxious vehicles seems to grow rapidly. Honda has promised that the world will see a total alternative to every one of its vehicles by 2010, it seems that it will be no time before gas combustion engines become a thing of the past. The question is, what do we look forward to after that?