Sierra Mazda’s Guide to Green Driving: Part 3
Hybrids
Los Angeles California
Hybrids use two sources of energy to power the vehicle – gas and electricity – either in combination or alternating, depending on what kind of driving you are doing. The vehicle’s computer figures out whether to use the gas or the electricity or both without you even being aware of the decision. They get better mileage because of the advanced power train, but also because of a host of other technologies used on hybrid vehicles, including regenerative braking (charging your batteries when you brake), turning off at idle speeds (they turn right back on when you step on the gas), lower profile/higher pressure tires and generally a vehicle design that emphasizes weight reduction. For a history of the Honda hybrid program and more detail on how it works, search for Ken Liu’s article on the subject.
It isn’t just about hybrids
Hybrids are by no means the whole story on green vehicles. Vehicles that don’t depend on conventional gasoline include E85 fueled vehicles (85% of the fuel is ethanol); and natural gas vehicles. There are also a number of vehicles that use good old gasoline, but use it sparingly and have very low emissions.
E85
General Motors has taken the lead in building flexfuel vehicles which can use either regular gasoline or E85 In 2008, Chevy offers the following vehicles with the E85 option: Avalanche, Impala, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, Express, and Uplander. One issue for Californians who wish to use E85 as a way to reduce reliance on oil is the availability of E85 itself. To see where the nearest station is to you, check out www.e85refueling.com. As this is being written, there are only three stations within 200 miles of Monrovia, but new stations are being added all the time so it’s worth checking back.
Next: Natural Gas Vehicles
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