Car Insurance

Most people buy a new car, and then worry about getting auto insurance for it at a later date. Even though this is the way that most people operate, it is not the only way that you can move forward. Have you ever thought about shopping for auto insurance before you actually shop for the car? This way you will be able to get a good idea as to how much you are going to have to spend. After all, do you really want to buy a sports car just to find out that the auto insurance is going to be way too far out of your range?

The best place to find auto insurance is the internet. In today’s day and age shopping over the internet is the way to go. When you do this you will be able to find out a whole lot about the auto insurance industry. In addition to being able to obtain rate quotes, when you search online for auto insurance you will also have the ability to learn about what you are getting as well. Knowing what type of coverage you are getting is essential to making things work out in the end.

Since there are many details that go into getting auto insurance for your new car, be prepared to answer a lot of questions from the companies that sell policies. They will need to know what type of insurance you are after, as well as personal information. And on top of all this, auto insurance companies also need your personal information so that they can get your past driving history. This will go a long way in determining how much your monthly premium is going to be.

The type of new car that you are buying will greatly influence how much money you will pay for auto insurance. For example, you are going to pay a much lower premium if you have a minivan as opposed to a sports car. After all, there is much less risk involved when somebody is using their minivan to get around; they don’t quite go as fast as the modern day sports car!

Some of the earliest automobiles were powered by electric motors driven by batteries, but rapid advances to internal combustion engines quickly drove the heavier, range-limited EVs from the market. The pressing need to reduce air pollution together with new advanced batteries and motors have allowed EVs to reappear as a clean alternative to internal combustion vehicles. Electric drive systems are virtually non-polluting and extremely energy efficient. Whereas only about 20% of the chemical energy in gasoline gets converted into useful work at the wheels of an internal combustion vehicle, 75% or more of the energy from a battery reaches the wheels.

Another advantage of electric motors is their ability to provide power at almost any engine speed. While internal combustion engines must be revved up to high rpm to achieve maximum power, electric motors provide nearly peak power even at low speeds. This gives electric vehicles strong acceleration performance from a stop.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They can be light-duty delivery vehicles or heavy-duty trams and buses. Because the range of an EV (approximately 80 miles) is limited by weight, design, and the type of battery used, EVs are particularly well suited to short-distance, high-use applications—those that demand frequent starts and stops. In addition, many EV models satisfy Energy Policy Act vehicle acquisition requirements for fleets.

Some manufacturers produce neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs), which use similar battery technology and are often used in limited on-road fleet applications. NEVs are zero emission vehicles, but most do not satisfy EPAct requirements for fleets. See our neighborhood electric vehicles page for more detail on NEVs.

In an EV, batteries and other energy storage devices are used to store the electricity that powers the electric motor in the vehicle. EV batteries must be replenished by plugging in the vehicle to a power source. Some EVs have on-board chargers; others plug into a charger located outside the vehicle, but both must use electricity that comes from the power grid to replenish the battery. Although electricity production may contribute to air pollution, an EV is a zero emission vehicle and its motor produces no exhaust or emissions.

Electric cars have huge potential to change the auto industry, particularly with rising gas prices, but a new design out of California targets the niche of busy urban drivers.

The new Zap Xebra all-electric car is a 40-mph, three-wheeled automobile that was designed for people who do a lot of in-town driving. Unlike hybrids, the Zap car needs no gas at all - just plug into any conventional outlet.

Publicly owned Zap (stock symbol: ZP) sees a market with multi-car families that are looking for the fuel-savings benefits electrics can offer for commuting, errands or government and corporate fleet use.

“Many people buy electric cars because they want to use them when they don’t need their gas cars,” said Alex Campbell, spokesman for Zap. “What they quickly realize is that most of their daily trips are perfect for electric cars, and realistically it becomes the first car.”

According to Zap, studies show most driving trips are within 20 miles of home, distances well within the city limit for the Xebra, which can travel up to 40 miles per charge.

According to a study by the Green Car Institute, 15 percent of all cars sold could be electric today. When consumers have a choice between driving an electric car and a gas car, they choose the electric car 90 percent of the time.

The main problem with the electric cars that reared their heads briefly a decade ago was their ability to only go so far on battery power. Charges lasted just 50 miles or so, so you were in trouble if you needed to go farther or ran out of juice somewhere in-between electric outlets. Hybrids, on the other hand, which have side-by-side electric and gas motors, never need to be plugged in and instead use the motions of their gas-powered engines (as well as those of the cars wheels and brakes) to keep their batteries charged at all times. And with a huge infrastructure of gas stations, refueling is always as easy as pulling over to fill up.

Electric car advocates have long touted their alternative vehicles as primarily short-distance commuter cars. At a 50-mile range, most electric cars could make such short trips without the need for recharging. One need only plug their vehicle into an electric outlet in the garage overnight to charge up the battery for the morning commute, and if needed then plug it in at the office for the return trip later.

But most people want more from their cars than just the daily commute–and gassing up takes minutes whereas re-charging takes hours–so sufficient demand never materialized. Hybrids, though they do use gasoline, are as versatile as conventional cars–and the coming plug-in hybrids (covered previously in this column) promise to substantially increase efficiency, to perhaps 100 miles per gallon or more, by using the electric motor exclusively for short runs and commutes and the gas engine only for long trips.

Even though all-electric vehicles are not currently in vogue, innovative engineers are busy working to improve them. Technological advances in battery life and engine efficiency mean that electric vehicles may be able to roam farther than ever before. According to EVWorld.com, drivers looking to go electric will soon have a few options:

California-based Tesla Motors will soon be accepting deposits on orders for its Tesla Roadster, and plans its first deliveries for 2007. Tesla claims its car can go 250 miles on a charge, which can even be extended further through its regenerative braking technology, similar to that which is employed in the hybrids.

And Spokane, Washingtons Commuter Car Corporation is taking orders for its Tango 600 (a kit you have to assemble) and its Tango 100 and 200 models (fully assembled), with plans to deliver by 2007. Actor George Clooney was Commuter Cars first customer. The Tango can only go 60-80 miles on a charge, but boasts of its ability to go zero to 60 in four seconds and attain a top speed of 150 miles per hour.