Hybrid Cars And Their Wide Appeal

You have heard about them, possibly have seen their commercials but do you really understand how the hybrid car works and what its value is?

Hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular to a variety of people for a variety of reasons. The ecologically conscious can appreciate the ultra low emissions and amazing fuel economy, while the economically conscious can appreciate the low depreciation and great savings at the pump.

Here are some quick facts about the Hybrid Car:


• Lower fuel emissions help to curb the infamous "Greenhouse Effect."
• Hybrid cars are in high demand, and because of this, they hold their value much better than most gasoline automobiles.
• Burning fossil fuel releases potentially harmful pollutants, but reducing the amount of fuel that needs to be burned may allow the environment to dispose of these pollutants by natural means.
• Hybrid cars offer huge savings at the pump. Switching from the average sedan to the average hybrid could save the driver over 500 dollars a year!
• Hybrid car technology has been accepted as a solution for the automobile pollution problems of the day.
• The United States government has supported hybrid car ownership by allowing a tax write off. In 2005, this rebate may be as high as $5000!
• While it is true that hybrid cars do have expensive parts, they also have warranties that provide free replacement of the most expensive parts for many years.
• Though hybrid cars have not been on the US market for very long, they have been sold in Japan since 1997. Some consumers worry that hybrid cars may not last as long as other cars, but it is not abnormal for a hybrid car to run like new when it has 250,000 miles on it. The best part - hybrid cars don't require any more maintenance than gasoline cars.
• Hybrid cars aren't a fad. Nearly every major automobile manufacturer has announced either the launch of a hybrid car or plans for a launch. A large part of this is due to the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulation, by which an automaker must maintain a minimum mileage of 27.5mpg across its product line. By investing in hybrid technology, they can offer faster, larger engines in the rest of their line.

How does the hybrid car work? A hybrid car is a passenger vehicle that is driven by a hybrid engine, which is any engine that combines two or more sources of power, generally gasoline and electricity. There are two types of gasoline-electric hybrid cars; the parallel hybrid, and the series hybrid. Both use gasoline-electric hybrid technology, but in radically different ways.

In a parallel hybrid car, a gasoline engine and an electric motor work together to move the car forward, while in a series hybrid, the gasoline engine either directly powers an electric motor that powers the vehicle, or charges batteries that will power the motor. Both types of hybrids also use a process called regenerative braking to store the kinetic energy generated by brake use in the batteries, which will in turn power the electric motor.

Both parallel and series hybrids have small gasoline engines, and produce much less pollution than standard gasoline cars, but also produce much less power - hybrids generally produce between 60-90 horsepower, while the average gasoline engine probably produces about double that. To overcome this power gap, hybrid cars are constructed with ultra lightweight materials like carbon fiber or aluminum. Hybrid cars are also designed to be more aerodynamic than most cars, allowing them to "slice" through air instead of pushing it out of the way.

All these factors combined equate to a super efficient form of car that gets excellent fuel economy and helps the environment by cutting down on pollution. What are you waiting for?

Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.

Reasons to Consider Small SUVs

The price of fuel today has many looking at downsizing their vehicle’s size. Although one may downsize, they still may not want to give up the ability to drive off road and through adverse weather conditions. This is where the compact SUV becomes attractive.

When compared to larger SUVs the smaller SUV typically uses less fuel. Buying a vehicle with a 4-cylinder engine will generally provide higher gasoline mileage per gallon than do bigger SUVs with larger engines. Some smaller SUV’s, typically hybrids, have a rating of 36 miles per gallon in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway for a two-wheel-drive model. Yes, the supplemental electric power helps boost city mileage more than highway mileage.

The second benefit of having a smaller SUV is that these vehicles are priced affordably compared to larger SUVs.

Smaller SUVs often have more nimble handling than do bigger SUVs. For instance, the turning circle of a Jeep Wrangler is 34.9 feet, which is less than that for a Toyota Camry sedan. Compare that to the 43-foot turning circle for a full-size Chevrolet Suburban SUV, which can make U-turns and some parking maneuvers a bit problematic.

Another benefit of the smaller SUV’s are the extra features. For open-air driving, the Jeep Wrangler has a foldable soft-top, The Saturn Vue wears dent-resistant plastic body panels, and the Honda Element can be easy to load because it has side cargo doors with no fixed pillar. The tailgate on the Element is a clamshell design for easy loading, too, while the RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander are now offered with three rows of seats, if needed.

The Nissan Xterra debuted with stylish, tubular-looking roof rails that can accommodate a range of storage baskets and kits now also includes a step integrated into the side of the rear bumper. The step gives owners a leg up, if you will, so they can more easily reach items stored in the overhead roof racks. Nissan officials said they added this step after watching Xterra owners at ski facilities slip their feet into the tops of the rear tires in order to reach their ski equipment atop the Xterra.

Compact sport utilities may bring memories of early, small, rollover-prone, four-wheel-drive vehicles, but in recent years the vehicles have increased their track, meaning the distance between the two front or two rear wheels, which contributes to better stability.

Further, electronic stability control is available on several models. It's standard, for example, on Toyota's RAV4.

Small SUVs are also adding more standard safety features. The Kia Sportage ranks as the lowest-priced SUVs that comes with standard anti-lock brakes, stability control, traction control and six standard airbags, including front seat-mounted side airbags and curtain airbags for both front and rear seats.

So what are the disadvantages of the smaller SUV? There is only a couple. Towing is one. Generally consumers can't expect to tow as much behind small SUVs as they might with larger sport utilities that have larger engines. For instance, the towing limit for a V8-powered Chevrolet Tahoe is 8,200 pounds—enough for a sizable trailer—while the much smaller Honda CR-V, which comes only with a four-cylinder engine, has a towing capacity of just 1,500 pounds.

Smaller SUVs also can't carry as much cargo. Generally, room behind the front seats for cargo ranges up to 72 cubic feet or so in compact SUVs, while large sport utilities offer more storage space. Maximum payload also is greater in the bigger SUVs.

So if you are thinking of downsizing in regards to size, rest assured, you won’t have to downsize in quality and safety, there are many choices out there to choose from, depending on the ‘size’ of your time to do the research.


Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors is a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding area and is known as one of the bad credit car dealers in Austin. For more information please visit http://www.gregchapmanmotors.com.