Hybrid Technology, the dream waits.

During the 80’s, the environmentalists screamed about the dangers of global warming, caused by numerous factors, as the carbon monoxide (CO), a gas which is released during the consumption of oil. At the beginning of the new millennium, the warning of those early environmentalists starts to take shape over the world. The smog, this dark cloud which is created by several pollutants, like CO, begins to provoke grave effects, like asthma and heart attacks, on the citizens of the major cities in North America.

According to the American Lung Association, kills ten of thousand American citizens every year. Target as a major cause of the release of the major pollutants, the car begins a motor metamorphosis. A new system of propulsion appears on the American market: the hybrid car.

The hybrid cars, ambidextrous creatures of steel, which runs with an oil and an electrical motor, entered the market at the end of the previous century. The hybrid cars, which came from the other side of the ocean, from the Japanese country, weren’t created to stop global warming. Japan, an island with a major oil resource shortage, decided to jump on new technologies, to find an alternative. The hybrid technology was born.

In this new technology, two major names in the car industry appear: Toyota and Honda. However, the technology used isn’t the same for each car. In the case of the Toyota Prius, a “Full hybrid”, its technology is based on an electrical motor, which is helped by an oil motor, and can exclusively run on the electrical motor or the oil motor. On the other hand, the other “Mild hybrid” cars, like the Honda Insight is based on oil motor, which the electrical motor supports the first one; to boost the car’s performance, while the car economizes gas.

The hybrid car has an edge via the other cars: they cut off nearly 50% of the oil consumption, and reduce 80% of the CO emission. The majority of small hybrid cars spend gas as much as normal compact cars like the Toyota Echo. However, the S.U.V. hybrid cars reduce modestly the oil consumption: 7 liters for 100km (1.9 gallons/62.13 miles) for an SUV hybrid car, compared to 10 liters for 100km (2.6 gallons/62.13 miles) for the regular SUV car.

Even if the population is environmentally conscientious, in Canada, the hybrid cars sleep in the dealers. Still, in the United States, the hybrid is a little more popular. According to the BBC, Prius drivers such as Leonardo di Caprio, Billy Crystal, Harrison Ford and Susan Sarandon have given hybrid cars a good reputation; these days everyone wants one.

But even so, the hybrid sells are really low. The hybrid car price can stop people of buying it. The cost of a hybrid is 3 to 10 thousand of dollars more than a regular one. For example, the Toyota Camry hybrid and the regular Camry has a 6000 US$ of difference (25,900$ for the Camry Hybrid, against 19,320$ for the regular Camry).

Finally, the hybrid technology is really the long term solution to replace the conventional car? According to CTV, the hydrogen car, powered by an electric battery, is predicted to be the long term solution to dependence on fossil fuel. However, the hydrogen vehicle will not be on the market before 10 to 20 years.