List of Hybrid Vehicles Available In the American Market

List of Hybrid Vehicles Available In the American Market

The list of hybrid vehicles currently available is fairly long. This is not surprising because hybrid vehicles are tomorrow’s cars available today. Particularly for the American market, the hybrid vehicle is highly popular because of the growing concern with the environment.

Below is a random list of hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles that are available only in the Japanese market were excluded. And this is not to discriminate our Japanese friends because it acknowledged that their hybrid vehicles were the first to reach the world wide market in mass production.

What we have down there is a hybrid vehicles’ list available in Europe and the United States, where the market for hybrid vehicles is huge.

Under Ford, we have hybrid vehicles list that include Ford Escape Hybrid released in 2005. The second is the Mercury Mariner Hybrid, released in late summer of 2004.

The Ford Escape (Code U204) is a compressed crossover SUV. It is sold by the automaker Ford Motor Company in the market since 2001 and priced below the Ford Explorer.

With Honda, the hybrid vehicles listed are Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid, and Honda Insight. The third one was a recipient of International Engine of the Year Award for 2000.

The Honda Insight is a 2-seater hatchback hybrid automobile. It was the first mass-produced hybrid automobile sold in the United States, introduced in 1999. According to the EPA, the 5-speed manual transmission variant of this hybrid is the most fuel-efficient automobile sold in the United States. The Insight also features low emissions: the California Air Resources Board gave the 5-speed model a ULEV rating, and the CVT model earned a SULEV rating.

The Honda Civic Hybrid on the other hand, is a hybrid version of the Honda Civic sedan.

For this 2003 model of the Civic, its manufacturer added a variable transmission with an Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system similar to that of the Honda Insight. This has created a fuel efficient hybrid sedan. The current version of this car however, was redesigned.

The Honda Accord Hybrid though, is a hybrid version of the North American Honda Accord. The Accord Hybrid currently is priced at US$3,000 higher than the EX V6 model Accord, and retains the same trim and feature levels.

For the General Motors, their list of hybrid vehicles comprises the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra Hybrid, which is considered by many as a Mild hybrid. Also included are the New Flyer and Gillig hybrid buses with Allison’s electric drive system as the main feature. The last two are the Opel Astra Diesel Hybrid, and the Saturn VUE Green Line hybrid.

GM launched a hybrid version of the Silverado/Sierra in 2005, as the first ever GM hybrid vehicle. But as what have been said, it is a mild hybrid, strictly speaking. The electric motor serves only as power trimmings, but includes a system that also automatically shuts down when the truck brakes below 13 mph. When this happens, it automatically draws on electric power to restart itself.

The hybrid truck features four 120 volt 20 amp AC outlets. This vehicle is interestingly, suited to those in the building and construction market, since AC power is almost available in their worksite. The extra power reserve of this car makes it well-suited with this particular market.

Toyota on the other hand, includes Prius, the Highlander, and the midsized Camry.

For the record, the Toyota Prius is considered as the world's first commercially mass-produced hybrid vehicle. But although it went on sale in Japan as early as 1997, its worldwide debut was in 2001.

Records show that in 2003, some 160,000 units were produced specifically for three major markets: Japan, Europe, and North America. In Latin, prius means "before" or "first". The Prius 2004 model, was redesigned as a midsize hatchback, and was certified as an Advanced Technology Partial zero-emissions vehicle.

Prius has won the Car of the Year awards for Europe, Japan and North America.

Lexus’ list of hybrid vehicles consists of Lexus RX400h, Lexus LS600hL, and the Lexus GS450h. The last on the list of Lexus, GS450h, is a compact hybrid vehicle.

Other hybrid vehicles that made it to the American market includes Nissan’s Altima Hybrid; Peugeot’s Peugeot 307 CC Hybrid HDi; and Renault’s Kangoo.

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