Hybrid Cars: A Blessing or a Curse?

Many people buy hybrid cars because they have been told that hybrids are much more eco-friendly than any other vehicles out on the market and they feel proud for supporting the Mother Nature. Surprisingly, it is a fact that a recent report announced that the Toyota Prius has a higher life time energy cost than Hummer H1 SUV (kentlaw.edu). It also states, “There are, however, environmental costs to mining and smelting (in Canada) 1,000 tons a year of zinc for the battery-powered second motor, and the shipping of the zinc 10,000 miles - trailing a cloud of carbon - to Wales for refining and then to China for turning it into the component that goes to a battery factory in Japan” (kentlaw.edu). In other words, the hybrids emit less carbon dioxide and other gases but it releases far more energies and toxic gases into atmosphere at production and disposal stage.

The author first explains what a hybrid is, stating “A hybrid is a cross between two established varieties of plant, animal… or technology.” She introduces the hybrid vehicle, a new form of technology that stands as a possible answer for a vehicle that is both energy preserving and safer for the environment. Before she dives into details of how the vehicle works, she enlightens the reader on what the article is about and the objective of the hybrid vehicle. Students enrolling in an engineering course in a post-secondary institution will be more

There has been lots of controversy on whether hybrid vehicles are environmentally better than gas vehicles. In this new age of technology and vast growth of human population, there would have to be ways to make driving environmentally healthy considering the fact that millions of people drive(Goffman, “Electric Car Batteries Could Provide Energy for the Smart Grid”). Hybrid cars use clean electric , while gas powered cars use harmful polluting fossil fuels. For the most part, to make sure that this world becomes cleaner, hybrid cars will definitely need to be used in the future. Hybrid cars are environmentally better than gas cars.

Hybrid cars are built on the advantages of both combustion engine cars and battery-powered electric motor cars, and the hybrid cars will be an alternative to combustion engine cars until next step technologies such as fully electric vehicles or fuel-cell powered vehicles will take over. This article supports the ideas shown in the main source through hybrid vehicle technology.

Some people have also adopted the hybrid car trend, although many people think hybrid cars help the environment as well. Hybrid cars still uses some form of a gasoline when it is being used, thus creating carbon dioxide emissions. Whereas, the electric vehicle produces no emissions.

Hybrid is a term used to describe a combination of two or more distinctive things, aiming to accomplish a common objective. A hybrid vehicle is a fuel efficient vehicle having two motors- one a gasoline powered motor and the other electric motor. The reason for combining two motors is using their strengths and reducing deficiencies. Electric motor is used at low speed wile gas motors perform better at high speed generating extra power for a particular motor weight. During rush hours, when vehicles are continuously stopping and running, performance of electric motor is appreciative. Gas motor supports higher speed supporting driving at the highways. (Anderson 134-45)

Before you consider a hybrid vehicle for economic reasons, such as leaving less of a carbon foot print, or not making as much carbon monoxide output as you would driving a normal gasoline powered car, realize this, to get the materials necessary for the hybrid motors it requires an extreme amount of mining and relocation of wildlife. Not to forget the enormous amount of tailings and hazards left behind as a byproduct of the materials needed. This causes more damage to the environment than the emissions from a normal gasoline powered

I. A hybrid car is a vehicle with more than one power source such as a small internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

What is a hybrid car? Basically, it 's a normal, fuel efficient car that has two motors – an electric motor and a gasoline powered motor. It also uses a special system to store braking energy in an onboard battery. But why buy a hybrid? Why not buy a traditional gas or electric powered car? Keep in mind, one of the basic rules of science is the more

Now, in a hybrid car, there is a battery assisting, so that the cylinders have to do less work, and consequently use less fuel. A Prius has only 84 horsepower without its electric battery, and wouldn’t even be able to start! (Regular Car Reviews, Youtube) But this battery isn’t all good, which brings us to the first problem with these hybrid cars.

Climate change occurs mainly because of human activities, such as harvesting resources, industrialization, and technological invention, among other factors. One of the main reasons climate change has occurred in the last a few decades is because conventional cars which made their first appearance in 1886, have become increasingly popular. Although, conventional cars are more efficient and less expensive than hybrid cars, hybrid cars help reduce the negative impact on the environment more than conventional cars. A Hybrid car has disadvantages due to the battery and power of the engine, which has to improve over time, which makes people less likely to buy hybrid cars over conventional cars in the present such as gas and diesel. Even though both conventional and electric cars have negative impact on the environment, they have different scale of impact on the environment. By looking at how each system of both types of cars work, what the effect on fuel consumption rate and greenhouse gas emissions are, and what the disadvantages of electric cars are compared to conventional cars, hybrid electric cars are less likely to negatively impact on the environment more than conventional cars.

According to a November 16, 2004 article written in the parents magazine, hybrid cars are no different from the gas powered car. It can accelerate just as quickly and travel just as fast on the highway and they are just as safe to drive. When the car comes to a complete stop,

Electric motor - The electric motor on a hybrid car is very sophisticated. Advanced electronics allow it to act as a motor as well as a generator. For example, when it needs to, it can draw energy from the batteries to accelerate the car. But acting as a generator, it can slow the car down and return energy to the batteries.

Figures of different hybrid models will also be included as well as a table comparing the costs of various hybrids to traditionally fuelled cars. This will help the audience get a sense of the price ranges for hybrid vehicles before they go out and decide to buy one. Finally, a table dealing with the performance specs of hybrids will be added to emphasize certain limitations with these models.

Consumers are currently looking for better gas mileage and performance in cars that they buy. Honda’s hybrid cars has very good gas mileage, however, they do not have as good performance as petrol cars. This means that even though Honda’s hybrids are appealing due to their gas mileage, consumer may still stick to petrol cars because of the better performance. Honda will need to develop better technology to satisfy consumer wants.