Assignment 1-4

With the recent spike in gasoline prices, Americans’ are left to look for alternative ways to save at the pump. Hybrid vehicles may just be the way to go. Their recent popularity has me wondering if the up front costs of these vehicles are worth the long-run savings.
A hybrid vehicle as defined by Wikipedia is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle. Most often the vehicle’s power is generated from the gasoline engine, but it uses an electric engine when climbing hills or accelerating. The electric motor recharges itself with the forward momentum so there is no need for an external battery supply.
The national average for one gallon of gasoline today is $4.11 (www.aaa.com). Based on an investigative report from Consumer Reports (September 2006), gasoline will rise to almost $6.00 per gallon by 2011. That makes hybrid vehicles seem more enticing to me.
Major auto makers such as General Motors, Ford, and Toyota have been introducing new hybrid cars and SUV’s to the market each year since 2004. In recent studies some models have proven to be between $1800-$3800 less to run over a 5 year period than a single vehicles (Consumer Reports, 2006) as well as get about 10-20 additional miles to every gallon.
The US government is also currently offering ecoAUTO rebates of up to $2000 towards the purchase on most 2008 hybrid models.
There are still many hybrid vehicles, however, that have a premium price tag that will never provide a cost savings to their owner. If you wish to purchase one of these cost saving vehicles, you should definitely do your homework. Find out which vehicles actually save the most and make an educated decision.

View these sites for more information:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/resource-center/fuel-economy/high-cost-of-hybrid-vehicles-406/overview/index.htm
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/hybrid.html
http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/