The Hybrids

Back in 2008 gas prices went through the roof and you couldn’t find a new hybrid vehicle on a dealer’s lot that wasn’t already sold. A year later gas prices have dropped significantly, along with the rest of the economy, and now it seems like there are new hybrids available on every lot.

Hybrids and other small, fuel-efficient cars are still hot items though, as ’08 marked the first time a pickup truck (Ford f-150) was not the best selling vehicle in the United States. The Honda Civic, combined gas and hybrid formats, outsold everything else for a few months. This year, so many new hybrids and other types of fuel-efficient vehicles are on the market it has been difficult to keep track of them all.

The debate over whether or not hybrid vehicles cause more pollution than gas-powered cars over their lifetime seems to be quieting down as battery technology improves and more facts reach the public. The oft-repeated claim that “A Hummer costs less to produce and pollutes less than Prius over its lifespan” has been shown to be false. The original comparison rated the Hummer’s lifespan as 300,000 miles and the Prius’ at only 100,000, resulting in flawed conclusions at best. In reality, there are already Prius’ on the road today with over 300,000 miles on their original batteries. Recent estimates of pollution and cost of replacement for hybrid vehicle batteries have also been wrong for the most part. Compared to lead-acid batteries of yesteryear, the Lithium-Ion batteries now used in most hybrids create less pollution to manufacture, hold a higher charge longer and are far easier to recycle. As the technology advances, the cost of batteries is going down and their lifespan is increasing too.

Regardless of the price of gasoline, it looks like the hybrids are here to stay. If the next crop of hybrid cars can last as long as gas-powered vehicles do, the math will show the hybrids to be the more economical choice in the long run. Electric motors are already delivering great performance. If the manufacturers can keep the weight of their new cars down they might even start delivering great mileage figures for the small amount of gasoline or diesel they do use. Right now, the mileage numbers for hybrids are not all that astounding, with several gas and diesel-powered vehicles still getting better highway mileage than most hybrids do. As time and technology march on, the hybrids will surely improve.

2009 Hybrid Vehicles (Listed by MPG) –