Myths about Hybrid Cars

by Colin Jones

If you are thinking about a hybrid car, you may be hearing quite a bit of "talk". Some people think the hybrid car is the best thing on the market. Some people say it’ll just pass. Other people say they think they can save a lot of money, but you’re not sure it’s really worth it. What’s the truth, and how do you separate myth from fact with all of the stuff that is being thrown at you? Below, you can read and understand the common hybrid car myths. Hybrid cars are just the same as electric cars: This is not true because hybrid vehicles are fuel-powered for the most part. They have what are called ‘battery assists’. The assist is powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack that is rechargeable. You are guaranteed to economize with a hybrid vehicle: If you are doing town motoring, you may save gas and you may not. The same goes for highway driving. There are just too many different factors involved. It has been said that if everyone bought hybrid vehicles, the fuel consumption would decrease by only 10%. That’s not a very big decline, is it? A hybrid vehicle’s battery can run flat: A hybrid car battery should not run flat while you are actually driving it. The engine in a hybrid car does not idle when stopped (at a red traffic light for example). What does it do then? Well, it recharges its battery. So there’s no need to worry about a hybrid car stopping for that reason. The hybrid vehicle’s rechargeable battery only lasts for two years: A hybrid car definitely would not be worth purchasing if this was the case. A hybrid car’s rechargeable batteries usually come with an eight-year warranty. If I run out of fuel, I can keep driving on the hybrid car battery: Keep in mind, a hybrid car’s battery is an assist. That means that hybrid car’s still run on fuel. After you run out of gas, the battery could keep the car running for a short while. However, the vehicle will cease running very soon. Hybrid vehicles will soon put normal car sellers out of business: This probably won’t happen very soon. The reason for the delay has to do with the how much hybrids cost. Many people just can’t afford one. Also, people just aren’t sure whether they will really save money by buying a hybrid car. Therefore, they are slow to join the stream of people who want to own a hybrid vehicle. Hybrid cars will only save you about $88 a year: I did hear something on the news about this one day, but it may be untrue. If there’s something you really want though, and there’s a lot of smoke surrounding it, you simply have to start digging and do some of your own research. There are many different models of hybrid car, and many different manufacturers make them. This means that there may be many more variables involved than the ones discussed here. A hybrid car may help you, and it may not, but the final decision is all yours. So, please don’t worry a great deal about what other people say. They probably have only listened to other people passing on rumours. Do your own research and think it out for yourself. Use the Internet to get your information. The manufacturer’s literature is also rather useful, if you stick to reading the facts and gloss over the hype. Check that whatever the literature claims is also in the warranty.