Article Advise

submitted: Aug 14th 2008 | by: RebeccaWorthlin | Total views: 1 | Word Count: 498 | |

Growing up I watched the Jetsons. I assumed as a child that by the time I was grown up we'd all be zooming around in flying space cars and shooting from place to place within the community through suction tubes. (But I always doubted the suggestion that we'd all have robotic housekeepers that exhibited a pretty solid personality. That was going a little bit too far). So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I had to take my driver's test in a tried and true Honda Civic.

Not that I wasn't ecstatic the day I got my driver's license. Of course I was! The Honda Civic performed beautifully! More beautifully than I did, actually. (The man conducting my test must have felt bad when he told me I'd been speeding for a large majority of the test so he told me he'd mark it down as "failure to observe surroundings adequately" and I'd only lose a few points and still pass. Whew!) That little Honda Civic was great: no nonsense, sturdy, and there when I needed it. Not a space car, but a good car nonetheless!

When the Honda Civic was converted into a Hybrid vehicle it was taken one step closer to the flying car of the future (at least that's what I secretly dream)! The Hybrid gives me hope that we're evolving toward the futuristic cars we've been dreaming of in our cartoons and science fiction for years. It gives me hope because the Hybrid function is pretty impressive. It's the future that we have available today.

Hybrid cars have been around a while, but like any new product they continue to become more widely accepted as people see them fulfilling their purpose. The models have evolved each year into better and better designs and more efficient functioning. (And let's face it...any option to the high gas prices we're currently experiencing is going to draw a lot of attention!)

A traditional Hybrid might have a 1.3 liter, 95 bhp engine. The engine will be connected to an electric motor and the electric motor might be an actual part of the flywheel creating an integrated function that is more than efficient. The crankshaft typically revolves continuously even when the power is coming directly from the motor (all electric there, baby). Later Hybrid models even evolved to run off pure electricity. (Just one step closer to the Jetson's flying car...let's keep hoping! You know it would be great fun!)

The Honda Civic Hybrid has inlet and exhaust valves that are always shut to lower mechanical resistance. This allows no compressions or pumping losses. The regenerative braking is another notable feature of the Hybrid function. Using regenerative braking the Hybrid recovers energy when drivers use the brake pedal by using the electric motor as a generator. These features and many more work together to provide Honda Civic Hybrid drivers not only with an alternative to traditional fuel, but with a typical average fuel consumption that falls right around 58 miles per gallon!

About the Author

Rebecca Worthlin has the information buyers need to make the best Honda car deal. And all her industry "know how" points straight to the most super dealership available: SanTan Honda Superstore of Chandler!

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