Standard cars vs Hybrid Cars (Essay Sample)

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In today’s society, the question of, whether to adapt to the ever increasing in popularity, hybrid motor vehicles, or stick to the traditional standard gasoline powered automobiles, seems to be on everyone’s mind. Many do not have the right information to determine whether hybrid motor vehicles are at par or superior to standard engine. More and more people are however turning to hybrid motor vehicles as they offer the same if not more than their standard engine counterparts at a noticeably less expenses. This coupled with the ever alarming dangers of global warming have resulted in hybrid motor vehicles gaining more favor than their standard engine counterparts. The purpose of this paper will therefore be to persuade any and all uninformed individuals, that hybrid motor vehicles are the way to go in terms of transportation.
In the year two thousand and eleven, more than forty different models of hybrid cars vied for United States market share, including not only compacts, Sports utility vehicles, sedans, pickup trucks and crossovers. With fuel economy figures for hybrid vehicles ranging from a high of 51 city/48 highway miles per gallon, to a low of 17 city/21 highway, the money you stand to save by choosing a hybrid car depends on the particular model of preference. (Emadi et al) By comparing preliminary price and fuel savings, you can determine whether a particular hybrid vehicle is more cost-effective than its standard counterpart.
Hybrid motor vehicles are the newest round of cars that have hit the market. They have been out for nearly a decade, and only keep growing in popularity. This is mostly due to the rising pollution and global warming issues, something that hybrid motor vehicles makers claim to combat. Another reason why people are in admiration of these hybrid motor vehicles are the hybrid motor vehicles fuel efficiency numbers that are possible. A hybrid motor vehicle’s engine is comprised of two motors, one being an electric motor, and the other a gasoline engine. This does result to a loss in power since the electricity cannot produce that much horsepower. However, since it does have the gasoline component, the hybrid motor vehicle can still hold its own on the road. Hybrid motor vehicles also tend to be lightweight, small vehicles with nice aerodynamic designs. All of these features go into why they can be so fuel efficient (Pistoia 268). 
With the ever increasing popularity of hybrid cars, many people have questions about the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid cars. It is a well known fact that hybrid cars have great gas mileage, but a lesser known fact is the hybrid cars ever-improving performance. Not only are hybrid vehicles producing lower emissions and more efficient than gas powered automobiles, but their performance is continuing to improve thanks to advances in technology. Hybrids were once accused of being gutless when compared to an average gas powered engine, but that is a thing of the past. They come with many of the same features that their traditional counterparts do, offering high performance steering and superb quality brakes.
Initial Cost
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for a motor vehicle is the basic criterion for a potential buyer for comparison shopping in the search for a perfect fit vehicle. When considering the purchase of a crossover-style car, for example, it would be advisable to compare the standard, fuel-powered model with the manufacturer's corresponding hybrid model, if possible, to make a side-by-side comparison of disparity in cost between the two vehicles. In most cases, if not in all the cases, the hybrid vehicle is usually considerably cheaper than its standard engine from the same manufacturer.
Government Rebates
In the United States of America Consumers who purchased a hybrid vehicle between December thirty first in the year two thousand and five and March thirty first in the year two thousand and ten were eligible for up to three thousand and four hundred dollars in tax credits by the federal government. The amount of the credit depended on how many hybrids the automaker of a given vehicle sold in the duration of that period. Once a particular manufacturer's hybrid sales exceeded sixty thousand units produced, the government reduced the tax credit available to subsequent purchasers by fifty percent, and then later by an additional twenty five percent, until the incentive disappeared altogether. (Frisman 112) Hybrids eligible for this tax enticement in consequence cost less than their manufacturer's suggested retail price.
Fuel Economy
When you procure a hybrid vehicle, you would expect to save gasoline, since the vehicle operates partially on electricity from the integrated electric motor. This in turn results in a greater gas mileage per gallon for a hybrid motor vehicle as compared to its standard engine counterpart. If one plans on keeping their hybrid for several years, their gas savings would likely compensate for the higher sticker price, particularly with the rapid increase in gasoline prices seen across the globe.
Gas Savings in Dollars and Cents
Hybrid cars have been in the recent past been known to save more money as compared to other standard engine counterparts. To comprehensively determine the actual fuel savings over a typical year of driving, one has to compare the operating cost of a hybrid versus a standard model. According to the United States Department of Transportation summary, it reports that the average American driver between the ages of thirty four and fifty five drives over fifteen thousand miles annually. Dividing this annual mileage figure by twenty one miles to the gallon for the standard engine vehicle, and it is clearly evident that you would buy an excess of seven hundred gallons of gasoline per year. In contrast, if you divide the annual miles figure by thirty for the hybrid engine vehicle, you would determine that the annual gas purchase would be of about just over five hundred gallons per year. You would save about two hundred gallons of gas, give or take a few gallons, per year with the hybrid motor vehicle as compared to its standard engine counterpart. Multiplying this by the price of gas per gallon, the resulting savings in terms of dollars is undeniable (Anderson et al 153).
Hybrid Car Advantages
Hybrid vehicles are produced with the concept of producing small quantities of harmful emissions as possible as a result they produce clean energy. An electric motor coupled with a gas powered engine make an automobile that has lower emissions and as a result gives a better gas mileage. It conserves energy while having the power of a standard engine.
Hybrid automobile manufacturers have in the recent past been on a mission to improve Performance of hybrids to be at par or be superior to standard engine vehicles. the advent of new technologies in the motor vehicle industry have allowed hybrid vehicles to possess the same kind of performance as standard cars, and they are continuing to get better gas mileage, developing and improving the hybrid vehicles efficiency, and reducing emissions even further.
In the United States of America, the government has come to the realization that global warming is quickly becoming a serious concern for its citizens as well as the world at large. The government therefore is making strides to try and reduce the emission of green house gases. In their numerous efforts to accomplish this objective, the government is offering Incentives in order to shift from the standard vehicles to the more efficient hybrid vehicles. Varying from state to state and federally, hybrid vehicles may come with a tax benefit associated with the purchase of a hybrid vehicle and savings in the form of much less money spent on fuel as hybrid vehicles consume considerably less fuel than their standard counterparts.
What makes it a hybrid motor vehicle is the presence of a small electric motor. The electric motor is crucial to the overall performance of the automobile, as energy from the hybrid motor vehicle’s battery pack is utilized to power the hybrid at slow speeds. That allows the gasoline engine to shut off when it's not needed, which saves on fuel an emissions. Hybrid vehicles have also been known to possess Regenerative braking. This is a system in which the electric motor that drives a hybrid vehicle is essentially operated in reverse, electrically, during braking process. Instead of consuming energy to propel a vehicle, the motor acts as a generator that charges the onboard batteries with electrical energy that would normally be lost as heat through traditional mechanical friction brakes. As the motor "acts in reverse," it generates electricity. The accompanying electrical resistance assists the normal brake pads in overcoming inertia and helps slow the vehicle. The electric motor can, however, do more. On most hybrid motor vehicles, the electric motor can also send power to the wheels alongside t...