Hybrid Cars

How do Hybrids work?
A full hybrid is a car that can run on just the battery, just the engine or both. Driving at slow speeds utilises the battery with the engine kicking in when more power is required to go faster, go up hills or overtake. When more power is required, the battery is made redundant and the car will just run on petrol. Plug-in hybrids are full hybrids that can run on electricity alone and whose batteries are recharged from power points.

Assist Hybrids are engine-driven cars that use the electric motor to give added boost to the performance, but cannot run on the battery alone. Fuel efficiency is reduced, but so too is the battery size.

The Benefits
Most Hybrid improve efficiency by `re-capturing' some of the excess energy produced by braking in a process known as regenerative braking. This means less fossil fuels are burned to produce the energy. An added bonus is that wear and tear on the brakes is reduced.

Hybrid engines are smaller, lighter and more efficient and undergo less wear and tear than conventional engines. They are quieter than normal vehicles and so offer a decrease in noise pollution. The downside to this is that people normally use car noise as part of street awareness and may not hear a hybrid coming... Increased fuel efficiency means less emissions. In fact Carbon monoxide emissions are drastically reduced by 80-90% in some hybrid vehicles.

Many governments also give incentives for hybrid owners. In the UK, hybrids are in the lowest band of car tax and are exempt from London's congestion charge.

The Cons
However not everyone is happy with Hybrids. In an interview General Motors’ Vice Chairman claimed that GM were only interested hybrids as a PR exercise and that they produced no real overall benefits. He claims that the increased efficiency is outweighed by the technological costs.

It is still uncertain that fuel savings will outweigh the extra cost of buying a hybrid. It is estimated to take 10 years before an owner would start to see savings. However they may me more induced by the feelgood factor of being environmentally friendly than just cost savings.

Larger hybrids like SUVs are not as green as conventional small cars, so people are led into a false sense of well meaning. It is argued that despite being more fuel efficient, they still burn the same harmful fuels and that alternative fuels should be looked into. There are concerns over the disposal of hybrid batteries whose parts pose environmental pressures.

In Conclusion
With all new technology, only time will provide the test of its success and effectiveness. The case for hybrids looks strong and in an era of heavy pollution and high petrol costs it may well be worth pursuing. Alternatives, like ethanol and electric only cars are being produced so watch this space...

Concerns over fuel emissions and the hike in fuel prices have resulted in an increased interest in hybrid cars. Hybrid cars, as the name implies, are powered by two different fuel sources, one of them being electricity and the other petrol, diesel or ethanol. They reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 30%. and in certain cases this figure could be as high as 50%. This all sounds good, but are hybrid cars all they are cracked up to be?