Just where did a hybrid car get it’s start? Well, read on to find out. Hybrid cars are very popular for today’s car buyers, and there are many reasons why. But before you even think about choosing a hybrid car to buy, you might want to know a little bit about the history of the hybrid car first.

It is surprising, but hybrid vehicles were around even before gas-powered cars. In or about the year 1665, a Jesuit priest by the name of Ferdinand Verbeist started making plans for a new type of vehicle. That vehicle or cart would be very simple, nothing intricate. Dead simple was all he was interested in.

So it was that Ferdinand designed a car that would have four wheels and would run on steam. It took roughly fifteen years of work for Ferdinand to go through with his plan. He laboured to perfect his dream car. But no one knows for certain if he ever finished it because there is no physical evidence that his concept ever came into reality.

Then in 1769, a man by the name of Nicholas Cugnot designed and developed a carriage that was driven by steam. This vehicle really did go and it went at six miles per hour. This project was great, but it was difficult to get the amount of steam needed to make the car to travel any significant distance.

The real break through in hybrid vehicle design finally came in 1839 when Robert Anderson developed an electrically powered car. It was the first of its kind and was built in Scotland.

This type of electric car was a highly applauded innovation of its time. But, the only problem was that it was very difficult to recharge the car’s battery. Some pioneers did come after Anderson, but they had the same problem of getting the battery recharged after a few miles.

Finally in the year 1898 Porsche produced an electric and fuel combustion engine that was the first of its time. The car was called the Lohner Electric Chaise, and it could go up to 40 miles just using batteries.

Not long afterwards, pioneers combined both gas and a battery powered engines to power what would turn into today’s hybrid vehicle. In 1999, Honda made its jump into the US market. It came out with the Honda Insight, which was a lightweight two-door hybrid vehicle. Since then, hybrid cars have been evolving and improving into what we see on the roads these days. Hybrid cars are no longer just for the techies who think it’s cool to combine battery and liquid fuel to get them where they want to go. Hybrid cars began life simple, and they still are quite simple today.

Nowadays hybrid cars are becoming increasingly more popular as people are getting to understand them better. In the 21st century, hybrids saw a big boom in sales after the Toyota Prius came on the streets. It was the first hybrid with four doors that was marketed for America.

Soon after, the Ford Escape hybrid became the very first SUV hybrid ever made. So there it is in a nutshell, the history of the hybrid car – today’s modern car.

The article shown below will detail for you 1 of 6 incredibly valuable oil analysis tests you can use to quickly establish the continued viability of your oil, without ever sending it off to a lab.

The crackle test is useful for determining whether water ingression from condensation problems is an issue. Most often, you will be most vulnerable to water build-up in your oil if you are a short trip driver and/or if your vehicle sits for long periods without being run.

Why is water in your oil a problem? Because water in your oil causes acid build-up, which causes corrosion. Corrosion leads to pitting, and pitting is BAD for your vehicle’s engine. Even a high TBN extended change interval synthetic oil like AMSOIL can eventually be overcome by water/acid build-up.So, it is important to know if you’re getting water build-up in your oil BEFORE the acid fighting additives in your oil are used up. THAT is why we do the crackle test.

Now, if there is fuel in your oil, this can cause confusion with the test results, so perform the blotter spot test (business card test) first to see if you have any fuel dilution. If so, fuel dilution is already a problem, so the crackle test is a moot point.

So, how do you do it? Simple. Find a hotplate of some kind. Set it to a temp between 250 and 300 degrees F . Lastly, put a little oil on the plate. Then, drop some oil on the plate.

If you place a small amount of oil on a 300 degree hotplate, the oil should boil quickly. You’ll either hear a crackling sound or you won’t. If the crackling doesn’t begin quickly, chances are there is no water in your oil.

A professionally performed oil analysis is more accurate in that it will tell you if you have too much water in your oil and how much water there is, but the the DIY crackle test detailed here is a good, free way to find water in your oil.

If you’re looking to determine what your best oil change intervals should be, the best method is via oil analysis. Of course, on many passenger car vehicles that only take 4-6 quarts of motor oil, the cost of the oil analysis is nearly as much as a complete oil change.

Of course, the end result is that most folks will chose not to ante up for a professional oil analysis – but they might be inclined to perform their own “oil analysis”, if only they knew how to go about doing it. It won’t give you results as accurate and precise as results from the professional lab testing, but it can give you a pretty decent understanding of how well your oil is holding up.

In the next few paragraphs you will discover the complete details for performing one of six DIY oil analysis tests which can be used to establish the condition of your oil and whether it’s ready for a change.

It would likely also be in your best interests to learn a bit more regarding lubricants and filters in general. The following sites may prove useful for this purpose.

- The Motor Oil Bible – Over 150 pages of motor oil information

- The Motor Oil Evaluator – motor oil comparison specifications

- A Motor Oil Forum for discussion of motor oils

The Blotter Spot Test

Using just this simple layman’s oil analysis test can shed light on a whole host of possible oil problems which could require an oil change: excessive particulates, condensation build-up, glycol contamination, fuel dilution, failure of dispersant additives, formation of sludge and oxidation products.

You want to place a drop of used oil on the surface of chromatography paper (good heavy white card stock works pretty well too) . It’s important to be certain the oil is still warm but not hot. Place your white paper/card someplace where it will be suspended parallel to the ground and so that the oil drop area will be touching nothing – on either side of the card. For instance, if you’re using stiff card stock or a stiff business card (which you really should be) you could lay two pencils down on a table (parallel to each other) and set the card with each end sitting on one of the pencils.

Be sure the drop is entirely dry before you attempt to consider the condition of the spot. Once all of the oil has been drawn into the pores of the paper you can begin evaluating the condition of your oil.

- A colorless circle or slight yellowish outer ring = “good” oil.

- A dense, dark deposit zone = Dispersant additive failure

- A black, pasty area = Anti-freeze in your motor oil

- Center of circle dark with distinct outer ring = Severe oxidation

- Center of circle dark with outer rings = Fuel in oil,Fuel dilution

Information for this test featured in: Fitch, J.C., “The Lubrication Field Test and Inspection Guide”, Noria Corporation 2000

With so many different types of RC cars on the market today, it is no wonder that many people find it confusing.

The reason for this is that sprint cars have some features you will not find in many other RC cars. In addition, the tires receive critical traction. Even though sprint cars are relatively small and have a light weight, they are known for producing fast speeds. With sprint RC cars, there is more favor given to power than weight. When attending a race in which RC sprint cars are involved, you may notice that there is a fence around the track.

One of the first things that you will notice about all types of sprint cars, including Bart RC sprint cars, is the fact that they look somewhat different from other types of RC cars. There is a very good reason for this. This problem is typically addressed by attaching a wing to the top of the car. This is due to their power to weight ratio. Bart RC sprint cars are capable of achieving speeds of 140 miles per hour and even more.

In fact, when it comes to speed, sprint cars are really second to none. The main difference between sprint RC cars and other cars is the power to weight ratio. One thing that you should be aware of with all types of spring cars, including Bart RC sprint cars, is that rather than remaining low to the ground, it does not take much for these little cars to fly. This will help to you to choose the best car in order to obtain the best performance as well as speed. Bart RC sprint cars are known for possessing a tremendous amount of power packaged in a vehicle with a relatively low weight.

In most cases the wing is made of aluminum. Just in case the vehicle should come off the track and began to fly, the fence will help to reduce possible risk and danger to racers and anyone else standing nearby. The wing provides the vehicle with a downward thrust that helps to keep it down on the track. Bart RC sprint cars are often the preferred car for dirt oval tracks. Which type of car is optimal for which type of application? When choosing RC cars, it is always best to consider the location where you will be racing your car.