Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Cars - Essay Example

These hybrid cars can prove to be useful in many different ways which include environmental factors along with the factors of scarce resources. Hybrid cars have features that help reduce pollution from the environment and are also economically feasible as compared to conventional cars. With the increase in the prices of fuel as well as the reduction in the number of natural resources, the popularity of these hybrid cars is increasing every day. Compared to traditional cars there are two main advantages of hybrid cars.

One is that it emits less carbon dioxide which makes it an environmentally friendly car. The second advantage is that it has higher fuel efficiency that can help people save a sufficient amount of money and thus it can be counted as an economic advantage of these cars. In present times when the world’s economy is in a crucial state, every dollar matters and this has become the most important benefit of these vehicles (Hantula 2009). Some of the other benefits of these cars are their smart styling, their well-equipped interiors, and their up-to-date safety features.

In the long run, hybrid cars are more of a practical choice to opt for because of their low fuel cost and low emissions. Hybrid cars are more competitive because of their lightweight due to the usage of lightweight materials in their structure. Hybrid cars capture, accumulate and recycle the kinetic energy that is produced from the car’s brakes (Congress House 2010). Hybrid cars can save energy in a very efficient way. They can switch their power on and off according to the usage of the car.

If the car is standing in an area full of traffic, the car automatically turns off its power and saves energy. When the accelerator is pressed the engine automatically starts again and thus this saves energy. These cars can be said to be energy efficient considering these factors. These cars also have batteries that have a long life. The tires which are used in these cars have low resistance which reduces energy loss. All this helps this car to accelerate and drive up on higher plains easily.

In this way, these cars can achieve greater speed which decreases fuel consumption and also less energy is wasted. There are also certain disadvantages attached to hybrid cars. The major drawback of hybrid vehicles is that they are still quite expensive. This is because its production costs are very high due to using uncommon equipment for example dysprosium which is used in the manufacturing of highly developed electric motors and many more. The maintenance of hybrid cars can be very expensive as well.

As for now, these cars are not that common so it is difficult to find garages that have the necessary materials to service them. Hence taking them to the producer can be very expensive. Even though these cars are gradually gaining popularity but there are still factors that make traditional cars more feasible as compared to them. Hence, because of these reasons, hybrid cars cannot fully compete with gasoline-powered cars. When the cost of production of these vehicles would be lowered as compared to other cars the production would also rise.