The Hybrid Car and Fuel Prices

By Colin Jones

The appeal and popularity of the hybrid car have grown steadily, especially with the rising worries about high fuel prices as well as worsening air pollution. Here are some useful pieces of information that might help you learn more about hybrid cars and how they can help you save on gas and be somewhat shielded from rising gas.

A hybrid car is the type of car, or any other vehicle, that makes use of at least two different fuel sources to make it run. Both fuel sources are used together sometimes to help drive the vehicle more efficiently. There are several different combinations of hybrid car possible, but the most common hybrid car so far is the gas electric hybrid.

The gas-electric hybrid car, also called the hybrid electric vehicle or HEV, uses of a gasoline internal combustion engine or ICE and a quite separate electric motor to power it. While the ICE makes uses petrol to make it go, an electric battery is used to store the electrical energy that powers the hybrid car's electric engine.

The HEV usually has a petrol engine that is smaller in size and weight than the conventional one used in standard petrol powered cars. Use of more advanced technology makes this possible and allows the HEV to have better running efficiency as well as greatly reduced polluting emissions.

Apart from the petrol engine, the hybrid electric car also has a special electric motor built in that not only provides added power to the car but also acts as a generator when it is not being used. The electric motor acts as a generator, in situations when it is not being used to drive the hybrid car, to help charge the battery for added efficiency.

In a usual HEV set up, the car uses its electric motor when being propelled at very low speeds, say, in traffic jams. The gasoline engine acts as a secondary power source when the HEV needs much more power, such as when climbing a hill. The petrol engine also compensates the electric motor with power whenever the car needs it in order to go faster such as when overtaking. The gas and the electric motor can also work together at certain instances when needed.

Since the hybrid electric car makes use of both an electric motor as well as a petrol motor, a substantial improvement in car mileage is achieved. A hybrid electric vehicle or HEV can run longer distances using the same amount of gas compared to a conventional petrol powered car.

Whenever the electric motor is being used, gas consumption is reduced. This results in less gas being used when running the same distance as a traditional petrol powered vehicle. And because the hybrid electric car has a smaller petrol engine, the hybrid car also runs more efficiently because of less engine weight compared to a conventional car's engine.

The moving parts of the hybrid car engine are also smaller and so require less energy to move. The resulting efficiency makes the hybrid electric car quite a great option for people worried about rising gas prices. Using a hybrid car can help drivers save a substantial amount of gas when traveling. On top of that, using the hybrid car can also help reduce polluting emissions by using less petrol while driving. - 21392

About the Author:

If you want to know more about the technology in New Hybrid Vehicles, you should visit our website where there is loads of information on http://new-hybrid-vehicles.com

Quikrete Garage Floor Coating

By Quickie Garland

Why is it that there's always something wrong with the house? First the dishwasher, then the refrigerator, then the furnace and, now your garage floor has developed cracks. Great. I bet you never thought about garage flooring as something you needed to maintain, did you? It's cement. It's on the ground. It's simply not something you thought about. Until it started cracking.

For Repair Or Garage Floor Coating

Maybe you found this article before the cracks started showing up. If so, you are lucky, but if you did not, you should still consider Quikrete as it can be used for both repairing and garage floor coating. It is easy to work with and cheap, which means it makes even the roughest jobs a lot easier.

What Is Quikrete?

First, before you can begin your garage floor coating, and before you can understand what Quikrete is, it's important to understand exactly what concrete is. Concrete is a blend of water, cement, and some sort of aggregate, such as sand or gravel. It's used for building material in so many places because the components are everywhere and, more importantly, cheap. It's also moldable and can even come in different colors, which makes it very versatile and useful in all sorts of projects. It's also very tough; resistant to rot, decay, fire, wind, water, extreme temperatures, and wear-down by animal traffic. Unfortunately, though, it's hard to work with and very slow to fully dry. That's where Quikrete improves upon traditional concrete.

Why Is Quikrete Better?

The biggest advantage for Quikrete when it comes to choosing a garage floor coating is that, depending on how much is used, it can set in as little as ten minutes. Even the average job is dry between 20 and 40 minutes. It's available in small packages for repairing either a garage floor, or even a sidewalk or driveway. It's also easy to find in bulk in case you want to use it for larger jobs, such as a garage floor coating. Once you get it home, you can prepare, set, and finish your job all in one day. This stuff removes a lot of the cost and time associated with home repairs, and if you don't want or can't afford heavy equipment or a contractor, then Quikrete is a godsend.

Is Quikrete Hard To Mix?

Quikrete is much easier to mix than traditional cement. That being said, there are still some challenges when it comes to mixing quikrete, and you'd be wise to do some research on the matter before you start. If you're no stranger to home repair, I'm sure you've noticed that the product instructions, while helpful, aren't always everything you need to get the job done. Either way, whether you're using it as a repair substance or a garage floor coating, Quikrete just might be what you're looking for to simplify that nightmare of a project. - 21392

About the Author:

Quickie Garland writes articles about his garage flooring and garage floors.

Shiny New Epoxy Garage Floor

By Eppie G Florence

If you'd like to know what it would be like to drive onto your own personal auto showroom floor, you may want to give thought to an epoxy garage floor. This type of floor is not only durable, but it's also very shiny. Imagine seeing your own car in the floor's reflection, be it either a brand new car or your old '76 beater that's seen better days. An epoxy garage floor coating is viewed as the best in garage flooring to many, and for very good reason. Epoxy garage floors last a very long time, often as long as the concrete itself, though you will have to sacrifice quite a lot of time, and there is a bit of difficulty. Every once in a while the garage floor paint will have to be refreshed with a new coat, but other than that, the initial install covers most of the work. Epoxy will not move or crumple under car tires, which is a problem with some other garage floor coverings.

Tough Epoxy Garage Flooring

Extremely tough, epoxy is a very long-lasting coating that is painted onto concrete. Different than normal paint, epoxy will resist grease, oils, and many other things that ruin or plain out dissolve ordinary paints. Regular paint wouldn't be able to handle things like motor oils since they're mostly oil based themselves, which means you need a special type of paint, such as epoxy. This is because when two oil based substances mix, they naturally attempt to combine with each other. This effect causes motor oil and paint to basically be mutually self destructive. Parts cleaner, grease, fuel, power steering fluid, brake fluid...all are petroleum based, and all have the same effect on petroleum based paints. It's actually pretty interesting if you start thinking of just how petroleum based most of our lives' are. That's what's great about epoxy based paints, though. Since they're resin based, they're not susceptible to damage from oil and oil based substances.

Old Shiny Epoxy Garage Floors

Of all the different types of garage flooring, the epoxy garage floor is unique in that it bonds with the concrete at a microscopic level. This means that once the epoxy coating is years, sometimes decades old, it can still be cleaned just like the concrete by itself. The difference is that it doesn't stain since it doesn't absorb the oil based chemicals that are so often found in garages. Since it doesn't stain, it's usually just a matter of power washing the garage floor, if that. Most chemicals will just sit on top of an epoxy coating and can be cleaned up with either a towel, or possibly pushed out of the garage with a squeegee or broom. Be careful, though, that you don't contaminate the earth around your garage with chemicals that, before, you would've absorbed with kitty litter or the like and thrown in the trash. Just because it doesn't damage your garage floor doesn't mean it won't damage the environment, and everything that hits your soil will eventually end up in the groundwater - that's drinking water.

Rainbow Of Garage Floor Coatings

Most epoxy coatings are gray. Very shiny, very attractive gray...but still quite gray. Just because it's gray, though, don't think you're not going to notice a very obvious improvement over a cement garage floor, because you definitely will. Lots of people would prefer to have some sort of color, though, and such things do exist. It's an unfortunate fact, though, that colorful epoxy kits are kind of rare. It's not uncommon for a hardware store to tell their customers that the only color that epoxy is available in is gray, which is not at all true. You may have to do some looking, but it's not hard to find garage floor coating kits on the internet, and a lot of times they're cheaper than at the hardware store. The only problem I ever have with buying things online is that it becomes such a problem if you need to do a return...but with a garage floor kit, I doubt that would be an issue.

Concrete Garage Floor No Want Epoxy!

As opposed to pretty much every other type of garage floor, epoxy does require quite a lot of preparation. In the end, some concrete just won't be able to take a solid epoxy coating. Even if the concrete is determined to be in good enough shape for coating, it has to be cleaned and etched which is usually very labor intensive and tedious. There really is no part of laying an epoxy garage floor that is for the faint of heart...or maybe I should say faint of back. Those of us who aren't in the best shape physically may want to opt for something less time sensitive, like garage floor tiles that you can finish whenever you feel like and not have to worry about them setting in the correct order, or garage floor mats that can be moved around to where they're needed. However, if bank account is up to paying someone to do the job, or if your body is up to doing it yourself, an epoxy garage floor coating is definitely the way to go. - 21392

About the Author:

Eppie likes to write articles about her garage floor and garage floor paint.

Car Insurance Providers

By Adam McKenzie

If you want cheaper car insurance or are looking to save money on your premium, you should know that there is no one insurance provider you should go to, despite the many car insurance commercials making us want to think otherwise.

You are probably familiar with the Geico Gecko or Flo from Progressive. Although both characters are cute and charming, they are created for the sole purpose of you wanting to get your auto insurance from that single company.

Auto insurance quotes can vary by hundreds (sometimes over a thousand) of dollars. The price you get depends on who you ask. The more you ask, the better.

If you go to your local state insurance site (you can find it by first going to NAIC or searching for your state name plus the word, insurance, in Google) you may find (some sites do not have this) a survey, which gives rates for hypothetical drivers from your local auto insurers. The reason your government went out and got sample rates was not to find the insurance provider with the best premiums, but to encourage you to shop around for auto insurance.

Although there are online comparison services for auto insurance, they may not be the magic sites that you think they are. Because their aim is to make money, you may not find the lowest insurance provider because that company does not pay that site commission. Furthermore, the prices you get from some companies may be lower because you have not talked to them directly and asked about eligible discounts.

It is always a good idea to speak to an independent car insurance agent. Agents that are independent can analyze your situation and match you with the best insurer. For example, you may have poor credit and have trouble getting a decent quote. Because they have links with many providers, they can get you a good quote.

You can easily find an independent agent in your area by going to the auto insurance section of your Yellowpages or business directory. If the agent or agency name is something that is not familiar to you (such as Sunshine Auto Insurance), you are likely looking at an independent agency. If the agency's name is something like Jane Hope-All State, you can get car insurance from only that single insurer. - 21392

About the Author:

For more money saving tips check out Auto Insurance Discounters and Cheap Auto Insurance.

Car Insurance - Locate Ways To Get The Best Deal

By Dawn Enstruthe

Finding a good deal on car insurance is certainly a chore, or at least it used to be. Everything is a lot easier now, since you don't even need to pick up the telephone in most situations. Nonetheless, even if you are going to use the Internet, which is a very good idea, to find the best deal on your car insurance, it is still very important not to rush into anything.

Before you begin, decide what sort of coverage you need. You need third party insurance to insure against any accident and that is the compulsory part. Nonetheless, you might not want to bother insuring the car itself, especially if it is an older or second-hand car which is worth very little.

However, one of the most effective ways to lower the cost of your car insurance, especially if you are a younger driver is to make a very careful choice and which sort of car you want to get. Younger drivers often want to get the latest sports cars if they can afford it, but this is an extremely bad idea for the reasons are as follows.

When buying a car is a new driver, this is the first thing you can do to minimise the costs of your insurance. You must choose your car carefully, as buying of a speedy sports car when it is your first car and your first time on the road, will mean that you will pay enormous insurance premiums and may not even be able to get insurance.

If you can't get insurance, you can't use your car and the road making it a complete waste of time. Because of this, it is extremely important that you decide on the car to get before you even begin. Generally, it is engine size which governs the cost of the premiums, especially with regards to younger drivers.

To find the best deal, just use one of the price comparison websites. There are many car insurance comparison websites out there, and they have an extensive database of all the insurers in your area. This way you would just have to enter a few details about yourself and your car, and you will be offered some quotes.

However, make sure you read all the terms and conditions carefully before signing up for anything. Using the Internet will make everything much faster, but nonetheless, that does not mean to say that you should rush into anything. - 21392

About the Author:

Dawn Enstruthe has written info on The Rent Source about cheapest auto rental insurance and affordable landlord rent guarantee insurance.