Apparently hybrid cars don’t actually get the great gas mileage the EPA ratings indicate. Angry car-owners are holding their fists up in the air to the car companies, but the car companies claim it’s a side-effect of out of date testing methods employed by the EPA. Still, you don’t hear the car companies mentioning that when you go into purchase a hybrid.
On top of this, something like half of all the energy consumed and emissions generated by a car are during its manufacturing process. Buying an old Volvo is probably better for the environment than buying a brand-new hybrid. Still, every little technology step in the right direction is worth supporting in my opinion.
3 replies on “Hybrid cars aren’t really that good”
They’re still a whole lot better than regular cars! Both regular cars and hybrids get emissions measured on the same scale, so percentage wise the gains are still the same.
actually…
The article said the emissions tested we use favor hybrid cars and make them appear to be better than they are. That was the point of the article, actually!
Actually, the tests were wrong
The problem is that driving a hybrid efficiently takes a different skill than most people have, but it is something everyone can learn. Getting up to speed very quickly, running mostly on cruise control, and avoiding unnecessary braking will pretty much give you high 40s/log 50s.