New hybrid cars could get 100 mpg, House committee told
Submitted on May 18, 2006 - 12:00am.
George L. Richards III - Hampton University Short Course 2006
WASHINGTON – They were talking gas prices on Capitol Hill, and it wasn't $3 a gallon – it was 62 cents. And instead of 30 miles per gallon, some people were predicting 100.
Proponents of a new type of car, a plug-in hybrid, say it is more efficient than current hybrids and could easily achieve those numbers.
At a House Energy subcommittee hearing Wednesday on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, supporters argued the new technology could help free the country of its dependence on imported oil.
Current hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius or the Ford Escape, use both batteries and electric motors, along with gasoline engines. The gas engine charges the electric battery, which powers the car much of the time. Toyota says the 2006 Prius can get above 50 mpg, while Ford says the hybrid Escape, a sport utility vehicle, does better than 30 mpg.
Proponents of a new type of car, a plug-in hybrid, say it is more efficient than current hybrids and could easily achieve those numbers.
At a House Energy subcommittee hearing Wednesday on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, supporters argued the new technology could help free the country of its dependence on imported oil.
Current hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius or the Ford Escape, use both batteries and electric motors, along with gasoline engines. The gas engine charges the electric battery, which powers the car much of the time. Toyota says the 2006 Prius can get above 50 mpg, while Ford says the hybrid Escape, a sport utility vehicle, does better than 30 mpg.
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