The buzzword of the day appears to be "green".
Everything and everyone is becoming more environmentally aware and the demand for hybrid vehicles is on a steady rise.
A "hybrid" vehicle is one that uses a combination of gasoline and electricity to create an automobile that requires less fossil fuel and is more environmentally friendly.
Hybrid vehicles are not a modern conception; in fact, the first hybrid-electric motor car was developed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1899.
Many have followed suit and while the hybrid-electric motor has been in continuous production, there has never been much interest in it from automobile manufacturers.
Until the 1990s, this technology was mainly ignored in the automobile industry and mainly used in the development of diesel-electric submarines.
Victor Wouk, one of the founders of Motorola, designed a hybrid motor that used fuel at half the rate of consumption of ordinary motors in the 1940's.
He was one of the first to recognize the pollution caused by automobiles and the environmental harm they produce.
In the mid-1960s, he had a break through in hybrid technology and combined the power of a gasoline engine with the low-emission of a hybrid.
Sadly, his work was mainly criticized for not being fully electric and little attention was given to his work.
He continued his work in the field until his death in 2005.
In addition, even though he was a great pioneer in the field, opened the doors to today's technology and was a man way ahead of the times, few today can even remember his name.
It was not until the 1990s that society as a whole began to realize serious environmental issues and our role in them, this awareness, combined with higher fuel cost caused worldwide attention to turn to the development and advancement of hybrid technology.
The Toyota Prius was one of the first hybrid vehicles mass produced for sale in America and has seen a steady climb in sales and popularity.
Today it is still the first choice in hybrids among consumers.
Honda debuted the Insight shortly afterwards and is presently getting ready to release a Civic hybrid model that looks like its conventional counter-part put can get 50 MPG.
In 2004, Ford launched the first hybrid SUV in their Ford Escape, soon followed by the Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
Due to public outcry and the demand for more environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles, most automobile manufacturers are heeding the call and following suit and are planning hybrids of their own.
There was a time when hybrids looked alien in design and were not very popular with the public, but with today's hybrids, it would be hard to spot the difference, except it, a hybrid can achieve up to 50MPG and has less of an environmental impact.
Currently, 95 % of the estimated 300,000 hybrid vehicles operating in the United States are manufactured in Japan.
Developing from the basic idea of Ferdinand Porsche in 1899, combined with the ingenuity of idealists like Wouk and his predecessors, melded with the necessity of modern man for a more efficient, cleaner means of transportation comes the hybrid of today and tomorrow.
Everything and everyone is becoming more environmentally aware and the demand for hybrid vehicles is on a steady rise.
A "hybrid" vehicle is one that uses a combination of gasoline and electricity to create an automobile that requires less fossil fuel and is more environmentally friendly.
Hybrid vehicles are not a modern conception; in fact, the first hybrid-electric motor car was developed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1899.
Many have followed suit and while the hybrid-electric motor has been in continuous production, there has never been much interest in it from automobile manufacturers.
Until the 1990s, this technology was mainly ignored in the automobile industry and mainly used in the development of diesel-electric submarines.
Victor Wouk, one of the founders of Motorola, designed a hybrid motor that used fuel at half the rate of consumption of ordinary motors in the 1940's.
He was one of the first to recognize the pollution caused by automobiles and the environmental harm they produce.
In the mid-1960s, he had a break through in hybrid technology and combined the power of a gasoline engine with the low-emission of a hybrid.
Sadly, his work was mainly criticized for not being fully electric and little attention was given to his work.
He continued his work in the field until his death in 2005.
In addition, even though he was a great pioneer in the field, opened the doors to today's technology and was a man way ahead of the times, few today can even remember his name.
It was not until the 1990s that society as a whole began to realize serious environmental issues and our role in them, this awareness, combined with higher fuel cost caused worldwide attention to turn to the development and advancement of hybrid technology.
The Toyota Prius was one of the first hybrid vehicles mass produced for sale in America and has seen a steady climb in sales and popularity.
Today it is still the first choice in hybrids among consumers.
Honda debuted the Insight shortly afterwards and is presently getting ready to release a Civic hybrid model that looks like its conventional counter-part put can get 50 MPG.
In 2004, Ford launched the first hybrid SUV in their Ford Escape, soon followed by the Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
Due to public outcry and the demand for more environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles, most automobile manufacturers are heeding the call and following suit and are planning hybrids of their own.
There was a time when hybrids looked alien in design and were not very popular with the public, but with today's hybrids, it would be hard to spot the difference, except it, a hybrid can achieve up to 50MPG and has less of an environmental impact.
Currently, 95 % of the estimated 300,000 hybrid vehicles operating in the United States are manufactured in Japan.
Developing from the basic idea of Ferdinand Porsche in 1899, combined with the ingenuity of idealists like Wouk and his predecessors, melded with the necessity of modern man for a more efficient, cleaner means of transportation comes the hybrid of today and tomorrow.
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