Hybrid cars, which have a combined electric and petrol engine, are reported to grant their owners whopping advantages. Their advertising campaigns attract those people, who are preoccupied about the state of the environment and those who want to save the money on petrol. But do the hybrid cars live up to our expectations based on the catchy promotional slogans?
Firstly, the hybrid cars are claimed to be a much more economical alternative to the usual gasoline-powered cars. Hybrid cars’ manufacturers focus our attention on such a feature as ‘regenerative braking’ that means that either fuel or electrical power can function by itself or in conjunction, depending on which one is stronger at a particular moment. To put it simply, they complement each other. However, the experiments have shown that the difference in the gasoline consumption between hybrid and ordinary cars is not outstanding. Yet the prices for hybrid cars tend to sting. Although people opting for hybrid cars will be able to save money as the petrol prices rise, the sum will be overwhelmed by the increased cost of the car. The second hyped advantage of the hybrid cars is that they effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Sadly enough, the claim does not stand up to scrutiny either. The experiments have demonstrated that many so-called ‘green cars’ do not live up to their manufacturer’s promises and actually substantially exceed the level of carbon emissions initially specified by their manufacturing company.
On balance, it appears that a large number of…