| Car manufacturers tout their efficiency. | | | | consumption, with the electric motor only |
| Consumer advocates dispute claims of 60-plus | | | | assisting the gas engine at high speeds when |
| miles per gallon gas efficiency. Amidst the | | | | more power is needed, thus making the mild |
| controversy, environmentalists still claim, | | | | hybrid much less environmental friendly than |
| in the absence of anything better - that | | | | its full hybrid counterpart. |
| hybrid vehicles are still better for the | | | | |
| environment than their traditional | | | | Great for in town drivers, the full hybrid |
| gas-guzzling counterparts. | | | | allows slow speeding drivers to virtually use |
| | | | only the electric motor, thus saving even |
| Hybrids, known for the way they combine both | | | | more gas, and eliminating harmful emissions |
| gas and electric power to offer a cleaner | | | | into the environment. |
| ride, have come under fire in recent months | | | | |
| for their inability to reach gas mileage | | | | Despite any controversy surrounding today's |
| milestones set by the manufacturers. Critics | | | | hybrid vehicles, consumers seem eager to do |
| say that most fail to live up to claims of | | | | what they can to decrease the harmful effects |
| getting more than 60 miles to a single gallon | | | | of emissions on the environment and save a |
| of gas. Advocates argue that recent studies | | | | few bucks at the pumps. Production of hybrid |
| confirm the same is true for efficiency | | | | vehicles has tripled in the last four years, |
| ratings set on traditional engines, still | | | | with production expected to double in 2007. |
| making hybrids the better deal | | | | The Yano Research Institute Ltd. estimates |
| environmentally. | | | | that by 2015, nearly 5.37 million hybrid |
| | | | vehicles will be on the global road, compared |
| Touted as the gas-saver of the future when | | | | to less than one million last year. |
| introduced in 1999, hybrids are known to use | | | | |
| a fraction of the gas due to their ability to | | | | Manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon, |
| "share the burden", with their electric | | | | with Honda, Toyota, Ford, Lexus and |
| motors. Full hybrid vehicles allow the | | | | Chevrolet, all offering their own hybrid |
| electric motor to work independently of the | | | | varieties. Newer models sport higher-powered |
| more traditional internal combustion engine, | | | | and faster models, even making hybrid SUV's |
| while driving at low speeds. This in turn | | | | and trucks available to the consumer. Of |
| saves gas, and stops harmful emissions from | | | | course, the heavier the vehicle, and the |
| entering the atmosphere. During an idle stop, | | | | faster it rides, the more gas it is bound to |
| a full hybrid actually shuts itself off, | | | | use, despite the use and size of the internal |
| letting the electric motor take over to | | | | electric motor. |
| eliminate unnecessary idling and emissions. | | | | |
| | | | Still, hybrids remain the most gas efficient |
| Consumers should be aware, however, that the | | | | and environmental friendly vehicles in mass |
| mild hybrids focus remains on traditional gas | | | | production today. |