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Hybrid Cars: List Of Real Drawbacks To Owning A Hybrid Vehicle

By: Alex Baumm

As oil prices continue to increase amid depleting supplies and rapid growth in demand, all economies globally are feeling the setbacks of the need to curtail excessive consumption of fuel.

For quite some time, research and development has been actively finding ways on how problems regarding very high demand could finally be eliminated. With the advent of the hybrid car, car owners and users all over the world are now finding relief that indeed there is hope.

A hybrid car is a specially designed and manufactured vehicle that combines the power of the conventional gasoline engine and electricity. In the past, many have referred to hybrid vehicles as electric vehicles.

Technically, a hybrid car could not be classified as purely electric because only about 40% of the energy consumption of the vehicle is from electric sources, in the form of stored electricity in batteries.

Though the wide use of hybrid cars provide hope that in the future, when oil supplies finally and completely runs out, the transportation industry would not feel the drawback. Yes, for now, driving a hybrid auto could equate to a lot of savings on the part of the car owner.

At least, the overall consumption of oil could be significantly lowered. Research is still ongoing so that in the near future, further better versions of the modern hybrid auto could be developed and launched into the market.

However, just like many other predecessor technologies, there are actual setbacks to owning and using a hybrid car. Many people hope that in the coming months or years, people could finally realize a better and more effective hybrid car. Here are the most practical and obvious of those drawbacks.

1. Because the hybrid car technology is still a relatively new car technology, it is just logical that the vehicle is expensive. On the average, a hybrid car these days costs more than the regular and usual cars by around $2,000 to $5,000. That is just right and is expected with the high demand for the car as more consumers get excited about it and manufacturers continue to produce the vehicle models on a limited ability.

2. Any hybrid car needs to allot a significant amount of space for battery. Because the hybrid car needs batteries to keep it going and for the use of some if its functions, the overall weight of the car gets more and more.

3. There are several states in the United States and some other global governments globally that are charging more additional fees and other charges for acquisition and registration.

4. If the hybrid car gets into possible crashes and collisions in the future, there is a risk that the incident would be more tragic. A hybrid car typically and normally has high voltage wires within it.

5. A regular and even simple hybrid car is made of a very complicated car system. Thus, ordinary mechanics would not have the needed and required skills and knowledge to attend to any technical need for maintenance of any hybrid car.

6. Because hybrid cars are still not too rampant and ordinary, buying spare parts may be very hard, if not impossible. Further, costs of spare parts can be very expensive.

7. It is a common knowledge that hybrid cars run slower than regular car models.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/auto_and_trucks/article_2392.shtml

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mazda
Mazda the producer of the renowned Mazda Protégé part has finally launched its limited edition versions of the 3 and 6 models. These two models namely the Mazda 3 Tamura and 6 Kamano are based on the five-door hatchback TS models and boast of its body kit and alloy wheels and are scheduled for sale this month.

Mazda 3 Tamura and Mazda 6 Kumano

The Mazda 3 Tamura is powered by a 103bhp 1.6 liter petrol engine that is mated to a five-speed gearbox. Its features include body-colored sports styling kit, 16-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, a chrome exhaust trim and two color options the Aurora Blue Mica or Galaxy Grey Mica.

700 Mazda 3 Tamura are being manufactured and will cost £13,795 which is approximately £455 more than the standard car however Mazda said that additional options may reach £2835.

On the other hand the Mazda 6 Kumano is a 145 bhp 2.0 liter petrol and 141 bhp 2.0 liter diesel 6 hatchback. It is based on the five-door TS2 model. The car boasts of upscale interior and exterior trim. The Mazda 6 is also equipped with blue and black seat trim, alloy wheels and a choice of titanium Grey Metallic or Stormy Blue Mica paint.

The Mazda 6 2.0 Kumano costs £17,550 in petrol form while the diesel cost £18,650 an increase of over £370 and £380 from the base models. Mazda said that the additional Kumano package has a value of £925.

The Mazda 6 Kumano Limited Edition will only have a total of 400 cars produced of which 120 are diesel and 280 are petrol models.

These two new offerings from Mazda are scheduled to go on sale this month.

About Mazda

Mazda Motor Corporation is a Japanese automotive manufacturer is based in Hiroshima, Japan. As of last year, 2006, the company has projected 1.25 million vehicles per year with sales equally distributed among its different markets namely Japan, Europe, North America and Latin America.

The name of the company is claimed to be derived from Ahura Mazda, the transcendental God of Zoroastrianism. It is also claimed that Mazda coincides with the anglicized pronunciation of the founder’s name Jujiro Matsuda who was interested in spirituality and chose to name his company Mazda to honor both his family and Zoroastrianism. Mazda means wisdom in the Avestan language. But in Japanese the company has always been pronounced and spelled as “Matsuda” which makes many to believe that Mazda is just a poorly anglicized version of the founder’s name.



By: Kraig Johanssen

About the Author:

Kraig Johanssen is a native of Connecticut and holds a degree in Software Engineering. He now works at a software development firm in Alabama. His love for writing and great interest on cars makes him a proficient contributing author to various automotive magazines.



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mazda
The Mazda CX-7 sports crossover SUV will hear the British accent as it enters the UK showrooms in September. In order to adapt to the European taste, it has especially built characteristics following a drive test and program tuning carried out by Mazda’s European R & D Centre (MRE) that is based in Oberusel, near Frankfurt, Germany.

Prior to this, the CX-7 was successfully launched in both North America and Japan, where over 46,000 vehicles have been sold. It was appraised and then tuned by the MRE for driving performance and craftsmanship.

Almost 30 percent of the set up of the European Mazda CX-7 is different to other global versions. Tuning to handling, ride comfort, suspension settings, steering and brakes, ABS, ESP and NVH for power train, road noise and window noise are some of the improvements for the European market.

The company has also a specialized team that makes sure every model complies with European specifications, regulations, market needs and preferences. And this is found near Mazda’s European design studio the R & D Centre. An engineering team composed of 15 persons took the US version of the Mazda CX-7 as their basis. Consequently, they developed the different specifications needed in order to fit the European customer preferences.

This started when the best performers in the European competition were gauged on the roads of the continent. Mazda Japan, the suppliers and the team all worked hard together for the European CX-7 to yield a driving experience that takes a more sporty direction. They did this by testing the car on Nürburgring’s Nordschleife, mountain roads, on German express ways at high speed. The CX-7 has also endured the winter testing in Northern Europe.

Mazda CX-7’s power train is a high-performance 2.3 litre DISI turbo petrol engine. It yields 191 kW/260 PS – the US version yields 244 hp – and 380 Nm torque, which is the same as Mazda’s high-performance MPS engine. The excellent performing engine was then matched with a six-speed manual transmission that is especially developed. With maximum speed limiter control and high-speed acceleration, the CX-7’s maximum speed tests were conducted along the expressways of Germany.

And because unique requirements for high speed stability are required by the European market, an extreme chassis testing was also conducted at Nürburgring’s “green hell” (the Nordschleife). To focus on overall body rigidity with reinforcements on different parts of the chassis was the first step. Then, the front cross members and the ones placed on the transmission tunnel were made thicker same as the front suspension towers.

Like any other driving experts, the feeling of being “in” to the road and the performance quality of the car are also the factors that European drivers consider. And the CX-7 assures those through its improved suspension. An example of this improvement is the enhanced layout and suspension settings on the pull bars that link the rear suspension to the body. This improvement assures an ideal give and take between agility and drive comfort. Furthermore, the tires, steering characteristics and ESP settings are all reinvented.

All these innovations plus the space and flexibility prepares the Mazda CX-7 to its flight to set a new standard in its segment in Europe. Every single characteristic of the Mazda CX-7 gives the European clients everything they could ever desire that would fit a multi activity lifestyle with high levels of driving pleasure.

About Mazda Motor Corporation

A Japanese automotive manufacturer that is based in Hiroshima, Japan, Mazda Motor Corporation is the maker of quality and top of the line parts such as Mazda radiator hose.

In addition to that, Mazda is also a well known producer of different types of vehicles and their parts.

The company is expected to produce 1.25 million vehicles annually as of 2006. Among Japan, Europe, North America, and Latin America, its sales will be evenly divided.

Mazda’s 33.4% of controlling interest is controlled by the Ford Motor Company.



By: Kraig Johanssen

About the Author:

Kraig Johanssen is a native of Connecticut and holds a degree in Software Engineering. He now works at a software development firm in Alabama. His love for writing and great interest on cars makes him a proficient contributing author to various automotive magazines.



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