Hybrid Sports Cars: Fulfilling Your Need for Speed While Saving On Fuel

February 17th, 2011

Hybrid Sports Cars: Fulfilling Your Need for Speed While Saving On Fuel - If you are a type of person who likes exotic high speed sports car, then you should prepare to spend a lot of money on gasoline. Sports cars are known to have large engines to achieve high amounts of speed. Having large engines mean that it will also consume large amounts of fuel.

For the typical person, this kind of car is definitely not something that they should drive everyday, especially because of the rising prices of gasoline. However, why do people still drool and save money to buy these expensive sports car? Maybe it’s because of the high speed capability that they can take advantage of whenever they feel the need for speed, or maybe because it’s because of the sleek and stylish look of these vehicles.

Hybrid technology is now being used to produce fuel efficient cars. These cars are designed to be lightweight, and aerodynamic with small engines to maximize fuel efficiency. However, hybrid cars are relatively slow because of the small engine. Hybrid cars existing today are designed for city or local driving where you don’t need to go on high speeds. You have to consider that these cars are designed to be fuel efficient.

However, car manufacturers today are now opening up a new line of hybrid cars. Some already built a prototype or a concept car to be shown to the public. These hybrid cars are designed to achieve high amounts of speed but at the same time, take advantage of the hybrid technology to save fuel.

High speed hybrid sports cars are being designed by car manufacturers today to satisfy consumers who like to go at high speeds and at the same time, save fuel. The gasoline-electric engine concept is so popular today that manufacturers, such as Toyota and Honda are now opening a new line in their factory that produces hybrid sports cars.

Major auto shows have shown different hybrid sports car concepts from different large car manufacturers. One is the high performance hybrid sports car from Mitsubishi called the Mitsubishi Eclipse Concept-E. This hybrid concept sports car is a very good example of what sports cars will look like in the near future.

Mitsubishi’s Eclipse Concept-E takes advantage of the hybrid technology. The front wheels are driven by the parallel hybrid system. This means that the electric motor is integrated with the gasoline engine, which is a 3.8 liter V6. With the gasoline engine and the electric motor, it is able to have a power output of 270 horsepower.

The new generation of sports car like the Mitsubishi Eclipse Concept-E is only one of the concept hybrid sports cars that are now being talked about by sports car fanatics. With the hybrid technology integrated into sports cars, you will definitely save a lot of money on fuel while letting you combine fuel efficiency and power all in one package.

Hybrid sports car is definitely the sports car of the future. It is now possible to have a sports car that is able to save fuel and still give you maximum performance. With hybrid sports car, you can now own a luxury sports car that is able to cut fuel consumption. You can satisfy your speed urges without sacrificing big money for fuel.

The most commonly stolen cars and insurance

February 16th, 2011

It won’t be big news for car owners saying that some cars are just too good to not get stolen every now and then. To our regret, car theft is something that happens in our country on a regular basis, and those who do it have particular tastes and interests when tracking down their victims. In some cases there’s even a hunt for particular car makes and models, which makes insurance providers adjust their rates accordingly. Who wants to insure a car for cheap when it’s very likely to be stolen, right?

According to the 2009 National Insurance Crime Bureau, the following are the top 10 most commonly stolen cars in the US:

1. ‘94 Honda Accord
2. ‘95 Honda Civic
3. ‘91 Toyota Camry
4. ‘97 Ford F-150 Pickup
5. ‘04 Dodge Ram Pickup
6. ‘00 Dodge Caravan
7. ‘94 Full Size Chevrolet Pickup
8. ‘94 Acura Integra
9. ‘02 Ford Explorer
10. ‘09 Toyota Corolla

These are the average national rankings, which vary from state to state. For example, in southern states there’s a particular interest in ‘95 full-size Chevrolet pickups, while the northern car thieves prefer ‘00 Dodge Caravans. In general, the ‘90 import cars seem to be very popular targets for car thefts. There are many reasons for this, including their affordable prices and in many cases the possibilities of tuning, which are highly appreciated among car enthusiast who often don’t even suspect that they are buying a stolen car for such a low price. Still, some newer models show their wide popularity among the population, which is reflected bizarrely through higher theft rates.

How these statistics reflect in car insurance quotes and rates? Well, insurance providers simply tend to set higher rates when seeing vehicles with high theft rates even if other factors such as engine volume, top speed, age and sex of the driver, his credibility and driving record are good in general. This is done to assure that the insurance company is getting the payment for taking the risk of insuring a particular vehicle, which is of course higher when dealing with car from the list above.

What can be done to get lower car insurance quotes even if you have a vehicle from the list? First of all, make sure to minimize the risk of the car being stolen. This can be done in different ways. You can install anti-theft devices, alarms and engine blockers to make your car less prone to theft. Next, throw out the junk from your garage that keeps your car on the roadside in front of the house and use it according to its purpose. If you don’t have a garage, or have to park the vehicle in the city, make sure to take all the valuables with you. Things like your ipod, GPS navigator or laptop can be a strong temptation for a burglar to break into the car, and it won’t take them far to commence actual car theft. And of course, don’t forget to shop around for car insurance. Get as many car insurance quotes from different providers as you can and you’ll surely find an attractive policy. Insurance companies have different theft statistics and claims, so use it to your advantage.