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The hottest trend in the automotive industry is the production of vehicles that run on dual engines. One engine is powered by traditional fuel and the other is powered by electricity. The Honda Civic Hybrid is one of these ground-breaking automobiles that put the future of the car manufacturing industry within reach. These vehicles are considered to be the impending standard of our automotive horizons.

My friends were set on buying one of these “green” vehicles this year. Both of them were ready to venture off on a new and exciting prospect that seemed to be offered to them through the Honda Civic Hybrid. They loved the idea of doing something good for the environment and they were attracted to the idea of spending less on gasoline.

The government also offers a tax incentive for those who purchase vehicles like the Honda Civic Hybrid. Buyers can save a lot of money by purchasing the new vehicles. However, the tax incentive is not nearly enough to offset the high cost of the vehicles. They are significantly more expensive than traditional cars.

Another drawback is the complexity of the vehicle. Cars like the Honda Civic Hybrid run on two engines that rely on each other to function properly. For example, the Honda Civic Hybrid’s gas-powered engine kicks in when the vehicle is using the most energy, like running uphill. The electric engine kicks in when the car idols or runs at a consistent speed, like during travel on the highway.

The complexity of the vehicles becomes even more intricate because there is a third source of energy that fuels the cars. Vehicles like the Honda Civic Hybrid draw power through the braking system as well, storing energy produced when the cars are brought to a stop. If one of the three complex sources of power breaks, the entire vehicle is brought to a halt because each system relies on the other to function properly.

The costs of fixing a vehicle like the Honda Civic Hybrid are quite costly. Once the vehicle breaks down the owner is faced with a hefty mechanic bill. In addition, the cars are more expensive in general. The savings in fuel costs is not enough to offset the high price of the vehicle, not to mention maintenance costs.

It may benefit car shoppers to wait for the future before buying the car of the future. In fact, after shopping around for awhile my sister and her husband chose to buy a large truck powered by diesel fuel.

Tired of high priced gasoline for your car? Worried about the environment? For years, scientists have being working on an energy alternative that holds promises to change the way we live by changing the source of fuel for some of our most basic energy-using engines. This new technology in development is called a fuel cell. A fuel cell provides a DC (direct current) voltage that can be used to power motors, lights, or any number of electrical appliances.

The technical name for a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity. Other electrochemical devices in use today and for many decades is the familiar battery. The difference between a simple battery and a fuel cell is that all the chemicals are stored inside the battery. The battery converts those chemicals into electricity but eventually it “goes dead” as the chemicals are used up and you either throw it away or recharge it.

On the other hand with a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the fuel cell.

Combustion engines the gasoline engine burn fuels and batteries converted chemical energy back into electrical energy when needed. However, fuel cells should do both tasks more efficiently.

Simply put the construction and materials in a fuel cell release electrons from the hydrogen gas creating electricity and the waste product after the electricity is used to power an electrical device is water, formed with the negative hydrogen and the oxygen.

This reaction in a single fuel cell produces only about 0.7 volts. To get this voltage up to a reasonable level, many separate fuel cells must be combined to form a fuel-cell stack.

One problem with using hydrogen is that it is not easily stored for consumer use. Other alternatives could be natural gas, propane, and methanol gas. The primary objective of using fuel cell technology is pollution reduction. However, the fuel cell is also very efficient. 80% of the fuel use in these cells is converted into usable energy compared to only 20% for a gasoline powered engine and about 30% overall for a battery powered electric vehicle.

There is no question that the fuel cell holds great promise for the future. However, the fuel cell technology must still put together all the pieces of finding the right ‘fuel’ source that is easy to store and deliver to the consumer, efficiency of the vehicle using fuel cells, and the cost for the total package.