What people are looking for in a car today is obvious, good fuel mileage. Hybrids in today's market are a key stepping stone of what the future has to offer for us. I believe that this truely is the way of the future along with the use of an alternative fuel, not depending upon gasoline at all. One major car that sticks out in the small number of hybrid models is the Toyota Prius. While many of you know what a Prius is there is a lot more about the car that many people do not know about. A driver cannot go down a road without seeing one of these hybrids anymore. They are becoming more and more popular because of the great fuel economy they get for in town driving.
The way a Prius works is based on the combination of both electricity and gasoline to power the vehicle, thus making it a hybrid. The better city mileage can also be aided by the fact the electric part of the vehicle can power it to speeds up to 15 mph, thus alleviate the dependency on gasoline entirely at low speeds. The drive train and braking are Toyota's main focus on turning the vehicle into a power supply within itself. The way the car regenerates electricity is in the braking, as you brake the car sends the excess kinetic energy back to the batteries, charging them up.
The car has many different settings that it senses depending on what kind of driving you are doing. For intown driving it focuses more on the regeneration of power and the use of the batteries to drive the car. For most highway driving the car uses primarily the gas engine to provide power. The gas engine when at a certain speed will actually provide enough electricity to cover the loss of the electric portion of the vehicle.
This car has many different features that can be tweaked to gain even more gas mileage. Several people have altered the wiring system in the car and have obtained over 100 mpg. This proves that if any average Joe or electrically inclined person can alter to obtain this, why can't the automotive companies exceed the fuel mileage they are making cars get today?
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