those hybrid cars

Im off to the Army pretty soon and one of the reasons Im going is to save up cash for 2 years..then come out and get myself a new car. Ive been looking at alot of cars and these hybrids really appeal to me. They claim to get between 60-70mpg. The only problem is that they look kinda shitty and not much room. But I expect them to have that fixed by the time the 2004 models are out.

I was just wondering what is special about these engines making it possible to get that much gas mileage, also why do they have to compromise leg room and looks for it? All the ones Ive seen so far look like a VW Beetle. Is it realistic to think there will be major improvements on the hyrbids' looks and leg room within the next couple years?

To the point where we wont be able to tell if its a hybrid engine or not?

If you gotta any other fun facts about these hybrids post em.

------------------

instead of sayin 'fuck tomorrow', that buck that bought a bottle coulda struck the lotto

they are half electric/half gas engines.....or some such combination. great for the environment, but youre right, kinda ugly.

cars in general are gonna keep getting uglier and uglier as time goes by... so far, every single concept car i've seen has been horrendous looking. granted, they're only concept cars, but look at the Aztec for crying out loud. quite possibly the ugliest car i've ever seen. so i dont think there's too much hope for an improvement in the look, but maybe people will start to accept them by then, who knows

this converted VW bus came through here not to long ago. they had it rigged up to run on cooking oil and were going across north america. It got far better mileage, used a fuel source some restraunts pay companies to get rid of, has hardly any emissions, and works in a normal car with some small conversions. Why arent people throwing grant money at these kids? they had some backing, but the key point of the trip they were making was trying to get funding to develop it...

“In general there are three important design considerations in building any type of fuel-efficient vehicle: low aerodynamic drag, low weight, and low rolling resistance …

… At high speed most of the engine's power goes into pushing air out of the car's way. Or to put it another way, on the highway, typically 1/2 of the power loss is due to aerodynamic drag for a traditional car. It goes without saying that reduction of drag is a big part of fuel-efficient car design. So if the Insight's tear drop shape looks a little odd to you, just remember that the goal of aerodynamic efficiency dominated the exterior design. The small front profile works with the low drag coefficient to reduce the load on the car at high speeds. The rear wheel wells have plastic skirts that allow the airstream to move smoothly past the tires, instead of becoming turbulent. The rear underbody has plastic panels to smooth the airflow beneath the car.”*

That is usually why they don’t look very pretty.

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/3q00/honda/entirecar.jpg'>

Honda Insight

http://prius.toyota.com/IMAGES/exterior/photo_6.jpg'>

Toyota Prius

-Al

*This information was taken from an article at Ars Technica

that Toyota doesnt look bad. The Insight actually isnt too bad either..but why does the body cover up half the back tire? That looks fuckin stupid. I saw a hybrid that Ford is going to release which looked pretty straight. Theyre making a hybrid SUV which, if I remember correctly, gets like 25-35mpg which is what a typical compact car gets..thats great for an SUV. Yeah I knew about alot of energy being wasted just from air resistance, if you drive behind a car or a semi or something you save alot of gas. But who wants all that hassle?

Yeah that Aztec is shit. And I like Pontiacs style. But if thats the best they can do with an SUV then they need to stop making them.

but why does the body cover up half the back tire?

It does that to decrease the wind resistance. It also gets a little skinnier in the back, which is part of the reason it only sits two comfortably. I saw that Ford is testing a hydrogen-powered car in California. The concept sounds interesting (the only emission is clean water), but the process is expensive. They are also having problems safely containing the hydrogen (can you say Hindenburg?).

On a side note … I was once told that there are two things to do in the Army. You could either follow around your superior and kiss their ass, or you could become an alcoholic. You think you are going to save all kinds of money, but once you get out of basic, you might spend it all on booze. I’m not saying that this happens to everybody, but my twin brother and his friends hit the bottle pretty hard every chance they got. Just be careful not to fall into that trap.

The day after Thanksgiving:

Alkaline: How was your Thanksgiving?

Alkaline’s Bro: Pretty good. I finished a whole turkey by myself.

Alkaline: You ate a whole turkey?!

Alkaline’s Bro: No … I drank a whole bottle of Wild Turkey. I’m still drunk.

-Al

Yeah I was reading about that Ford car. The P2000. It uses liquid hydrogen. The only problem is how explosive it is. And also it will probably be awhile before there are enough liquid hydrogen stations to make it convenient.

Yeah Im gonna be really careful. I dont drink. Ive told the story on here before - Ive only drank alcohol one time in my whole life, and I was so drunk I couldnt stand up..puked everywhere..the whole 9. I decided I wouldnt do that shit again for a really long time, and its been over 2 years and I havent had a drop of alcohol since.

I was in Military Chat on AOL and I mentioned I wanted to save alot of money. I said 'Im not going to have cable or a car..and Ill eat nothing but free Army food'. One guy told me he doesnt have a car or cable but yet runs out of money a few days before every check. I was fucking stunned that could even be possible, so I asked what he spends his money on..his answer 'parties, drinking, clubs, hanging out'. The average military person makes about $1100 a month or so. Since he has no rent, food, cable, or car to pay for - clubbing must be one expensive fucking hobby.

Im not gonna go that route. Im not even gonna go clubbing one time..because I know Im the type that would like that shit and do it constantly. And thats not the plan. The Army isnt for me to have fun. Its for me to be able to have fun in college.

pardon me man but FUCK A HYBRID unless it's a b16 head on a b20 block! shit, fuck 70 mpg too!! what's fucking with 2 double pumper 4 barrells on a 500 c.i. big block? that'll run you about 4 to 6 miles per gallon if you're lucky!!!

haha those things are so ugly... i would rather have that prius though at least it dont look like some kind of wierd insect car

There are gonna be more selections in the future. But Americans love their huge gas powered engines. Unless the government starts putting their foot down on the matters dealing with the cleanliness of our environment, manufacturers are gonna build what sells. And since our brilliant President doesn't believe in Global Warming, supports more oil drilling and is just a retard in general, I doubt the federal government will have very much say. But the Dodge Durango is gonna be a hybrid pretty soon.

------------------

I need a strong dose of caffeine and a dancing midget.

dunno......the fuel cell is starting to infiltrate the evils of

auto america.......by 2004 there should be some selection..

Originally posted by nipples-galore:

they are half electric/half gas engines.....or some such combination. great for the environment, but youre right, kinda ugly.

exactly. im down for anything that helps out the environment. i think the honda insights are the tightest ones out right now. if they had more than 67hp, id get one. they all have crazy low horse power which is probably why theyre so small.

I agree that everything is just getting uglier...cars were much prettier way back

i dont really know alot about them, i know that i see alot of them here in the cali bay area. i also know that when i sit next to one in traffic( i ride a bike) that theyre damn quite.they do seem to be on the small side though.

If you want more power in a car, you have to put a bigger engine in it. Bigger engines use more gas. You also need more room for a bigger engine, which increases the drag coefficient. Higher drag coefficient results in decreased fuel efficiency (i.e. you use more gas). You also need a stiffer frame for a bigger engine. A stiffer frame is heavier, which increases the rolling resistance of the car. Again, this decreases the fuel efficiency.

Remember that the goal of aerodynamic and fuel efficiency dominated the exterior design of these cars. They may not look that pretty, and they may not go that fast, but for the time being, that’s the price you pay to be on the leading edge of environmental change.

mapo wc: Good luck in the Army. Make your decisions wisely and don’t back down no matter how many people give you shit. I’m sure that before long you will meet people that are in the Army for the same reason that you are, and they’ll know exactly where you are coming from when you say you don’t want to go out and party.

-Al

http://www.wfu.edu/users/bierbau/pics/Photochem3.JPG'>

------------------

$$$666MAKROS666$$$