Is A Hybrid Car For You

You may have seen one zipping past you in the high occupancy lane, a lone driver at the wheel. It's a gasoline-electric hybrid car and driving in the HOV lane is just one of the benefits of ownership in many states. But what is a hybrid? How does it work? Is it the right car for you and your family?

A hybrid car has a both a gasoline engine and a battery. The battery is recharged by energy from the gasoline engine that would normally be lost during braking or decelerating. The car uses either the battery or the gasoline engine depending on several factors including how fast the car is traveling. Sometimes, both will work together to provide an extra boost of power without using too much extra fuel.

The result of this technology is cars that get significantly better gas mileage and produce less carbon dioxide emissions that traditional gasoline powered cars. For example, according to Honda, the 2006 Civic Hybrid gets 50 miles to the gallon on the highway, 14 miles to the gallon better than the 2003 regular Civic. When driven the national average of 12,000 miles, that represents a savings of 69 gallons of gas and 258 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

In the early days of hybrid cars, there were few models to choose from. People desiring to purchase a hybrid car were stuck in tiny cars with little cargo space. Today, however, manufacturers produce hybrid cars and light trucks in nearly every category including family-sized sedans, sport utility vehicles and minivans. The smallest cars still get the best gas mileage, but larger hybrids consistently outperform their regular siblings in gas mileage and carbon dioxide emissions.

Unfortunately, hybrid cars cost more than regular models. In the case of the 2006 Honda Civic, the hybrid model costs almost $7,000 more than the regular model. Congress passed a law providing tax credits for hybrid car owners that took effect on January 1, 2006 that would save the buyer of a 2006 Civic Hybrid $2,100. It would take several years to break even on the purchase of a hybrid counting gasoline savings alone. However, many hybrid owners are as dedicated to the environmental benefits of driving a hybrid as they are to the money they save.

One of the fears when hybrid cars first became available was that maintenance and insurance costs would be prohibitive. Research has shown that regular maintenance costs for hybrid vehicles are no higher than for regular vehicles. Additionally, hybrid car owners are less likely to be involved in accidents and some insurance companies have begun offering discounts to hybrid car owners.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Automotive [http://iautomotiveworld.com/], Outdoors [http://livingtheoutdoorslife.com/], and Recreation.

Hybrid Vehicle Top Safety Pick

An auto insurance trade group, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, has named a hybrid vehicle as a top safety pick. The Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid vehicle with a small gasoline engine, achieved the honor along with the all-electric Nissan Leaf. The Insurance Institute offered the judgment after the group's first US crash tests of plug-in and pure electric cars. Anyone wondering if hybrid vehicles are going to be safe can rest easy.

The Volt earned its top rating of "good" for front, side, rear and rollover crash protection. The Institute also noted that both the Volt and the Leaf have standard electric stability control which the group considers a crucial safety feature. Makers of hybrid vehicles are clearly using the same standards of safety in the production of these new types of cars as in the more common internal combustion engine vehicles.

Critics have long argued that hybrid vehicles could not be made economically and that safety would be compromised in the rush to "go green," but the recent crash tests show that this is not the case. These hybrid vehicles are as safe or safer than any car produced today.

Both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt are small cars which initially would seem to indicate a lack of safety. Both, though, have battery packs adding significant weight to the vehicles making them safer than other cars in their class. This, too, was demonstrated by the Institute's crash tests.

Additionally, the tests proved that using technology to boost fuel economy, such as the electric batteries in both these vehicles, is preferable to simply downsizing and lightening the weight of cars to save fuel. Hybrid vehicles are actually safer than standard cars of the same size while remarkably fuel-efficient at the same time.

These hybrid vehicles are perfect for highway driving. Should a crash occur, these cars will protect the drivers better than the vast majority of standard cars.

In fact, these electric cars are far safer than the low-speed vehicles, such as the GEM e2 or the Wheego Whip, which were judged dangerous after crash tests last year. These are golf-cart-like vehicles which are becoming increasingly popular, but are not required to meet the national safety standards of passenger vehicles.

The image of the electric and hybrid car was damaged in the mind of the consumer by these small carts which were never meant for highway driving. Nevertheless, industry observers think that the new tests will propel the Leaf and the Volt forward in the minds of eco-minded consumers who have been waiting for a chance to purchase a reasonably green, fuel-efficient and safe car for at least five years. The time has finally arrived. Both the Leaf and the Volt are extremely safe, fuel-efficient and will not harm the environment. Auto makers have finally turned the corner on producing desirable hybrid vehicles.

Diane Butler, Ph.D., a writer living in Southern California, has eagerly awaited the appearance of a popular and safe hybrid cars. She has always hoped to see the demise of the polluting internal combustion engine.