Hybrid Cars
Hybrid cars are the cars that make use of two or more power sources i.e. small combustion engine and electric motor. These power sources help in reducing carbon footprint and also make the car more energy efficient. Carbon footprint means that the pollution or emission produced by an individual car that result in destroying the environment. Hybrid cars are different in a way that they use power from engine for getting started and then rest of the power to keep the car moving is drawn from the electricity, stored in batteries in trunks. Hybrid cars are sometimes related to electric cars but actually they have different features and functionality. Hybrid cars use their electric bits to reuse energy from gasoline burning machines which is usually wasted in case of standard cars .
There are some hybrid cars that also use an electric engine to improve speed and performance. By this means, nearly 50% of the gas expenses can be saved. Moreover, by using these electric engines, less carbon dioxide is produced and so multiple taxes may also be reduced. An ordinary hybrid car can also cover about 50 miles in one gallon of gas; thus making it highly cost efficient.
Types of Hybrid Cars
There are different types of hybrid cars i.e. parallel hybrids, series hybrids, series-parallel hybrids, plug-in hybrids, mild hybrids, and strong hybrids and so on. There are many other types or models of hybrid cars in the market and there are still more to come. There is a great scope of hybrid cars because of its benefits to an individual as well as an environment.
Series hybrids are the oldest of its type. In this type of hybrid cars, only electric motors work to drive the wheels of the car and so they need to be powerful and large. However, it is still not a pure electric car because it has dedicated engine that expels emissions and burns fuel. This engine is specifically used to power the generator so that to produce electricity. In comparison to the series hybrid cars, parallel hybrid cars are simple and least costly than any other current vehicles in use. In this type of vehicle the output of electric motor and an engine are blended together to upstream the transmission. Electric motor gives an extra power to the vehicle that improves its performance. If there is a large motor then it can be alone used for driving car till the short distances. Series-parallel hybrid cars comprises of the features of both type of cars i.e. series and parallel. The car has both an engine and an electric motor with separate paths and thus providing independent propulsion via electricity or an engine (Project Hot Seat).
Top Hybrid Cars
Nowadays, there are number of automakers who are working on the hybrid cars model but the top players of the market are Honda and Toyota. However, the some of the other branded cars also offer great performance and gas mileage. Some of the top hybrid cars currently being used in the market are 2013 Ford C-max Hybrid, 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, 2012 Toyota Prius C, and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco. These hybrid cars efficient, offer great mileage and also cost much more economical than other cars. The price range of these hybrid cars vary from $18,000 to $30,000. Though, these cars are expensive to purchase in the first place but they have several benefits and cost cutting options to offer later on .
There are various advantages to hybrid cars and that’s the reason they are called as the car of the future. In past, these hybrid cars were only considered for the reason of being eco-friendly but now there many other important issues that these cars can resolve; for example cost effectiveness with less fuel consumption, and other effective features. Hybrid cars offer lots of other benefits which are as follows;
- Hybrid Cars are Environment Friendly
The best thing about the hybrid cars is its contribution towards keeping the environment free of pollution. Since, hybrid cars use both an engine and an electric motor together that cuts down the consumption of fuel and thus less emissions and pollution is expelled.
- Low Running Cost
Hybrid cars are much more cost effective as compare to the standard cars because of its low fuel consumption. These cars partially use engine and partially an electric motor to propel. These cars will soon make their important place in future because of their low fuel consumption feature as the prices of petrol and diesel are increasing day by day. Hybrid cars also make an appropriate use of fuel by automatically turning off an engine at traffic signals when the car stops. Moreover, the maintenance cost of these cars is also considerably lower than the traditional cars .
- Road Tax Breaks
The factories and traditional cars have already highly damaged the ozone layer and so we do not have any more chance to take any risk regarding the environment. For this reason, Government is offering public with road tax breaks on purchasing and driving hybrid cars. The less carbon dioxide is emitted of the car, the less the owner would have to pay the tax.
- Lifetime Batteries
Hybrid cars utilize NiMH batteries that are designed to run for the lifetime. Previously, standard cars had nickel cadmium batteries in them that were neither environment friendly nor lasted for long time .
- Saving Natural Oil Resources
Since, oil is excessively being used at industries and in automobiles so it has created shortage of these natural resources. That’s the reason why the prices of petrol are rapidly increasing. Hybrid cars reduce dependency on oil and thus it is an intelligent step towards saving the natural oil resources.
- Better Performance
Hybrid cars perform better than the standard ones. First, because they offer better mileage; more distance can be covered in less petrol. Second, there is no friction in engine and so the spare parts are safe of wearing out. Third, hybrid cars’ tires are more inflated and harder as compared to traditional cars thus they have longer life than others .
- Automatic Recharging
The electric motor batteries of the hybrid cars get them recharged automatically by using the kinetic energy that is being generated upon applying brakes.
Besides the various benefits of hybrid cars, there are some cons related to it as well. Therefore, it is recommended that when you are up to purchasing hybrid cars consider all aspects to determine if it is a reasonable choice or not .
References
Cunningham, W. (2013, November 25). Best Hybrid Cars. Retrieved from CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/best-hybrid-cars/
Edmunds, D. (2013, 10 17). What are Hybrid Cars and How Do They Work? Retrieved from Edmunds: http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/what-is-a-hybrid-car-how-do-hybrids-work.html
Forecast the Facts. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Cars. Retrieved from Forecast the Facts: http://www.forecastthefacts.info/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-hybrid-cars.html
Michaels, S. (2013, June 17). Top 10 Benefits of Driving a Hybrid Car. Retrieved from Earthpages.org: http://epages.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/top-10-benefits-of-driving-a-hybrid-car/
Project Hot Seat . (n.d.). The Benefits of Using Hybrid Cars. Retrieved from Project Hot Seat: http://www.projecthotseat.org/innovation/the-benefits-of-using-hybrid-cars
Rafih. (2013, May 8). What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Vehicles?
Staysure. (2012, 7 13). Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Cars. Retrieved 12 9, 2013, from Staysure: http://www.staysure.co.uk/experts/articles/article-view/-/ate-article/title/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-hybrid-cars
