Some students at Leesville are beginning to drive hybrids in the parking lots and the roads around Raleigh. These students are not only helping to save the environment, but they are now saving money and gas.
Driving a hybrid is one of the best ways to help cut emissions. Innovative technology makes the hybrid class fuel efficient and consumer-friendly.
The inventors who created the first automobiles in the early 1900s introduced gasoline engines as the standard. These were usually cheaper to produce and easier to sell, making them the ideal product to feature in cars such as the Ford Model T.
In the present, however, gasoline is scarce and the demand for the fuel is greater than it was a hundred years ago. As fuel prices grow and the effects of exhaust become more evident, inventors are trying to introduce a whole new car to modern day drivers.
There five types of “green” cars that are available on the market. Of these, the hybrids are the most common in today’s streets and are more efficient and cheaper than the others.
Hybrid cars, or hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), run on two sources of energy that make them fuel-efficient and reliable. Every hybrid automobile has an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. One special thing was the fact that hybrids do not even use plugs; instead, they are amply charged by the constant movement of the wheels.
Many Leesville students have family hybrid cars that they drive every now and then. Not many Leesville students, however, drive their hybrid cars to school or to the mall enough to cut emissions effectively.
“My family tries to spread the use of cars in our household. One day my dad will make us drive our normal car, and the next day he will have us use the hybrid,” said Cody Riley, a senior. “He wants to have the hybrid for a long time and doesn’t want us to wear it out.”
Hybrid cars are well built and many come with a lifetime warranty that promise free replacement of broken or worn out parts.
With the introduction of innovative ideas, cars like the Toyota Prius now produce ninety percent less pollutants than most gasoline-fueled cars. They are ideal for traffic situations because of their brake system that allows them to recharge the battery engine with the tap of the brake.
The fact that owners save thousands of dollars per year on fuel and maintenance costs make them very popular cars to consumers. The depreciation of hybrid cars is much lower than that of standard gasoline cars making it a sound investment.
In the future, other models of “green” cars will be introduced to the public to give consumers more options to choose from. Developers believe that they will be able to perfect ideas like the use of biodiesel and bioethanol in cars like the Prius to make them even more fuel-efficient.
