Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Hybrid Cars And Plug-In Hybrid Cars

By Owen Jones


Hybrid cars are on everyone's minds. Twenty, forty, or fifty dollars for a full tank of gas? Who in their right mind wants to pay that sort of money? However, frustrated, the gas customer sighs, but pays up. However, hybrid vehicles are applauded for the small amount of gas they need to operate, and they are flying off the lots of car dealerships each and everyday in increasing numbers.

However, what about a plug-in hybrid? Most drivers have heard that these vehicles are fantastic too. So, a person might be asking him or herself, what exactly a plug-in hybrid is? How they work, and what the difference between a plug-in hybrid and a regular hybrid is?

Plug-in hybrid cars are capable of running solely on batteries, but they can also use gas also. These kinds of hybrid cars have some of the features of hybrid vehicles. They are also very similar to all-electric vehicles.

Plug-in hybrid cars need to be recharged externally by connecting a plug to an electrical power source. The combustion engine in plug-in hybrid vehicles is engaged only as a back up. These cars can run only on batteries if desired, but it is expected that these types of hybrid cars are recharged every day.

Hybrid cars can go just as many miles as a conventional car. Designed to go the extra mile where fuel-mileage is concerned, hybrids can be driven on the highway, in cities, or wherever else anybody wants to travel.

On the other hand, plug-in hybrids are designed to handle commuter-length distances, meaning between twenty and sixty miles between destinations. This way, the plug-in hybrid does not have to use its back up combustion engine, but plug-in hybrids can go further using fuel as well.

Hybrids help to minimize pollution, but they still pollute the air. Compared with plug-in hybrids, hybrid cars still have a long way to go as far as pollution is concerned. Since plug-in hybrid cars can run solely on their battery power, they don't have to emit waste gases at all.

Plug-in hybrids really do combat greenhouse gas emissions and plug-in hybrids use virtually no oil, imported or not. Studies have shown that electric hybrids emit at least 67% less greenhouse gases compared with petrol cars. Since the product used to power plug-in hybrids is completely renewable, the difference in greenhouse gas emissions may be even greater than the study determined.

And so there you have it. Those are the main differences between plug-in hybrids and regular hybrid cars. It makes a big difference, but you would be surprised how little that matters at the current moment. And that's only because plug-in hybrids are not being marketed to consumers at this present time. But this article should get you excited about the wonderful plug-in hybrid car, coming soon to a dealership near you.

And it's going to be a great debut too, since people already like the regular hybrid car models, but they haven't seen anything yet until they see the new plug-in hybrid cars. However, for now, maybe we should just be satisfied with what we already have, because who knows? Before plug-in hybrid cars are brought out onto the forecourts, something even better might be introduced onto the market.




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