Hybrid Cars

There are some things we can do to help the environment and one of those things is to drive hybrid cars. If you do not know what Hybrid cars are then today we will be your guide. So fasten your seat belts because this is going to be one wild ride.

Hybrid cars are cars that run on electricity and fuel. The fuel burns fossil fuels which pollute the air. A cool thing about these cars is that when you step on the brakes your batteries will automatically get charged. Because of this, you don’t waste gas and you are helping out the atmosphere at the same time! Hooray! You won’t be able to tell the difference of a hybrid or any other car (unless if you read the sign that says hybrid on your car) because they look pretty much alike. Except hybrids get 40-80% more miles per gallon.

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) put together the benefits of an electric engine and a gasoline engine so that the vehicle can accomplish many different objectives. There are some other really cool functions that a hybrid has. One thing is the Automatic Start/Shutoff function. This shuts off the engine when you step on the brakes so it can recharge the electric engine. Your engine restarts again when you accelerate.

There is another cool function that a hybrid car has which is called the Electric Motor Drive/Assist function which gives you extra power for things like accelerating, passing or simply climbing a hill or other highly elevated places.

Car companies that make hybrids are:

     1.  Toyota

2.     Honda

3.     Lexus

4.     Nissan

5.     Ford

Hybrid cars can come in SUVs, sedans, minivans, trucks, and compacts. If you really want good fuel economy I suggest for you to buy a sedan. The best hybrids you can buy right now according to miles per gallon are the Toyota Prius (approximately 55 miles per gallon) or the Honda Civic (approximately 50 miles per gallon.) If you are really looking for a hybrid you will spend approximately $25,000-$30,000. It actually depends on the make that you will purchase from. Obviously if you want a luxury car then you will spend more.

You have probably heard the words fuel economy a lot in this article, haven’t you? If you noticed and did not have a clue of what it meant then this is your ticket to knowing what fuel economy is and why it is so important. Fuel economy is when you save fuel and get more miles with the amount of gas you have. Like some cars, especially hybrids, they run more miles per gallon. This is really important because the more miles per gallon, to tell the truth, are better for you. You can save more money because you don’t have to go to the gas station too much.

Do you know what an eco-friendly car is? It’s a car that does not use a lot of fuel. There is actually a top environmentally friendly cars list. Some of those cars are the Acura RSX, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus, Honda Accord, and there are much, much more. These cars are not hybrids but they go a lot of miles per gallon. If you want looks on a fuel efficient car then you actually have some choices from the convertible list. The Mazda MX-5 Miata, Audi A4, Porsche Boxster, Volkswagen Eos, and the Saturn Sky are all examples of fuel efficient convertibles. 

If you think that oil is the only fuel that you can find for your car then you are wrong. There are many others types of fuels which are called alternatives fuels. Hydrogen (H2), Methanol (CH3OH), Natural Gas (CH4), and Propane (LPG) are all examples of alternative fuels. This is good to know, just incase we run out of oil.

If you can’t afford a hybrid at the very moment there are some things that you can do to your car to make it more environmentally safe.

1.     For example, you should always inflate your tires. If your tires pressure is too low then the tire will wear out faster and your gas mileage will decrease. The pressure depends on the temperature outside. You should check your tires every 2 weeks.

2.     Another thing you should do is rotate your tires every 5,000 miles. Your tires do not wear evenly on all sides. Your tires wear down depending on your gas mileage.

3.      Remember to make frequent appointments for oil changes.

4.     Also you should never speed up too much. Instead of going 60 mph, try to go 50 mph. You’ll waste less gas!