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Are Hybrid Cars Worth It ?
There are several pros to the hybrid cars available for purchase right now, but some cons as well. On the bright side, hybrid cars use less gasoline than traditional gasoline cars, produce less environmental pollution, including the greenhouse CO2 gases, and they are much quieter to operate, decreasing city traffic noises considerably. On the negative side, the technology of hybrid cars is still an up and coming technology, and the sales numbers are still lower than for traditional vehicles, making the production costs higher for hybrid cars, which translates to higher prices for buyers over similar gasoline powered versions. However, that cost difference on the purchase may already be fully covered by the lower operating costs of a hybrid car over the gasoline powered traditional car. You can easily estimate whether the operating costs are less over your estimated car ownership time by estimating the driven miles over the period and factoring the miles per gallon difference with the gasoline price to see if the savings are more than the difference in purchase price. There is also the environmental aspect to purchasing a hybrid car. Because the cars use less gasoline, it also produces less pollutants to the air. Pollutants of which will be less in the air include hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Much of the focus on international media is on Carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that traps the earth's heat and contributes to global warming. However, it is also notable that the other exhausts are also damaging to humans, and especially children who breathe the exhaust air in urban settings, according to the Cars and Pollution EPA Fact Sheet OMS-5. A number of hydrocarbons are toxic, for example, with the potential to cause cancer. Nitrogen oxides, like hydrocarbons, are precursors to the formation of ozone and contribute to acid rain. The noise from traffic in urban settings is also a major factor for many in their consideration for going with a hybrid. According to European research, long-term exposure to levels of 80 decibels, a very possible traffic noise level in urban settings, can be harmful to humans. According to Stephen Stansfeld, the professor of psychiatry at Queen Mary University’s School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, aside from annoyance, such traffic noise can cause Based on these findings, European Commission based CALM II project are aiming for a 10-decibel urban noise reduction as a realistic goal for 2020. Hybrid cars can play a major role in this urban noise level reduction, as they operate silently in electric modes, which is typically inside urban settings within shorter commutes. So, are hybrid cars worth it ? For many, the pressing financial demands are the overriding factor in their decision, in which case the calculations may prove the hybrid to be more advantageous, and even more so when the price levels for hybrid cars come down over time. For those that also factor in the aspects of environmental damage from exhausts and noise, probably are going to go for a hybrid car already now.
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