In the past, cars were principally meant to facilitate faster and more convenient mobility of people so they could go to their work and destinations faster.

There is a striking setback, however. Energy requirements and combustion is one because cars principally run on oil or gasoline.

So what is wrong about it? Not much. Oil or gasoline are combustible substances, thus, producing carbon monoxide and other air pollutants throughout the process.

Another, gasoline or oil prices are almost always on the rise because of the increasing demand for the liquid, and dwindling or insufficient supplies, which is often made worse by the conflicts in the oil producing Middle Eastern region.

Thus, oil prices are the most volatile of all the commodity prices in the world market, and people, much more nations, are experiencing the impact profusely because almost all industries are powered by oil.

Oil cars have totally evolved through the years. The once sleazy appearance of cars are now ultra chic and sophisticated, thanks to the evolving and modernizing design techniques and strategies which integrate exterior appearance with the interior or overall car functionality.

Hybrid cars

One apparent and existing proof of the oil car’s evolution is the hybrid cars. For quite some time, or since the start of the new millennium, people’s thinking have gone so advanced that technology almost have come up with every concern raised in the past decade.

The reliance of people on oil cars and the need to produce or develop car versions that would reduce pollutant or emissions have propelled car makers around the world to develop or assemble car versions that would rely on electric power.

But because the times are not yet calling for an entirely electric run vehicle, car makers have devised the hybrid cars, a combination and integration of the conventional and modern oil cars and the not-so reliable and inferior electric cars.

For one, hybrid cars are made to answer the issues regarding the use of oil, whose prices are soaring rapidly. Another, since electricity is already a form of energy and needs no further combustion, pollution is reduced.

The hybrid cars run on the combination of the oil and electricity as sources of energy or power that are needed to run the cars. Because the technology is still in the preliminary stage, further advancement is still much needed, making the prices truly astronomical.

On the average, a hybrid car costs about the price of the most expensive car in the market today. That is because the car is still new and car makers are also still in the process of overdue development.

The technology and raw materials used in the manufacture of hybrid cars are also still priced higher. Thus, its makers are left with no choice but to charge on the costs to the consumers. Car making still is a thriving and struggling business.

But, the functions of the early hybrid cars in the market are still way limited and inferior compared to the advanced oil car models. For one, mileage and speed is affected because at some point, the hybrid cars are run by electricity.

The carbon combustion and emission is not significantly reduced. It is lessened, alright, but not to the extent that would help accelerate the advocacy against greenhouse gas emission and ozone depletion.

The technology of hybrid cars will really have to go through a lot before finally overtaking the conventional and traditional oil-powered  cars.

Hybrid vs. oil cars

In contrast, hybrid cars are still inferior in all aspects compared to the oil cars. That is why experts and car fanatics are somehow disappointed on how the anticipated hybrid cars have turned out to be.

Much have been expected from the hybrid cars. It is about time, car makers lean back and recharge their research and development efforts before finally going full gears to accelerate the segment for hybrid cars.

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Most hybrid cars are made for fuel efficiency but you can further squeeze extra miles out of a gallon of gasoline buy adapting the same good driving habits you do in your gasoline-engine vehicles.

1.     Go easy on the brakes. Your hybrid car has the regenerative braking system that recaptures the energy lost from braking and stores it back to your batteries. If you brake slowly, you give your electric motor more time to store power thus, recovering more energy back to the batteries. If you brake hard and abrupt, the regenerative braking system will not be able to recapture much of this energy and your brakes will take most of the work.

2.     Drive at slow speed. When you drive at a slow speed, you are running the electric motor. This saves a lot of gas. Also high speed driving requires your engine to produce extra power to drive the car forward and push it through the air. This consumes more gas just to overcome the aerodynamic drag. (Take note: the air is much denser on snowy, rainy, and slushy conditions. This makes the engine consumes more fuel to push the vehicle through the air.)

3.     Avoid quick acceleration. The electric motor can only give your car a certain amount of power. When you require more speed and step on the gas pedal, the combustion engine kicks in to provide that extra speed you need, thus consuming more fuel. Quick acceleration in gasoline- or diesel-engine car wastes a lot of energy and so with hybrid vehicles. If you need to accelerate, do it gradually if possible.

4.     Check your tire pressure. Tires are made to improve safety and the quality of the ride. It is not actually made for efficiency but you can actually use the tire to significantly improve your gas mileage. Use and maintain the maximum recommended tire pressure for your car on the sidewall and not the psi supplied by the manufacturer on the doorframe. Also use low-resistance tires for better mileage.

5.     Avoid rush hour. Stop-and-go traffic consumes a lot of gas.

6.     Use low octane gasoline. Not only it is cheaper, vehicles are actually designed to run well on low octane gas. Check your manual.

7.     Glide. If you are comfortable with driving back and forth to neutral, you can get the best out of your speed. Coasting in neutral gives you a longer cruise and better use of energy.

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Gas Power

Gasoline powered vehicle

As the name implies, a gasoline powered vehicle uses a combustion engine as a source of power. It has a fuel tank that supplies gasoline to the engine which drives the transmission and turns the wheels.

With a single full tank, a gasoline-powered vehicle can run several times longer than an electric car.

A gallon of gasoline is much denser than batteries in terms of energy. For example, 1 gallon of gasoline (7 pounds) produces the same amount of power as 1000 pounds of batteries.

It can keep up with the traffic on the road.

You have the widest car options. From compact to full-size sedan, from pickup trucks to SUVs, from minivans to luxury cars, you can jump from one car dealer to another and still get the best car varieties.

You can also choose from different types and sizes of engines.

With the soaring prices of fuel, getting a gas tank full is very expensive. Combustion engine wastes a lot of energy and consumes a lot of fuel. It also emits pollutants that contribute to the depletion of the environment.

Electric vehicle

An electric vehicle has a battery that supplies power to the electric motor, which then drives the transmission and turns the wheels.

Since it does not consume fuel, an electric vehicle emits no toxic fumes which is good news for the environment.

Although the battery pack is expensive, electric power is cheaper as compared to pump prices.

The battery can power the car short distances on a single charging.

Batteries of an electric car take several hours to charge.

Electric cars cannot keep up with the traffic.

Its top speed is slower than gasoline cars.

Hybrid Car – Problem solved

Hybrid cars get the best of both engines. It uses both an electric motor and a combustion engine to drive the vehicle. That means that a hybrid can either run on an electric motor and use the advantages of an electric car, or run on a combustion engine and use the edge of a gasoline powered car. Or, it can run on both at the same time. Depending on the type of hybrid car, you can have the best fuel efficiency with a performance similar or even better than its non-hybrid counterpart.

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Rated to run from 20 mpg to 60 mpg, hybrid cars are designed for maximum fuel economy. But aside from its second source of power, what other factors can influence gas mileage? Here are those factors,

Size of the engine. It is quite ironic that the more powerful your engine is, the larger and heavier it becomes. So much of the additional power will be used just to carry the extra weight of the engine. Hybrid solves it by putting a small engine with an electric motor. Moreover, small engine has small cylinders that consume less fuel both at stop and while cruising. This makes hybrid cars more fuel efficient. Hybrid car engines are smaller and are significantly lighter, thus reducing the total weight of the car.

Driving condition (with respect to the hybrid car’s internal structure). A hybrid car can either be parallel or series. With a parallel drive train, the car runs more fuel efficient on the highway. Series hybrids on the other hand work well in stop-and-go traffic.

Car Design/Aerodynamics. When driving at high speeds, the car’s engine works more because it has to push the car through the air. This is called aerodynamic drag. And the faster the car is, the greater the aerodynamic drag it has to overcome. Hybrid cars work well both at slow and high speed because it’s design to cut through air that reduces the drag, thus increasing fuel economy. Low-rolling resistance tires, which are stiffer and inflated to higher pressure can further cut the drag and increase the fuel mileage of the car.

Vehicle Weight. When the car is heavy, the engine has to inject more fuel to the cylinder in order to push it forward. So in order to increase fuel economy, hybrid cars are made with lighter materials such as magnesium and aluminum or composite materials like carbon fiber.

Driving habits. Whether you are driving a hybrid or not, driving habits can definitely influence the gas mileage of your car. Hard braking and abrupt acceleration wastes a lot of energy. Even if your hybrid has the regenerative braking system, the maximum amount of energy cannot be recaptured back to your battery. Abrupt acceleration on the other hand requires more power from both the electric motor and the combustion engine which equates to more fuel consumption.  To increase gas mileage, anticipate braking distance, step on the brake softly, and accelerate gently.

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