Hybrid and electric cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid and galvanising automobileal automobile cars EssaySeveral types of vehicles which use preference sources of energy nurse al train been developed. These are mainly aimed at controlling the levels of air pollution and to show a cheaper means of engineering science, especi in ally with the increasing oil prices. With todays current economic situation, some money saving cars have hit the road, such as hybrids from Toyota and Honda. However, our cabaret thinks that the hybrid or galvanizing car is a recent advancement, when in fact there were actually more galvanisings than gas furnish cars on the road in the 1800s. The aim of this research paper is to find out why the society is oblivious to this fact. The history of the galvanic car The history of the electrical vehicle started from the early successful try on to store electrical energy make by Alessandro Volta in Italy in 1800. The next event of study significance was in 1921, when Michael Faraday demonstra ted that wire rod carrying electric current supplied by a Volta ram would rotate around a heady magnet of one end and was unconstrained by allowing it to assist in a bath of mercury. He as well showed that the magnet would rotate around the wire if the fixed and moving elements were reversed.Furthermore, the direction of rotation was reversed if the polarity of the electric current was reversed. This was the principle of the electric motor. In 1832, an electric motor was operated by having a bar magnet mounted on a shaft rotating inside stationary coils of wire in which the electric current was successfully switched by contacts on the shaft. The first electric motor was first constructed in 1968, but it was non until 1973 that the first road vehicles were driven. Interest had also developed in competitions between internal burning at the stake-engine vehicles to show which was superior in speed and reliability.Leitman etal, pg 62-67) While all these developments in electric v ehicles were going on, the gasoline rendered internal combustion engine vehicles were also organism rapidly developed, so that by 1900, the trade for automobiles was almost equally divided between the three contenders of steam, electrical energy and gasoline. Enthusiasm of the electric vehicle was strong at this time primarily because of its ease of starting without windy subscribe to hand crank the engine. The12 years from 1900 to 1912 was the golden age for electric vehicles, although gasoline-powered vehicles were developing rapidly all over this period.In 1903, there were more electric vehicles in London than these powered by the internal combustion engine, but this situation did not last for long. By 1909 when the model T was launched it was already clear that the bunk for personal transport had been won by internal combustion engine This did not stop the image of electric vehicles in use in the USA increasing to a peak of 30,0000 in 1912. However, by this date, there we re 900,000 gasoline engine vehicles on the road in that solid ground, and comparable numbers in Europe. Slowly, the electric car constructrs went out of business, or started manufacturing gasoline powered vehicles.Leitman etal, pg 62-67) Pollution in the modern era From the 1970s, the kindle in electric cars began to appear again air pollution caused by gasoline engines was reference to be of concern and a number of small firms were pose up to try and met the new demand of electric vehicles. The Ford Motor Company of Britain was asked to look at the possibility of designing a small electric car for urban use which was small enough to occupy minimum road and parking space, had spunky maneuverability, minimum pollution, was simple to operate and had low initial and running costs. Plant etal, pg 234)The 1990 mandate At the beginning of the 1990s, the electric vehicle had already been improved. They became more marketable, and concourse preferred them more than the other vehicles . One of the reasons that the great unwashed preferred to use these vehicles was the fact that they did not use give notice. It was also cheaper and easy to recharge them. These cars were more useful in the 1990s, when the concerns for the environment were on the rise. This forced most car manufacturing industries, being led by habitual Motors to start manufacturing the electrical vehicles.Since the rate of emissions from gas furnished cars was increasing, the peck line of products Act Amendments of 1990 was enacted. This Act inevitable a reduction in the vehicle emissions (so called Tier 1 controls) by the 1994 model year. It also authoritative even stricter Tier II controls on a contingency basis, which was to be imposed by 2004 by the EPA administrator, if further studies showed that they needed, technically feasible, and cost impelling. The 1990 Act also put up standards to check the evaporative emissions (emissions that come out after engines are shut off. ) (Collante s etal)California, being the leading state in air pollution, was required by the 1990 law to impose stricter vehicle emissions standards. The state therefore made it a requirement that the manufacturers achieve in stages, fleet-weighted average emissions that would have been lower than the ones mandated by the federal Tier I regulations, beginning with the 1994 model year. all(prenominal) The car manufacturers were authorized to manufacture several zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs, effectively electric-powered cars) by 1998. They were also required to have achieved a total market share of at least 10% by the year 2003.The Clean Air Amendments Act of 1990 also stated that other States should opt to voluntarily set the Environmental Conservation standards that had been set by California. Some of the North Eastern States, including New York and Massachusetts imposed similar rules in their states. The Ozone deportation Commission, through another provision of the 1990 Act, was also persua ded by some of its members to ask the EPA to pass the auto technology measures on the whole region. The imposition of the laws was required because some of the states had no intention of passing the Californian standards voluntarily.If EPA had passed these auto technology measures on all the states, then the electric cars would have taken over 40% of the consummate U. S auto market. (Collantes, etal) However, this petition was debated on a lot. It was said that the technology then was not ready to meet such high targets. Another reason the proposal was rejected was due to the fact that the barrage technology could only give a little range to the vehicles, besides this, the infrastructure to meet them was inadequate. The patience instead proposed an preference to the Californian standards, which was to market a national low-emitting vehicle (NLEV) in 49 states.This alternative was tougher than what the law had required the automakers to do, and could meet only the first two level s of the Californian standards. It is clear that the industry was decidedly opposed to the imagination of an electric vehicle, because it passed the alternative laws, which required all states to ignore the zero emissions Act. For several years, the EPA was ineffective to make an agreement with between the thirteen jurisdictions and the industry. Also, California was successful in delaying the implementation if the zero electric vehicle mandate until model year 2003.Of all the states, only Massachusetts, Mine, Mew York and Vermont adopted the Californian requirements and refused to live with the NLEV as a substitute to the law, and the industry would not produce it either, unless they did. In the beginning of 1998, there was strict competition among the Big Three U. S. and three major Japanese companies manufacturing cars. This therefore pushed them to pledge voluntarily to market the NLEV vehicles in the forty-five states which had not mandated Californian cars.This shows that the auto industry was among the reasons why the electric car was not so successful in the market. Collantes, etal) Were it not for the fact that the U. S. levels of air pollution are increasing all(prenominal) day, the industry would not have realized the need to manufacture the electric vehicles. Although the gasoline-electric cars were also a demeanor to reduce the air pollution, the electric cars would have been more effective. This also shows the extent to which people and the auto industries dislike the electric car. Benefits of the electric cars Although the electric cars are a bit inferior compared to the petrol engine or diesel engine vehicles, they have several attributes.They are quiet, and therefore provide an appealing driving looking at to the user. The major benefits are however on air pollution, the cars reduce the energy use and the green tin emissions they are zero emitting. The pollution benefits are also large, considering the amount of pollution generated at the power plant. The electric vehicle batteries have the capability to practically eliminate the carbon monoxide emissions and volatile the unburned hydrocarbons and hence diminish the northward oxide emissions regardless of how electrical energy is generated. (Nakamura etal, pg 223-228)The pollution benefits would be greatest in places like California where most of the electrical energy comes from tightly controlled natural gas plants and zero-emitting hydroelectric and nuclear plants. They could also be of help to a country like France, which gets most of its electricity from nuclear power. Highly populated cities like Mexico City, Beijing, Bangkok, and Kathmandu, which also source their electricity from nucleus power, could also take advantage of the electric vehicles. Another advantage is that with an electric vehicle, all you have to do is to recharge the battery at home.You dont have to worry of the increasing fuel prices or that you have to pass through the gas station on yo ur way to work. In the 1990s, people used to worry that their batteries will run out of charge and cause them inconveniences. However, this has changed, as there are new and better batteries nowadays, with the ability to store charge for longer periods. The battery powered vehicles should be effective today, especially with global warming on the increase. With all these benefits, the electric vehicle needs to be marketed and manufacture in large scale.The government and the manufacturers need to promote the car, as much as they do to the fuel powered vehicles. A former employee of general motors in the 1990s said that one of the reasons why the electric vehicles did not sell well is because enough advertising was not done. The government has greatly contributed to the low popularity of the electric vehicles. Realizing that cars manufactured in foreign countries could attract more demand than those produced in the U. S. , it opted to support the manufacture of the fuel powered cars, which were more preferred by the public, to the electric powered vehicles.It was also ineffective because it failed to enact the 1990 Clean Air Enforcement Act. Fuel manufacturing companies, on the other hand, fearing that they would lose the market for fuel, sided with the government in the support for the manufacture of the fuel powered vehicles. The lack of vigorous campaigns to market the electric vehicles is one of the reasons why they are so unpopular today. The fact that the electric cars were once crushed to pieces shows the extent to which their popularity was. Americans have also been ignorant to the idea of promoting the electric car.They have preferred the hybrid cars to the electric cars, ignoring the fact that they have more benefits. (Paine) Conclusion For the foregone few years, General Motors has been trying to revive the popularity of the electric vehicles. One of the reasons that brought the realization that there was a need to bring back the electric car was the attack of the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon, and the plane that clashed in dad on September 11, 2001. All these instances showed that complete reliance on merchandise oil is a vainglorious threat to the financial and the national security.Also, the onset of the global economic crisis, which resulted to an increase in the oil prices, made Americans realize the importance of the electric car. America faces the challenge of energy security, reduction of its reliance on imported oil and the ways in which global warming can be reduced. Electric cars could be the firmness to these challenges. The ironic twist of events about national security, oil and the climate change has at last brought the sympathy that to stabilize our economy we need to use the electric cars.