The Myths vs. Facts of Hybrid Cars

There’s been a ton of discussions around hybrid vehicles lately and many consumers still wonder how they work, the benefits they have and the overall cost of one of these vehicles.  In today’s blog, we find the facts in a pile of fiction. 

Hybrids require plugs to recharge, right?

Not exactly.  Modern hybrid vehicles utilize a system called regenerative charging.  In other words, every time you apply the brake on your hybrid, the gas engine transfers a portion of electrical power back into the battery component.  This automatically recharges the battery.  So, if you keep your battery charged between 40 and 60 percent of it's max, these hold a life up to 100,000 miles!

Hybrids have no power, right?

Of course they do!  New technology allows many of the same high-power attributes of regular vehicles to be applied to hybrids also.  Just because hybrids are known for their fuel economy does not mean they are under powered.

Hybrids will cure our dependency on foreign oil, right?

Although almost 37 times as many hybrids were sold in America in 2007 than were sold in 2000, it represented only 2.5 percent of the total cars sold that year. By some estimates, if the 350,000 consumers who purchased a hybrid in 2007 each saved one gallon of gas per day, the total savings is still just a drop in the bucket. The fact is that hybrids, although they present a clear alternative to over-consumption of fossil fuels, do not solve all of America's problems when it comes to foreign oil.

These are just a few answers to your questions.