Hybrid Vs Gasoline Vehicles
Hybrid vehicles became popular in the United States in the late-1990s. Today they constitute a considerable market segment and new models are arriving every year. Still, despite the advantages of cars that run on a mixture of gasoline and electricity, there are other factors to consider when choosing between a hybrid and a conventional car.
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How Hybrids Work
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Hybrid electric vehicles, or HEVs, contain an electric motor which is used to provide power to drive the car under certain circumstances. They also contain a conventional gasoline engine which is usually smaller than those found in gas-powered cars. By switching between fuel sources, a hybrid can maximize fuel efficiency while extending its range or allowing for increased power with the combination of fuel sources. A battery pack, central to a hybrid's design, stores energy that would otherwise be wasted and uses it to power the car's electric motor and other electrical components.
Price
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One of the most obvious disadvantages to owning a hybrid is the high initial cost, which may be several thousand dollars above a similar car with a conventional powertrain. This increased cost is due to the process of developing electric motors and battery packs, and designing new cars (or redesigning old ones) to allow for their use. Tax incentives are in place in many countries to encourage hybrid ownership, but the long-term savings are sometimes not enough for buyers to justify a larger initial investment. As the major automakers seek to increase the profitability of hybrids they continue to find new ways to save in their production costs and retail prices continue to fall.
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Varieties of Hybrid Cars
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Hybrid cars come in several distinct varieties, each of which uses hybrid electric technology in a slightly different way. Mild hybrids still rely on their gas engine but use an electric motor to store energy during braking or when driving downhill (a process known as regenerative braking). They may also use their electric motors to stop the gas motor when the car is stopped, and to restart it quickly when the car begins to move. So-called "full hybrids" can run on gas or electricity alone and will use no gasoline when the battery is sufficiently charger and ample power is being generated.
Fuel Efficiency
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For many drivers, fuel efficiency is the single largest reason to buy a hybrid car. Using less gasoline means fewer emissions and a substantial financial savings to the driver which only increases as the price of gas goes up. Plug-in hybrids, which can be charged at home by being plugged into an outlet, are among the most efficient types and may be able to run on electricity alone with no need for their gasoline engine except during extended drives. Other cars that are less efficient, such as hybrid versions of some popular SUVs, still provide substantial savings over their gasoline-powered counterparts.
Additional Considerations
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A Hybrid car's electric motor makes all of its power available at any speed. This allows hybrids to accelerate very quickly. When a hybrid vehicle is not using its gas engine, its operation is very quiet, which both cuts down on noise pollution and provides a new challenge to issues of pedestrian safety. Hybrid cars also employ a single-ratio or continuously variable transmission, which does not need to be shifted.
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References
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- Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons
