 About Hybrid Cars
Hybrid Car Myths
Hybrid Car History
Types of Hybrid Cars
Hybrid
vs. Conventional
Hybrid Cars and
Energy Crisis
Environmental Impact
Disadvantages of a Hybrid
Hybrids & the Future
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The History Of The Hybrid Car
Just where did a hybrid car get its start? Well, read on to find out. Hybrid
cars are very popular for today's car buyers, and there are many reasons why.
But before you even think about choosing to buy a hybrid car, you might want to
know a little bit about the history of a hybrid car first.
Surprisingly, hybrid cars were around even before gas-powered cars. Back in
about the year 1665, a Jesuit priest by the name of Ferdinand Verbeist began
plans for a certain type of vehicle. That vehicle would be very simple, nothing
complex, or intricate. Simple was all he wanted. So Ferdinand planned out a car
that would have four wheels and would run only on steam. It took about fifteen
years of work for Ferdinand to go through with his plan. He labored to perfect
his dream car. But no one knows if he ever finished because there is no evidence
that his concept existed.
Then in 1769, a man by the name of Nicholas Cugnot developed a carriage that
could be powered solely by steam. This carriage did in fact work, and it could
go at six miles per hour. This project was great, but it was difficult to get
the amount of steam needed that would allow the car to go any distance that was
by any means significant.
A break thru in hybrid cars finally came when Robert Anderson developed an
electric powered car in 1839. It was the first among its kind. The car was built
in Scotland.
This electric car was a highly applauded innovation of its time. However, the
only problem was that it was very difficult to recharge the car's battery. Some
pioneers came behind Anderson, but they too had a hard time getting the battery
to recharge easily.
Finally in the year 1898 Porsche came out with an electric and fuel combustion
engine that was the first of its time. The car was called the Lohner Electric
Chaise, and it could go up to 40 miles just using batteries.
Soon pioneers combined both a gas and a battery powered engine to power what
would become today's hybrid car. And in 1999, Honda made a leap into the US
market. It came out with the Insight. This was a lightweight two-door hybrid.
Since then, hybrid cars have just been evolving and improving into what you see
on the markets today. Hybrid cars aren't just for people who are complex and
want to combine battery and fuel power to get them where they need to go. Hybrid
cars started out simple, and they are still simple today.
Now hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular as people understand them
more. Hybrid cars in the 21st century saw a boom in sales when the Toyota Prius
came out on the market. It was the first hybrid with four doors that was
marketed in America.
Then, the Ford's Escape hybrid became the very first SUV hybrid ever made. So
there, you have it, the history of the hybrid, today's modern car.
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