Welcome to Go Hybrid - Your Guide to Hybrids and Cost and Energy Saving Alternatives

With gas prices and environmental concerns on the rise, more and more people are looking to fuel-saving alternatives. Here you will find a wealth of information on hybrid vehicles, alternative fuel, and biodiesel expansion as well as tips for saving cash at the gas pump. Learn about the alternatives through our articles and resources on hybrid cars and gas alternatives, and use our guide to the left for information, or browse our articles for tips and news in the world of hybrid vehicles and alternative fuel.

Photo credit: Paige Foster

A Brief History of the Hybrid

What we think of today as the hybrid vehicle was actually thought of decades ago by an American engineer by the name of H. Piper. Piper’s version of the hybrid was a vehicle with a gasoline engine and an electric motor power train not too much different from today’s version of the hybrid. However, there was one great contrast in the two vehicles.

Photo credit: Gary Cowles

While today’s hybrid is focused on conserving energy and the environment, the hybrid designed by Piper had a completely different purpose – to have a 0 to 25 (yes, miles per hour) of only seconds. Of course today that rate is laughable but in those days it was a huge achievement. By the time Piper received a patent for his “hybrid” vehicle, cars had already made it to the point where they could perform at the same or a much better rate.

Featured Time to Get Rid of Your Gas Guzzler? Tips for Getting the Best Deal on a New Car With gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon, it might pay to invest in a new, more fuel-efficient car, even if you were hoping to eke out another year or two with your current model. If you drive 15,000 miles a year, a car that gets 40 miles to a gallon vs. 20 miles to a gallon can save you more than $900 annually in gas costs when gas is $2.50 a gallon.

Learning to Love your Hybrid-Little “Extras” that Makes them Worthwhile

Hybrid cars are the newest trend in cars today. They are energy efficient, environmentally friendly, politically correct and trendy. Long gone are the days when you did not have much of a choice for hybrids. Now, car companies are jumping on the hybrid car bandwagon and are offering tons of choices when it comes to buying a hybrid.

Now, buying a hybrid car is a lot like buying any other car. Maybe you want to buy one to save a bundle of money on gas and get the best gas mileage you can. Maybe you want to look cool in the hottest car trend. Or, perhaps you just want to do your part to help the environment. You can do all of this and more with your new hybrid. You have choices. You can get the latest upgrades and features on your car that you can on almost any other car. There are some favorite upgrades that will make you love your new car.

Stealth Mode: This sounds very futuristic and when you purchase a hybrid car, such as the Toyota Prius, you have the option of upgrading. This enables your car to be driven immediately when the start button is pushed. The electric pump warms the engine using saved hot engine coolant. The stealth mode allows your car to be driven without the engine running. It is completely quiet, hence the name “stealth”.

The use of the stealth mode on a hybrid car could make it possible to run your new car for less than one dollar a gallon. That seems like a dream considering today’s high prices on gas and fuel. While there are some pros and cons to using stealth mode on your hybrid car, most experts agree that as technology advances, this feature will become more popular to anyone that owns a hybrid.

Extra batteries: You may as well face it. Hybrids depend on the battery. While they do recharge, the battery life is not forever. You have the option of adding larger battery from private companes or you can buy conversion kits to do this. You can also purchase extra battery packs for your car. Before you decide to buy a larger battery, do your homework. A larger battery may reduce your gas mileage, which might be the whole reason your bought your hybird in the first place. Larger and more powerful batteries could make your hybrid car less efficient and it could cost you a good chunk of money. Hybrid batteries are not cheap.

Solar Panels: Solar panels are just for your home. You can also use them in your hybrid car. These panels can add energy to your battery while the car is in motion. For the Toyota Prius, these solar panels can be quite helpful when the car is parked for a long period of time in a sunny area if there is no charger avaialble. In fact, it is reported by some drivers that when they use these solar panels, they can get up to a ten percent increase in their mileage. Be wary though. The amount of sun your solar panel can utilize will depend on the weather conditions and the size of the panels.

The other great thing that many hybrid car owners love about solar panels is that these solar panels are not just for the Toytota Prius. Any hybrid car can be outfitted with solar panels. Panels can be added to fit the roof, trunk and the hood, making your car as energy efficient as possible. While the solar panels cannot produce enough energy to make your car run with no other energery source, it does help as a supplement to electric power. Who knows, perhaps in the future technology can make a hybrid car that runs completely on solar energy. Until then, you can add these unique little feature to your car and get the most for your money.

There are many additions such as these that you can have added to your new hybrid car. In addition, you have all the options of other cars. You can upgrade your sound system, your interior package and even have a global positioning system installed in your car. Your hybrid car can be both functional and stylish at the same time. These upgrades will leave you loving your hybrid car while saving on gas and money.

Related Site

Visit Green Hybrid for more on hybrid cars.