How to Chose What to Buy Hybrid or Regular Car

Buying a new car is a big decision. A lot of money will be invested on that vehicle, and the people want to be smart about that decision. Today the biggest factor that draws people into a particular car is the fuel efficiency. With gas prices continuing to rise everyone wants a car that not only will be economical for the prices now, but also to economical when the gas prices rise even more.

This is where a lot of people turn toward hybrids. They think great gas millage, and they will save money. Well that sounds great, but there are a lot of things people have to think before deciding on hybrids.
First: What kind of commute they have, if they do a lot of city driving hybrids make sense, if they do a lot of highway driving hybrids do not make a lot of sense. (I will explain why)
Second: How long is their commute, because distances matter.
Third: Does performance matter, because in hybrids forget it.

When I said that if you do a lot of highway driving hybrids do not make any sense is because the electric engine shuts off, and only the gasoline engine works to provide the high speed. If you are like me that drives a lot on the highway then you wouldn't consider a hybrid. Then the distance factor come in and plays a big role. The question is how many mile you drive in a year, this can determine if a hybrid will make sense or not. to do that you compare the two cars you have in mind, the hybrid and the regular car. Find out the average millage for the regular car and estimate how much fuel will cost you per year. This is simple to be safe round up the cost of fuel to 4$/gallon. Then lets say the car you are looking are and average mpg of 29mpg, and holds 15 gallons. This means it can go 435 miles per tank, and it will cost you $60 to fill it (@ $4/gallon). If you drive 12000 mile in a year, it means you have to fill your car about 28 times, and it will cost you about $1700.
Now lets analyze the hybrid, which can get an average mpg of 48mpg, and it holds 15 gallons. This means it can go 720 miles per tank, it will cost you $60 per tank, and if you drive 12000 miles per year you have to fill about 17 time a year. This will bring the fuel cost to about $1000. The difference if $700 per year.

Now the consumer has to ask himself/herself a question: if the $700 a year I can save on an hybrid worth the  high price hybrids have, and the lack of horsepower? In my opinion the answer is a simple no, because in my care where I do a lot of highway driving, I will not get the maximum mpg from the hybrid, therefore the savings will be less than $700, and I will lack a lot of power, which I need in my car because this how I am.

Why Are Hybrids So Expensive?

Here is a very interesting question: Why are hybrid vehicles so expensive? When you take into account the manufacturing of these vehicles, and the material used people are starting to wonder about the high price of those cars. Governments from most developed countries are pushing for green energy, and they want to lower and eliminate their dependency to oil. having hybrid cars on the roads is one way of reducing oil consumption, which reduces the need to import oil.
The US government wants to promote hybrid cars, in hopes that in the near future there will be more hybrids on the road than regular cars, so the government is giving tax breaks to the people that buy these cars. The automakers though insist to keep the prices high even though the demand has grown for these cars. For example lets compare the Toyota Camry XLE with the Camry Hybrid XLE. Both cars have the same exact features and options, the only difference is the hybrid technology. The regular  Camry XLE costs $24500 where the Camry Hybrid XLE costs $27500.
I understand that the fuel economy is better on the hybrid version, but $3000 dollar difference for the same car? This is why people are becoming smart when it comes to buying a hybrid. Of course they like the cars because they are environmental friendly, but money is very hard to come. And that's the biggest reason from the nearly 1.1 million cars that sell in one average month only 20000 are hybrids. There is no reason why the difference in price should be $3000. If automakers really cared about the environment (as they pretend they do) they would lower the prices so everyone can afford them.   

Is Hydrogen the fuel of the future?

Hydrogen is a fuel source that powers spaceships, it is very powerful, and it's byproduct is water. Automakers are very interested at this fuel, and they are looking into ways to incorporate this into their cars. So far some automakers such as General Motors, BMW have produced cars powered by hydrogen, and they are testing these cars.
In the United States Chevy is the most active automaker to produce hydrogen powered cars, and test them for an extended period of time. Chevy has produced 100 Equinox SUVs, and they have distributed them into three states: California, New York, and Washington DC. California is the only state that supports hydrogen fuels the most, having more than 25 hydrogen refueling gas stations. The Chevy Equinox has a range of 200 miles before it needs to be refueled with hydrogen.
Even though hydrogen when it is burned does pollute the environment, it is not as green as it sounds. To produce liquid  hydrogen vasts amounts of energy are needed, so in order for hydrogen to be completely green it has to be produced by alternative energy sources such as solar power, or wind power.
But lets say that we have found a way to produce hydrogen with 100% renewable energy, and every state has enough refueling stations. The question is how do the cars use the fuel? The re are two different ways so far. One is to use the liquid hydrogen and air and combustion takes place in the pistons just like a regular engine. Another method is to produce electricity from hydrogen, then this electricity will run the electric motors which will run the car. The second method is used by Chevy to run its equinox.
As a conclusion hydrogen sounds very promising and we see a lot more cars powered by this fuel in the distant future, not to many of those until oil runs out though.   

Electric Cars

As gas prices continue to soar people are looking to save money at the pump. And off course oil will run out one day, so car manufacturers are looking into making cars that do not rely on petroleum fuels. So they have developed all electric cars. These cars run on electric motors, that can be charged from a regular power source. they becoming very popular especially for city driving.

The problem these cars have is that they can not drive for long distances without being recharged. This is because the batteries available can not hold a lot of charge. Also the charging time is significantly high, usually for a full charge the car has to be plugged in all night. But I you live in the city and your average daily commute is less than 30 miles, then you will be fine, because these cars can go up to 200 miles in one charge.

New batteries are being developed that will hold a lot more charge than the current batteries, and they require a lot less charging time. If this happens, then the electric cars will become a lot more popular, and will eliminate the need for gasoline cars. 

Hybrids VS Diesels

Diesel was always known to be the dirty fuel that no one wanted. This was true, because older diesel cars were not burning the fuel completely, and refineries were producing diesel that was not very clean. Today refineries are able to produce a much cleaner diesel fuel, in fact the new diesel is called "ultra low sulfur diesel', which contains less than 15 parts per million (ppm) of sulfur. Sulfur is a toxin that is a byproduct of petroleum products.

Today car manufacturers have developed new diesel engines that burn the fuel a lot better and cleaner, and have minimum emissions. In the United States diesel engines are used mainly for heavy vehicle, and not for recreational vehicles, but now that is changing. The new diesel cars offer amazing fuel economy and performance. Compared to hybrids they have slightly lower mpg, but the power these cars can produce is amazing. When buying a hybrid like the Prius you get a 1.8 liter four cylinder engine that produces 130 horsepower, and 105 pounds of torque. The Volkswagen Jetta TDI has a 2 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine that produces 165 horsepower, and 250 pounds of torque. For some people these specs do not mean anything, but for guys like me that like to save money at the pump without sacrificing the power the turbo-diesel is  the way to go. 

Are Hybrids Worth the Money

Hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular today. This is because the gas prices keep rising every day. So people are looking into cars that can save them at the pump. Hybrid cars have existed for many years, but only in the past 10 years they have become popular.

Hybrid cars offer great fuel efficiency, and reduced emissions. This is why people are buying these cars. Because of this fact the manufacturers sell these cars at a much higher price than the other cars of the same type. For example the Toyota Prius is the most popular hybrid car on the road. It is on the came category as the Toyota Corolla. The only difference is the price. The Prius starts at $24000, where the Corolla starts at $16000. There is a difference of $8000, but most people think the gas mileage difference is so much that it will cover the difference in price in e few years.

Well here is the tricky part. The Prius has am EPA estimated fuel efficiency of 45mpg city and40mpg highway with an estimated annual fuel cost of $1350. The Corolla has an EPA estimate of 37 mpg highway and 29mpg city with an estimated annual fuel cost of $1900. Basically the consumer will save $550 or a little bit more a year if the consumer chooses the hybrid. To cover the $8000 difference the consumer must own the Prius for more than 10 years at least. Another fact about the Prius is that the horsepower is significantly lower than the Corollas. Off course the manufacturers can produce high horsepower hybrids, but the price will be even higher.