Plug-in Hybrid Cars vs Hybrid Cars

By Colin Jones

Hybrid cars are on everyone's lips these days. Twenty, forty, or fifty dollars for a tank of gas? Who really wants to pay that sort of money? But, frustrated, the gas customer sighs, but pays up. However, hybrid vehicles are being richly applauded for the small amount of fuel they need to operate, and they are being driven off the lots of car dealerships each and everyday in ever increasing numbers.

However, what about a plug-in hybrid? Most drivers have heard that these cars are great as well. So, a person might be asking him or herself, what exactly a plug-in hybrid is? How they work, and what the difference between a plug-in hybrid and a regular hybrid is?

Plug-in hybrid cars are able to run solely on batteries, but they can also run on gas also. These sorts of hybrid cars have some of the features of hybrid vehicles. They are also very similar to all-electric vehicles.

Plug-in hybrid cars must be charged externally by plugging them into an electrical power source. The combustion engine of plug-in hybrid vehicles is engaged only as a back up. These cars can run only on batteries if so desired, but it is to be expected that these kinds of hybrid cars be plugged in every day.

Hybrid cars travel just as many miles as a conventional car. Designed to go the extra mile where fuel-mileage is concerned, hybrids can be driven on the motorway, in cities, or wherever else a person needs to go.

On the other hand, plug-in hybrids are designed to handle commuter-length distances, meaning between twenty and sixty miles between destinations. This way, the plug-in hybrid does not have to use its back up combustion engine, but plug-in hybrids can go further using fuel too.

Hybrids help to minimize pollution, but they still pollute the atmosphere. Compared with plug-in hybrids, hybrid cars still have a long way to go as far as pollution is concerned. Since plug-in hybrid cars can run solely on their battery power, they don't have to emit waste fuel emissions at all.

Plug-in hybrids actually do fight against greenhouse gas emissions and plug-in hybrids use virtually no oil imported or not. Studies have shown that electric hybrids emit at least 67% less greenhouse gases compared to gasoline cars. Since the product used to power plug-in hybrids is renewable, the difference in greenhouse gas emissions may be even greater than the study showed.

There you have it - the main differences between plug-in hybrids and regular hybrid cars. It could make a big difference, but you would be surprised at how little it actually matters at the moment, but tht's only because plug-in hybrids are not being marketed to consumers yet! But this article should make you enthusiastic about the wonderful plug-in hybrid car, which will be featuring soon on a dealership near you.

And it's going to be a spectacular debut too, since people already like the current hybrid car models, but they haven't seen anything yet until they see the new plug-in hybrid cars. However, for now, maybe we should just be happy with what we already have, because who knows? Before plug-in hybrid cars are brought out onto the forecourts, something even better might be introduced onto the market. - 21393

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