Why waste your money on a hybrid? Here is why. . .
First off what is a hybrid vehicle? A hybrid vehicle has a rechargeable energy storage system which allows a car to run on other energy besides gasoline.
Many people are skeptical about the hybrid; Why? As much as change is good most Americans don’t like big change such as a hybrid. Since the first Model T (by Ford) was released all vehicles until recent years have run on gasoline. Hybrid is a relatively new technology to the public but has been studied for years. Since many people don’t have hybrid vehicles (as personal cars) so questions like reliability, maintenance, and technology surface. I am here to tell you hybrid technology is a reliable, affordable source. I will give you great examples to prove my point.
Recently I visited New York City and there are slowly converting their mass transit (buses and taxis) to hybrid vehicles. I saw a couple hybrid buses along with many hybrid taxis. For a full size bus it only takes about 22 hours for a full charge (that last an entire day); if this technology wasn’t safe would the city of New York rely on these to transport thousands of people everyday safely? Or would taxi companies take the risk losing major profits unsatisfactory hybrids? Hybrids aren’t polluting our atmosphere nearly as much as a regular car.
So you agree with the paragraph above but still have doubt in the hybrids . . . Whether or not you believe it cleans the atmosphere the couple extra thousand dollars you spent upon purchase of the vehicle will come directly back to you because most hybrids get more than 30 miles to the gallon, city and highway. In fact the Toyota Prius gets up to 60 miles to the gallon (www.toyota.com). With gas prices around three dollars a gallon this could be beneficial.
Now some of you can say “I need something that gets me from Point A to Point B." And these car companies are releasing more affordable hybrids everyday. While there is a waiting list for some of the very popular vehicles you can still pick one up today at most major car dealerships. You never know how well you will like something until you try it.
So if you are a at interested in a hybrid I suggest you do a little research on your own and go for the goal.
There are several models of hybrid vehicles that aren't very fuel efficient at all. The Ford hybrids, for example, get something like 23 mpg.
This, coming from a company whose first few models of cars ever got 15 mpg. Not much improvement for so many years of making cars.
Granted, this is better than the other SUVs Ford offers, but the company is capitalizing on the term "hybrid" as a very relative term.
A lot of people believe that hybrids are just too expensive, but many don't look at long-term costs. Spending a little extra money on the car itself means saving a bunch on gas. Kind of like printers these days-- the printer's practically free, but the ink runs out all the time and cartridges cost a bundle.
Some hybrids are comparable in price to most entirely gas-run vehicles. My dad's Honda Civic hybrid cost us $22K, which is less than my mom's volvo and a lot of other cars on the market. My brother-in-law bought a Camry hybrid recently, which was cheaper than the Acura something sedan, Honda CR-V, and Toyota Rav-4. Yes, a Jetta is like, $14K or something, but the cost of maintenance on those things is ridiculous, and I know far too many Jetta owners who have to get their car repaired at least once or twice a year.
It's all about evaluating the costs of different things that go along with a car: maintenance, gas, gadgets, utility, how you'll drive it.