Hybrid Cars: The Future is Now

Hybrid automobiles are vehicles with engines that use two or more devices for propulsion, the most common if which are the HEV’s, or Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Lest you think this is an all-new concept, Ferdinand Porsche developed the first hybrid car in 1900, but until the late 1990’s this concept was considered nothing more than a novelty. The rising price of gasoline, however, and the Green Revolution sufficiently raised demand so that the major auto makers took notice and began producing hybrids for the mass market.

The first to make a dent in the world market was the Toyota Prius which was introduced in 1997. Due to its surprising popularity the other major auto makers followed suit so that today nearly three million hybrids are owned worldwide with the U.S. the leader in hybrid sales. No longer a novelty, the hybrid automobile has established quite a niche for itself for car performance and production at this point is far behind demand. The future has indeed arrived.

The two major advantages of a hybrid are greater fuel economy and fewer emissions. The Toyota Prius sits at the top of the gas mileage charts for these advanced autos, consistently achieving 50 mph, while other hybrid models vary between 30-50 mpg depending upon the model. Quite logically, as the internal combustion switches over to the electric propulsion, fewer emissions are released, and since the engine in a hybrid is smaller than in a standard internal combustion vehicle, still fewer emissions are produced. With advanced auto technology improving each year it is safe to say that this is just the beginning as the world moves further away from dependence on the internal combustion engine.

All the major car manufacturers are currently producing hybrids. Behind Toyota in hybrid sales is Honda Motor Company which offers the Honda Civic Hybrid, and Ford Motor Corporation which produces the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Besides the top three, General Motors, Lexus, Audi, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, and Mercedes-Benz all produce hybrids.

Hybrid technology is not limited to just automobiles. SUV’s, trucks, trolleybuses, buses, trains, and motor scooters are all being produced using two or more propulsion devices.

So what does this all mean regarding reliability and availability of replacement parts? As with all new innovations, there have been problems, most notably a recall last year when thousands of the Toyota Prius models needed work on the braking system. However, as with all new technology, the problems are becoming fewer with each passing year and the cars produced recently have been very reliable, receiving consistently high ratings. There is still some concern regarding finding properly trained mechanics to work on these vehicles and spare auto parts are not as readily available as the internal combustion parts are. But with sales over three million and rapidly increasing these problems will fade in the near future.

And make no mistake about it, the future has indeed arrived and the hybrid automobile is here to stay.