Hybrid Cars - The Next Generation
Although as I write this, fuel prices are fluctuating up and down, but we’ve just been through a period where we’ve seen the price of gasoline in North America reach all time highs, and seemed to be heading north. Although the oil market is depressed at the minute, who can doubt that at some point in the future, gasoline prices at the pump will surely sky rocket again?
With the uncertainty about the price of fuel, many are considering and talking about the Hybrid Car. Of course, there are other behaviours that are changing as well. For instance, more and more people are looking for ways to carpool or fit in the public transportation instead of driving to work. I even have friends that are trying out alternative combustion of fuel, having water to fuel systems installed on their present vehicle engines. The jury is still out on that one.
What is the answer to today’s problems of rising fuel costs, global warming and pollution? Could it be the hybrid car? Such cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight use both gasoline and electric power. Very large batteries are recharged as the car is driven, allowing the engine to switch between gas power and electric power. At a possible 60 miles per gallon city driving, such cars look attractive to some in the market for a new car. But this is where a hybrid vehicle does well - in the city. On highways and at faster speeds, the vehicles do need more power that at this point, only gasoline can provide.
Of course, there are other drawbacks to hybrid vehicles as well. Perhaps future technology will help overcome some of these, but the vehicles are smaller and made of lighter weight materials. Forget about taking the family on a camping trip while pulling a tent trailer! At about 21,000 dollars for a two seated vehicle, the price of a hybrid car includes all the limitations you’ll have as well.
Some experts claim that as far as actual costs, hybrids make no sense unless fuel prices really skyrocket. For a larger hybrid, you might save about $200.00 a year in fuel costs - so you could be looking at about 15 years to see real returns on the cost of your new hybrid. But then with any new technology, it is expensive at the beginning, and perhaps as more development is done, we’ll see less expensive ways to manufacture hybrids - or perhaps discover even more efficient fuel technologies so that we can continue to enjoy our rambling ways along highways and biways.
Tags: Buying a New Car, hybrid cars, used cars