Only nine months after pledging to build a quarter of a million hybrid cars, Ford is going back on its promise. Instead, chairman and chief executive Bill Ford says the company will commit resources to improving fuel economy and CO2 performance in its conventional motors.
According to a Ford spokesperson, an internal panel of experts analyzed customer interest in hybrid cars and did not feel that there was enough demand to warrant the expense of building 250,000 hybrids. These cars, which run on an electric motor and battery as well as gasoline, cost significantly more to build than ordinary models.
The announcement comes as the Ford's financial woes continue to grow. This week Standard & Poor's downgraded Ford's credit rating and warned that its two most profitable segments -- sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks -- are under pressure. Ford already plans to cut 30,000 jobs by the year 2012, although few details have been given about where reductions will take place.
Environmental groups are not happy about Ford's announcement. This is the second time Ford has changed plans to build more environmentally friendly vehicles -- in 2001, the company backed out of a commitment to improve the fuel efficiency of sport utility vehicles.
Toyota continues to be the leader in hybrid cars. Worldwide, Toyota has sold more than 500,000 hybrids since 1997, and hopes to increase that number to 1 million hybrids each year by the early 2010s. To achieve that goal, Toyota plans to cut the cost of manufacturing hybrid powertrains in half
Rabu, 16 Juli 2008
Benefits of hybrid car
A lot of people don't recognize that with gas price on the rise and technology at the reach of our fingers, there are many options to take into account . The best answer at this time is to convert your present car into a hybrid with few reversible modifications. The advantages of converting your car to run on water are the following:Less Cost and MaintenanceWe by now haven't talked about the expenses to convert your car to haybrid. It will cost you less than a stopover to the doctor to heal your flu. You will be able to acquire all the essential gear and the step-by-step guide instructing you on each aspect in to get the job done with no key issues. Plus you get technical support. With a small jug of water connected in the approved manner to your car, it will last for hundreds of miles and you will not have to be stuck beneath your car's cover for extensive time. This can help you a great deal on saving money and can also help any problems in your vehicle.
Selasa, 15 Juli 2008
Future Car with hybrid tech
The auto industry has the technology to address these concerns. It's the hybrid car. There are a lot of hybrid models these days, and most automobile manufacturers have announced plans to manufacture their own versions.How does a hybrid automobile work? What goes on under the hood to give you 20 or 30 more miles per gallon than the standard automobile? And does it pollute less just because it gets better gas mileage? In this article, we'll help you understand how this technology works, and we'll even give you some tips on how to drive a hybrid car for maximum efficiency.Many people have probably owned a hybrid vehicle at some point. For example, a mo-ped (a motorized pedal bike) is a type of hybrid because it combines the power of a gasoline engine with the pedal power of its rider. In fact, hybrid vehicles are all around us. Most of the locomotive we see pulling trains are diesel-electric hybrids. Cities like Seattle have diesel-electric buses -- these can draw electric power from overhead wires or run on diesel when they are away from the wires. Giant mining trucks are often diesel-electric hybrids. they are also hybrid vehicles -- some are nuclear-electric and some are diesel-electric. Any vehicle that combines two or more sources of power that can directly or indirectly provide propulsion power is a hybrid. Most hybrid cars on the road right now are gasoline-electric hybrids, although French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen has two diesel-electric hybrid cars in the works. Since gasoline hybrids are the kind you'll find at your local car dealership, we'll focus on those in this article.
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