Hybrid Basics

What Is a Hybrid Car?

A hybrid car is one that runs on a mixture of electric power and gasoline power. A hybrid vehicle uses an onboard rechargeable energy source and a gasoline power source. Hybrid cars are more fuel efficient and low polluting. In most hybrid cars, the gas engine is only used for acceleration. For a more detailed explanation of what a hybrid car is and how it works, check this site out: http://www.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car12.htm


Why Go Hybrid?

Hybrid cars use their gasoline power source, but it is generally not used when the vehicle is running at a continuous speed or slowing down. This makes them more fuel-efficient. This also allows hybrid cars to emit considerably less pollution. Add to both of these the added feature of being much less dependent on gasoline and the hybrid electric car certainly seems to be the better choice. This site is run by a consortium of concerned scientists and offers more information on hybrid engines: http://www.hybridcenter.org/


Savings

The big question is: do hybrid electric cars really save money? Given the cost of gasoline these days, it seems obvious that hybrid electric cars would save money simply by having to fill up less often. The problem that then presents itself is whether or not it is actually cheaper using electricity. As oil prices rise, so do the costs of producing the electricity that the hybrid car runs on. It is easy to plug the car in and forget that the electricity being stored in it is costing money as well.

In general, if the cost of gasoline is where it should be, meaning that it is at the level appropriate for the actual cost of producing the product and not being subject to price gouging or artificially inflated prices as has been seen during natural disasters and military conflicts, the cost of driving a hybrid electric car should be lower than the cost of driving a traditional combustion engine vehicle.

As it stands now, there are relatively few hybrid cars on the market, so the choices in hybrid vehicles are limited. Since hybrid cars are also relatively new to the general public and the technology is as well, the initial cost of a hybrid electric car will likely be higher. These costs should be easily defrayed through the savings in fuel economy. For more information about hybrid car fuel efficiency, go here: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_links.shtml and http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_sbs_cars.shtml


Green Vehicles

Regardless of the cost of the vehicle or its higher miles per gallon ratings, many people have and will purchase hybrid cars simply for the benefits it offers for the environment. While hybrid vehicles are not 100 percent emission free, the amount of emissions they do put out is a huge reduction over traditional combustion engine vehicles.

This benefit is coupled with an even more immediate plus: the lowering of emissions helps keep the air in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle cleaner, leading to improved health for the owner. Driving tests of hybrid vehicles indicate that hybrid cars are 80 – 90 percent cleaner than combustion vehicles.

Find out more information about the environmental benefits of hybrid vehicles here: http://www.greenercars.com


Other Benefits

Besides the obvious benefits of higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions, hybrid cars have smaller combustion engines. The combustion engine in a hybrid car is smaller, lighter and more efficient that its traditional counterparts. This is because the combustion engine in a hybrid car is sized for only slightly above average power demands rather than the peak power demand that a regular engine requires. A standard combustion engine is only efficient at a narrow range of operation. The smaller and lighter engine improves power efficiency.

In hybrid vehicles, braking is done by the engine rather than by mechanical brakes. One of the benefits of this is regenerative braking, where the kinetic energy of braking the vehicle is converted back into storable energy in the battery, rather than being wasted off as heat.

Hybrid cars also reduce noise emissions, as the hybrid car is essentially silent when running on electricity only. This is not always considered a benefit as people who are visually impaired rely on vehicle noise when crossing the street.


Repair Work

It is common for skeptics to make claims that mechanics do not like to work on hybrid vehicles due to the complexity of the engines, making it more difficult to find someone willing to work on your vehicle should it break down. According to many Toyota mechanics in Atlanta and other cities, they are more than pleased with the cars and in fact, many engineers and mechanics are involved in online hybrid clubs and hybrid driving clubs as well.

The promise of the electric car has been driven home to us for the last couple of decades and it seems now that finally the reality is catching up to the vision. While the purely electric car is still not a practical reality yet, the hybrid vehicle is carving its place in the automotive pantheon. Soon hybrids should be a staple of the automotive industry with more choices and higher efficiency than they already exhibit.