Choosing a Hybrid Car
by GLI Editors in Gas - Electric Hybrids
To many people, sustainable living means more than just recycling bottles and cans. For people who embrace the green lifestyle, the purchase of a hybrid vehicle makes perfect sense. Hybrid vehicles run on a combination of 2 or more power sources (thus the term hybrid). In today’s vehicle market, this usually means an electric motor and an internal combustion engine—the electric motor provides energy to start the vehicle and will generally run until the car reaches 30 to 35 miles per hour. Once more power is needed, the combustion engine (powered by gasoline), takes over.
When considering the purchase of a hybrid vehicle, there are quite a few things to take into consideration. Obviously, the car’s fuel efficiency is one of the top priorities. Measured in miles per gallon (mpg), a hybrid should have a combined fuel efficiency of no less than 30 miles per gallon. Some are rated to have reached up to 50 miles per gallon (the combined mpg is found through an average of the city and highway mpg).
While looking at the fuel efficiency, look at other reoccurring costs as well:
- How much does it cost to drive the vehicle 25 miles?
- How much does it cost to fill the tank?
- What is the annual fuel cost?
Although these are only estimates due to the price of gasoline, they can give you an understanding of how much your hybrid car can save you in the long run. While the fuel efficiency is certainly good for the wallet and welcomed in these times of high gas prices, reducing your carbon footprint is the ultimate goal of a green purchase.
When comparison shopping for your new hybrid vehicle, look at the annual greenhouse gas emissions. While the cars with the best fuel efficiency have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, between 4.3 to 4.4 tons, this is not a direct ratio. Finally, sustainable living is about protecting resources for the future. Protect your most important resource—your family—by checking the safety rating of each vehicle.
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Posted on Oct 24, 2007
annual greenhouse gas emissions, energy, fuel efficiency, high gas prices, hybrid car, lowest greenhouse gas emissions
About the Author
GLI Editors
Green Living Ideas provides ideas, tips, and information to help you improve the environmental sustainability of every aspect of your life: home energy, green building and remodeling, cars, food, waste recycling—and everything in between. GLI's editorial voice is driven by founder Sean Daily and Editor-In-Chief Adam Shake, and written by an amazing staff of author and interns.3 Responses to “Choosing a Hybrid Car”
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johnandrews52
Jun 20, 2008
Can we run our car with water and gas?
Can anybody tell me is the HHO Gas is real working or is another scam?
Nicole
Sep 18, 2008
Has anyone considered putting solar panels on top of cars and a \”wind turpine\” at the front (behind the grill to be more aesthetically pleasing) to both charge your car (solar panel) and recharge the car battery (wind turbine while going down the road)? This would allow a longer drive time and possibly eliminate the need for a gas engine combination vehicle. If they have, why don\’t we see these coming down the production line? (What were the hang-ups, do we know? If it was just non-interest, I think that is definitely changing!) Does anyone ever think of combinations of environmental solutions to create a better product, rather than sticking to one way of solving the issue?
New Cars
Feb 18, 2010
The questions that should be answered are, how much will this car cost to repair once it has broken and how long are these cars going to last as they will not last half as long as the cars from today. Plus the prices of these new cars are far too high.