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Hybrid Cars Essay

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Hybrid Cars

In my basic presentation, I examined the practicality of HEVs (Hybrid Electric Vehicles), otherwise known as hybrids. The presentation gave some background about laws pertaining to emissions but at the same time was designed more to educate the consumer as to what a hybrid actually is. You do not plug it in!

Current Emission Standards are confusing. At this point in time, we are at a major transition as to what will be the future of combustion vehicles. Present day standards do not call for the kind of emission requirements that will account for the current rate of global warming. To fix this problem we must either cut back on the number of vehicles on the road (not likely to happen) or use less fuel. There are …show more content…

The increased fuel efficiency of the hybrids actually makes city driving more economical than highway driving. Overall fuel efficiency (MPG) can be doubled. All of these factors lead to reduced emissions.

At this point, it would be appropriate to include a brief summary of the Emission Standards as proposed by the EPA. The Federal mandates on emissions include Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 took effect in 1997 and was the first call for a reduction in emissions since the 50s. Tier 2 will be phased-in beginning 2004. Currently, Tier 1 standards take into account the size of the car when determining emission ratings. When Tier 2 takes effect, the size of the car will no longer matter (i.e. an SUV will be held to the same standards as a subcompact car). The Tier 1 and Tier 2 guidelines only apply to passenger cars. Buses, trucks, and construction equipment will have different mandates.
The National LEV (NLEV) standard goes hand in hand with the California Emissions Standards (developed by the CARB: California Air Resources Board). NLEV is short for the National Low Emission Vehicle Standard. California came up with its own guidelines for emissions which are more rigid than today?s Tier 1 standard. The Federal Government adopted this standard into its NLEV program. It is a voluntary program that was proposed mostly by California and the Northeast US. NLEV has been adopted to carry car designs from Tier 1 into Tier 2. The NLEV program consists of six different

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