hybrid cars

hybrid cars

Hybrid Vehicles: Deal or No Deal?
Paul B. Johnson Jr.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Abstract
The cost of oil and more vehicles on the road are increasing the gas prices. Drivers are looking for new ways to maximize their fuel mileage. Driver choices in vehicles have switched from more economy vehicles to hybrid vehicles.      

Hybrid Vehicles
      There are more automobiles on the road today. In 2002, the number of vehicles in America was over 140 million (http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper). The demand for fuel remains on the rise. This demand for fuel keeps gas prices at an all time high. When the first hybrid vehicle was introduced in 1999 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Insight) into the American automotive mainstream, the hybrid car came with much fanfare as the new alternative of the economy car. Many auto consumers embraced the hybrid vehicle as a new way of life while others remained skeptical about the hybrid vehicle. Despite new hybrid technology, and the overall benefits of owning a hybrid vehicle, sales of these vehicles still represent only a tiny fraction of the U.S. marketplace. Americans purchased about 250,000 hybrid vehicles in 2006, accounting for just 1.5 percent of the 17,000,000 cars and trucks sold in the U.S. last year (consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/the-consumer-guide-to-hybrid-vehicles-cga.html). Although hybrid vehicles have made significant improvements in fuel consumption, overall cost and maintenance of a hybrid vehicle have most consumers sticking with the traditionally cheaper non-hybrid vehicle. So I wonder, are hybrid vehicles better overall than non-hybrid vehicles?        
      Hybrid vehicles are excellent when it comes to fuel consumption. Fuel mileage on hybrid vehicles is 8-10 percent higher than non-hybrid vehicles (J. Walczack: 4wheel drive / offroading). The introduction of the Toyota Prius made the hybrid a trendy but viable option of economy cars. New technology and trendy...