Toyota's third-generation Prius

Toyota's third-generation Prius, due at dealerships this spring, will have an optional solar panel on its roof. The panel will power a ventilation system that can cool the car without help from the engine, Toyota says.

But it's a long way from the 2010 Prius to a solar-powered car, experts told CNN. Most agree that there just isn't enough space on a production car to get full power from solar panels.

"Being able to power a car entirely with solar is a pretty far-reaching goal," said Tony Markel, a senior engineer at the federal government's National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado.

In the new Prius, the solar panel will provide energy for a ventilation fan that will help cool the parked car on sunny, hot days. The question is, how much gasoline can solar power offset? According to recent articles in Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Toyota has bigger plans for harnessing power from the sun. Nikkei reports that Toyota hopes to develop a vehicle powered entirely by solar panels. Motorists don't have to wait for a 2010 Prius to drive a solar-enhanced car, however. Greg Johanson, president of Solar Electric Vehicles in Westlake Village, California, said his company makes a roof-mounted panel for a standard Prius that enables the car to travel up to 15 additional miles a day.

The system delivers about 165 watts of power per hour to an added battery, which helps powers the electric motor, Johanson said.

"Solar panels really need a lot of area," he said.

Leonhardt thinks Toyota's new Prius is a good first step toward using renewable energy. Johanson of Solar Electric Vehicles said he'd like to see Toyota bring the weight of a Prius down from 3,000 pounds to 2,000. He also hopes for a small gasoline engine and a larger electric motor. In the meantime, Solar Electric Vehicles sells its version of a plug-in Prius, with a solar panel installed, for $25,000, Bautista said.

Toyota is the largest automaker to incorporate solar power into a mass-produced car. But its solar panel is not the first for a car company. The Eclectic model costs $30,000, looks like a souped-up golf cart and uses roof-mounted solar panels to help power an electric engine.

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The Development History of the Hybrid Car

By Wendy Gorman

Are modern hybrid cars reinventing the wheel? Well not quite, but hybrid car developers may be going full circle. Hybrid cars are currently all the rage and this is for many reasons including economy, climate change, fuel shortages and many more forms of challenge to the motorist. The latest hybrid cars are seen as a modern response to these challenges. The truth however is that the automobile manufacturing industry has been here before. So while contemplating the purchase of a new super modern hybrid, why not pause a little and reflect on the history behind today's so called new designs?

It is not generally realized that designs for hybrid cars actually predate designs for gasoline driven cars. As early as 1665 a certain Ferdinand Verbeist is known to have been working on the concept of a self-moving wagon. This appears to have been a very basic design, based on a simple four-wheeled wagon of the day to which some form of power source was to be added. The motive power was to be steam! It is known that he was still working on his design in the late 1670's but unfortunately no record exists to show whether he actually got it to work.

It was nearly 100 years later when Nicholas Cugnot produced a somewhat more sophisticated steam carriage that actually worked. Capable of speeds up to some six miles per hour, this vehicle proved the concept, but suffered from both not being able to create enough steam to go any faster and also not being able to carry enough fuel to go any great distance. Nonetheless, surely Nicholas can claim to have produced the first working hybrid car.

Over the next 70 years a number of designers tried various ways to overcome the known drawbacks of what came to be known as the horseless carriage and in 1839 Robert Anderson announced the electric powered car. Robert, who designed and built his car in Scotland, seemed to have made the breakthrough everyone was looking for.

Although highly acclaimed at the time, there were as always some snags to be overcome in order to increase performance and to create what today we would call a more user-friendly product. This electric car was a highly applauded innovation of its time. The main drawback with this design was the difficulty in maintaining the charge in the car's automotive batteries. The solution to this development problem proved elusive to many pioneers of the fledgling automobile industry.

By the late 19th century, automobile engineers were experimenting with combined fuel sources less dependent on battery recharging technology. It was in 1898 that Porsche introduced the Lohner Electric Chaise. This was powered by a combination of electric and fuel combustion technology and on battery power alone could cover distances of up to 40 miles. The ultimate aim of realistic distances was getting closer.

Throughout the major part of the 20th century the ideas behind the hybrid car lay somewhat dormant, as availability of cheap gasoline and the advance of conventional technology for powering cars, trucks etc was fully exploited in a great transport revolution. The first decade of the 21st century however brought changes in outlook based on rising cost of oil and gasoline, together with a growing environmental awareness of such things as global warming. Development engineers combined both a gas and a battery powered engine to power what would become today's hybrid car. This was kick started by Honda who introduced the lightweight two-door Honda Insight to the American automobile marketplace. A vigorous and continuing series of developments by other manufacturers have created the range of hybrid models we know today. In the same way that complex development of the gasoline driven car does not stop people understanding the 'simple concept' of conventional cars, the apparently complex ideas underpinning the latest hybrid cars, should not stop the automobile purchaser from seeing the hybrid car as being just as simple to understand. The hybrid car started out as a simple, self powered, four wheeled wagon and it is still that today - About 350 years after it was first conceived!

Wendy Gorman is an accomplished author and niche website developer. She is committed to exploring the question "what is a hybrid car?" and also to explain how to buy a hybrid car. Visit her sites now to better understand the hybrid car marketplace and its future.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wendy_Gorman

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Water Into Fuel - Beat the Gas Companies at Their Own Game

By Austin Warty

Rather than allowing the gas companies to make you suffer, why not take matters into your own hands by turning water into fuel? Imagine doubling your gas mileage and slashing your gas costs in half. This is something that thousands of people are making a reality by building their own water into fuel kit.

This solution is not just for mechanics and car enthusiasts. Anyone that can follow a set of instructions can build their own water fuel system. After visiting your local hardware store to purchase the materials you need, you can have your water for gas kit ready to install. Hooking up your water fuel system from there takes moments, as it simply requires making a few connections to your car battery and the manifold under your hood.

This is nothing complex. If you know how to screw in a light bulb, you are capable of turning water into fuel in order to double your gas mileage. There are no permanent changes to your car, and uninstalling it is a snap.

But if this actually works, why haven't you heard about it in the past?


Actually, this technology has been around since World War II, but most people really haven't been affected by gas prices this bad since the 1973 oil crisis. Now everyone's clamoring to find alternatives to increase fuel efficiency and reduce their gas consumption. Secondly, in the past you would have to spend thousands of dollars to purchase a hydrogen generator to get these results. Modern technology now allows the do-it-yourself person to achieve the same effect with under $100 of supplies.

Now you can literally make a trip to the hardware store, follow your blueprint to build your water fuel system, and have your kit installed in a matter of a couple hours. That means in just a few hours from now your car can be running off the gas that is produced from water.

Not only will you save money by drastically reducing the amount of fuel your car burns, but there are many additional benefits for using a water fuel system. For one, the combustible HHO gas that is produced can boost engine performance while reducing fuel emissions. Your car can run smoother and quieter while nearly eliminating greenhouse gases that your automobile emits. In fact, you may be eligible to receive a $2,500 tax rebate for your conscious effort to use an alternative fuels.

That's just the beginning. Find out all the benefits and how to turn water into fuel. Imaging that just a few hours from now your car can be getting twice the gas mileage. Find out how by visiting http://www.water-engine.factfriend.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Austin_Warty

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