Clean ride.Sport Utility Vehicles This page lists sports utility vehicles currently in production (as of April 2007), as well as past models. The list includes crossover SUVs, Mini SUVs, Compact SUVs and other similar vehicles. (SUVs) are known for guzzling gas. And burning gas to power cars spews harmful pollution into the air. Could the new Ford Escape Hybrid The Ford Escape Hybrid, launched in 2004, is a gas-electric hybrid powered version of the Ford Escape SUV developed by the Ford Motor Company. Built in Kansas City, Missouri, it was the first hybrid SUV to hit the market. , the first such SUV in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , start a greener motor trend? "The hybrid is a combination of an electric vehicle and a traditional gas SUV," says Stephen Hunter, an engineer at Ford Motor Company. To power a traditional car, the engine constantly burns gasoline to create energy. The byproduct by·prod·uct or by-prod·uct n. 1. Something produced in the making of something else. 2. A secondary result; a side effect. Noun 1. : carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. (C[O.sub.2]) and other greenhouse (heat-trapping) gases. These gases are linked to global warming, or the average increase of Earth's temperature. In a hybrid car: "When the power demand is low [like during braking], a battery-powered electric motor takes over," says Hunter. "The vehicle burns less fuel, lowering [greenhouse-gas] emissions." The Escape Hybrid also has improved fuel economy (average number of miles a car can drive per gallon of fuel, or mpg). It cruises at 36 mpg in cities and 31 mpg on highways. "It's almost 50 percent more efficient than regular SUVs," Hunter says. It's even more efficient than some cars. Still, this SUV's improved impact on the environment may be limited. Only 20,000 Escape Hybrids will hit the road this year. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] |
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