1.) You need to plug in a hybrid car
As soon as the word "electricity" is spoken, you think of plugs, cords, and wall sockets. But today's hybrid cars don't need to be plugged in.
Auto engineers have developed an ingenious system known as regenerative braking. Energy usually lost when a vehicle is slowing down or
stopping is reclaimed and routed to the hybrid's rechargeable batteries. The gas engine is also used to transfer energy to the batteries. The
process is automatic, so no special requirements are placed on the driver.
2.) Hybrid batteries need to be replaced
Worries about an expensive replacement of a hybrid car's batteries continue to concern many potential buyers. Those worries are unfounded.
By keeping the charge between 40 percent and 60 percent—never fully charged, yet never fully drained—carmakers have greatly extended the
longevity of nickel metal hydride batteries. The standard warranty on hybrid batteries and other components is between 80,000 and 100,000 miles,
depending on the manufacturer and your location.
3.) Hybrids are a new phenomenon
In 1900, American car companies produced steam, electric, and gasoline cars in almost equal numbers. It wasn't long before discovering that
multiple sources of power could be combined. The first known hybrid gas-electric prototypes were produced in 1900. The first patent for a gas-
electric hybrid vehicle was filed in 1905.
4.) People buy hybrids only to save money on gas
Hybrid cars top the list of the most fuel efficient vehicles on the road. Going farther on a gallon of gas, and thus reducing a car owner's expense
at the pump, is a logical advantage of a hybrid car. However, car shoppers seldom buy based purely on a logical economic equation. Besides,
those savings seldom add up to the extra cost of buying a hybrid over a comparable conventional vehicle. So, why are more and more shoppers
buying hybrid? To minimize their impact on the environment, and to help reduce the world's addiction to oil, are two more valid reasons worthy of
mention.
5.) Hybrids are costly
Hybrids are currently available in many different models ranging in price from approx $15,000 to $100,000. The most efficient models, the Honda Civic and
the Toyota Prius, are available well below $30,000. Rechargeable batteries, electric motors, and sophisticated computer controls do add to the
cost of producing a hybrid car, but as production numbers increase, economies of scale are expected to reduce those costs.
6.) Hybrids are small and underpowered
The Lexus Rx400h and Toyota Highlander Hybrid share the same 270 horsepower system. The Lexus GS 450h hybrid sedan exceeds 300
horsepower and will go from 0 to 60 mph in less than six seconds. And the Toyota Volta concept is a 408-horsepower dynamo. These vehicles
prove that adding an electric motor and batteries to the drivetrain doesn't diminish performance.
7.) Only liberals buy hybrids
Americans at all levels of the social and political ladder have become more aware of the economic and governmental costs of oil dependency,
many of which were primarily motivated by the environmental benefits. As a result of conservative claims that our gas dollars end up in the hands
of repressive Middle East regimes and their followers, we fund both sides of the war on terror, while autoworkers have grown more interested in
fuel saving technologies.
8.) Hybrids lead to a hinderence in accident assistance
Now that hundreds more hybrid cars take to our roads each day, some critics have wondered if public safety agencies should be concerned
about all those high voltage battery packs cruising along at highway speeds. Not as the norm. As dozens of rapid technical decisions about how
to safely remove the passengers from the vehicle are being made in serious accident situations, it's the worry about potential dangers, primarily
when and where to cut power, rather than the hybrid system itself that can cause a problem. The solution is a good amount of prior training in
skillfully dealing with hybrid cars involved in accidents.
9.) Hybrids will solve all our transportation, energy, and environmental problems
The demand for hybrid cars continues to grow. While the number of sales is promising, it must be viewed in the context of the overall car market.
Hybrid car sales still represent only a percentage of new cars sold. If every new hybrid driver doubled fuel economy from 20 mpg to 40 mpg for 40
miles of daily driving, then a gallon per hybrid car would be saved every day. Even then, we've only reduced our daily US consumption by a small
margin. Thus, hybrid cars can only be seen as a partial solution.
10.) Hybrid technology will become a thing of the past
Hybrid technology runs the race with fuel cells, diesel engines, and hydrogen as the widely accepted approach to cutting dependency on oil.
The greatest hope and investment has been placed in hydrogen fuel cells, which appear to be many decades away from commercialization. The
failure of hydrogen powered cars to materialize rapidly underscores the risk of focusing on a single solution. The debate over the future of
automotive technology has now turned toward finding the best ways to combine systems and fuels in a single hybrid vehicle. The experience of
mass producing hybrid gas-electric vehicles has given engineers the insight needed to develop complex systems needed to combine multiple
sources of power.