Hybrid technology is it for you

Have you pulled your car up to the gas pump lately and been shocked by the price of gas?? As the pump passed the $30 $50 or even the $100 mark, maybe you thought about trading in your car for something that gets better mileage. A friend recently asked me what my thoughts on hybrids was. Not knowing much on the technology involved in these cars i had to do a little research on them. There are a lot of hybrid cars on the market these days, but is a hybrid really the car for you?
  Many people have probably owned a hybrid vehicle at some point if you're old enough like me you can remember mopeds. A moped is a type of hybrid because it combines the power of a gas engine and the pedal power of its rider. In fact, hybrid vehicles are all around us. Most of the trains we see are diesel electric powered, Cities have diesel-electric buses. but most hybrid's on the road today are gasoline electric. In simple terms a hybrid is a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric car.
   To be useful to you or me, a cars must meet certain minimum requirements. The car should be able to
     (1)Drive at least 300 miles before re-fueling
      (2) Be refueled quickly and easily
       (3)Keep up with the other traffic on the road
A gasoline car meets these requirements but produces a large amount of pollution and gets poor gas mileage. An electric car produces no pollution, but it can only go 50 to 100 miles between charges. And the problem is that the electric car is very slow and a pain in the rear to recharge.
A hybrid combines these two into one system that harnesses both gas power and electric power to make the car efficient for today's consumer.
    Why are more and more auto manufacturers producing hybrid vehicles?? The reason is they are required by law to meet CAFE standards (Corporate average fuel economy). The current standards require that the average mileage of all new cars sold by a manufacturer should be 27.5 mpg. This means that if a manufacturer sells one hybrid car that gets 60 mpg it can then sell four big, expensive suv's that only get 20 mpg or less. Basically the more hybrids they sell the more gas guzzler's they can sell, not because they care about pollution or the environment.
    Will it cost you more to maintain a hybrid car?? The answer is no  unless it breaks down, of course.  Maintenance and minor repairs are no higher on a hybrid than on a regular car. But if something goes wrong with the hybrid system after its warranty has run out you could be paying major money out of pocket.  In the early days of hybrids, many repair shops were refused to work on them, so hybrid owners had no choice but to go to the dealer which are sometimes more expensive. Today more and more mechanics have some kind of training on these cars and most shops will gladly preform routine maintenance on hybrids.
   If you're thinking of buying a used hybrid most usually have warranty on the hybrid system for eight years/100,000 miles. But keep in mind the average lifespan of a hybrid battery is about 150,000 miles and average replacement of the battery is anywhere from $3000 - $5000 depending on the model. There are companies out there such as Re-involt technologies that will rebuild your battery starting at $1875.00 not including installation.
   Is a hybrid car for you?? That depends on your driving habits and if the initial cost of buying one is in your budget, a new Toyota prius will set you back about $27,000.00 compared to a Infinity G37 coupe window sticker of $31,000.00, just a little something to think about gas mileage or luxury the choice is yours.