Short history of hybrid cars


Defined Tag: History Of Hybrid Cars.

The history of hybrid cars is not a simple one. Although the product seems straightforward enough, there are many historical bits and pieces that have fallen into place in order to finally produce the concept we today recognize as hybrids.

For starters, a hybrid automobile is a car that uses on-board RESS, or rechargeable energy storage system. This is together with a powered propulsion power source for the automobile's propulsion. Hybrid motorcars are low-gas consuming cars, because of that, a environmentally friendly car.

The last mentioned characterstic is explicitly noteworthy because of the building consciousness of the people over the entire globe on the need to conserve the environment.

History will attest to the clear difference of hybrid in comparison to all-electric cars. Electric motor cars use batteries charged by an external source. Which also reminds us that, almost all hybrids, save for those held as mild-hybrids,to date call for gasoline and diesel as their fuel source. Other fuels are available as well in the form of ethanol or other plant based oils. Hybrid cars in addition use hydrogen gasoline occasionally.

More detailed hybrid car history

The history of hybrid motor cars is closely intertwined with the history of automobile itself. In 1898, Ferdinand Porsche, a young Czechoslovakian, designed the Lohner-Porsche carriage, a series-hybrid car that utilized a one-cylinder gas internal combustion engine. This engine spun a generator which powered four electric motors mounted directly to the wheels.

The vehicle was in the end presented at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. The automobile in question, capable of up to 56 km/h (35 mph) quickly destroyed many Austrian speed records. In 1901, it won the Exelberg Rally, with Porsche himself driving the machine. Mass production at this point in time was still in developement, but for Porsche's futuristic design, 300 units of this format were sold to the public.

The initial Porsche type for all that, to be precise as we know Porsch today, was a hand-built aluminium prototype, and was completed on June 8, 1948.

The development of the first transistor-based electric vehicle in 1959, the Henney Kilowatt, heralded a new development in the history of automobiles generally, and that of history of hybrid motor cars in particular. This transistor-based electric machine, paved the way for the electronic speed control. In due time, this made the road for the development of current hybrid electric motor cars possible.

The Henney Kilowatt was defined as the pioneer contemporary electric car. It was a result of collaborative work between the National Union Electric Company, Henney Coach works, Renault, and the Eureka Williams Company. Whilst the sales of the Kilowatt at this point in time were far from comforting, its development served as prototype for the other automobiles in the future of hybrid motor cars.

In 1960 - 70, another prototype of the earlier electric-hybrid vehicle was built by Victor Wouk. Wouk was amidst the scientists that had his hand in the project with the Henney Kilowatt automobile. For this achievement, certain historians awarded him the honour of being the "Godfather of the Hybrid" hybrid vehicles.

For his pioneering work, Wouk installed a sample electric-hybrid drivetrain into a 1972 Buick Skylark, courtesy of GM for the 1970 Federal Clean Car Incentive Program. The program was later discontinued by the EPA in 1976. Hybrid devotees and supporters continued building hybrids automobiles. These models although, were not put into mass production.

In the last few years of the decade on the other hand, the history of hybrid motor cars would be born again once more.

1978, the regenerative-braking hybrid, was developed by Electrical Engineer David Arthurs. The said regenerative-braking was to become the core design concept of a majority of hybrids, currently available in the market. The initial solution of Arthurs used off-the shelf components, including an Opel GT. But the voltage controller that links to the battery motor and the DC was the work of Arthurs himself.

Jumping to the end of the century

The history of hybrid cars took the final step to modernity in terms of mass production during the Bill Clinton administration. Clinton initiated the Partnership for a New Generation of vehicles program in September, 1993, that involved the Department of Energy, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, USCAR, and various forms of governmental agencies. The partnership was asigned the mission of engineering a new generation efficient and clean vehicle.

In 2001, this program was replaced by George W. Bush's own hydrogen focused FreedomCAR program. The main goal of the FreedomCAR initiative was to fund research that are viewed as excessive risk for the private sector to engage in. The long term purpose of which is the development and production of petroleum emission.

The advances of hybrid vehicles in terms of mass production however, became a reality when the Japanese motorcar manufacturers entered the American market. This is when the history of hybrid vehicles at long last took its new generation development. Honda Insight and Toyota Prius became the current ancestors of contemporary day hybrid cars available today in the market.

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