Photos of several electric/hybrid
vehicles have been released onto the websites of the internet. Here are some of
the cars and their facts.
The ToyotaPrius
The Prius has been created as a hybrid vehicle, designed from the bottom up.
Toyota's goal for the Prius is to minimize the amount of emissions it produces
and to be as energy-efficient as can be. They've used several methods to try to
achieve this goal, including:
- More efficient use of
internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric motors, reducing gasoline
consumption;
- Lower
coefficient of drag at 0.29, reducing air resistance especially at faster
speeds;
- Lower rolling-resistance tires, reducing road friction;
-
Regenerative braking, a process for recovering
kinetic energy when braking or traveling down a slope and storing it as
electrical energy in the traction battery (a rechargeable
nickel metal hydride (NiMH)
battery) for later use while reducing wear and tear on the brake pads;
- Continuously variable transmission. Actually, the gear ratios are fixed;
i.e. one can accelerate from zero to the maximum speed in one gear. The two
electric motors and the ICE are engaged in a planetary gear arrangement.
- Flexible resin gas tank, reducing the amount of
hydrocarbon emissions in the form of escaped gasoline vapour.
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