Published December 31, 2009 | How Far has Hybrid Technology come?
Hybrid technology has revolutionized the automobile industry and hybrid cars are quickly taking over as the next wave in the field. The popularity of hybrid technology can be attributed to the rising fuel costs as well as to the going down of hybrid cars prices. In addition to the aforementioned, hybrid cars are known to be user and environmentally friendly and perform the same or better than their gas-powered contemporaries. We cannot look at this technology without consideration the pioneers in the industry; the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic. Based on the miles per gallon as a measure of performance, the Toyota Prius steals the show. Utilizing an electric motor that is supported by a gasoline engine, it can reach city driving speeds and the electric motor can even run by itself and only needs the gas-powered engine to give it an extra boost of power when necessary.
Some hybrid cars like the Saturn Aura Green Line are very fuel efficient being twenty five percent more fuel efficient than a conventional car that uses a gas-only combustion engine. Volvo has already announced that by 2012 it will introduce an electric that can serve 75 percent of daily transport and will only use the diesel engine when traveling longer distances. Hybrid technology still has a long way to go before it officially jumps to the next wave in the automobile industry; the pure electric car both for short and long distances. In the meantime however, the current hybrid technology has made it possible to drastically improve the miles per gallon mileage of vehicles in addition to reducing carbon emissions.
Plug-in hybrid cars are also expected to hit the market in few years time and will allow owners to conveniently recharge their cars at home via the regular wall socket. Due to their high performance, these cars will also make the driving experience even more enjoyable. Hybrid technology has made it possible to have cars with carbon dioxide emissions close to zero. Furthermore if the lithium-ion battery is charged using electricity coming from a renewable source, the net emissions of carbon dioxide will be close to zero. To encourage people to buy cars that use hybrid technology, governments and companies are offering people incentives and other benefits. In addition to having tax relief, buyers of hybrid vehicles will also see discounts in the purchase prices. As the performance of these cars continues to improve, it is highly likely that in the future, cars with hybrid technology will be mainstream.
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