A native American proverb says: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” Think about it! At this rate what are we leaving our children? In this modern day and age every one of us needs to think of how we are going to contribute to the environment and what we are going to do to stop polluting the environment, and thinking about getting one of those new hybrid vehicles is a step in the right direction.
Specialists in the environment look favorably on these new hybrid vehicles. Even the makers realize that consumers are asking for them more and more and the future looks very bright for vehicles that use alternative fuels. This is a big change compared to that of just a few years ago, when these cars were very hard to sell.
Hybrids are vehicles that use both gasoline and electric power to function. They function on both an internal combustion engine and they also use an electric motor. There are both, full hybrid vehicles that can run on either fuel source and mild hybrids that always need to work on internal combustion. Obviously the mild hybrid is not as environmentally safe as the full hybrid.
The Mild hybrid uses more gas than electricity and the electric motor is used only as a support to the gas engine. These are not as gas efficient as the full hybrid. They are not as environmentally friendly as the full hybrid but compared to normal vehicles, they are much more efficient.
Full hybrids can function on electric energy independently and when they work on electric energy they eliminate those terrible, harmful emissions.
Current hybrids on the market are:
SUVs * The Ford Escape Hybrid comes in both a 2WD and a 4WD version. The 2WD gets 36 miles to the gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. The 4WD version gets 32 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. * Lexus RX 400h is an all wheel drive vehicle and reaches 27 mpg in the city and 25mpg on the highway. * Saturn Vue Hybrid comes in a 2WD vehicle and get 27mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. * Mercury Mariner is a 4WD vehicle and gets 32 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. * Toyota Highlander Hybrid comes in both a 2WD and a 4WD. The 2WD gets 33mpg in the city and 28mpg on the highway. The 4WD gets 31 mpg in the city and 27mpg on the highway.
SUV’s 1. There are several SUV hybrid vehicles, among which is the Lexus RX 400h which is an all wheel drive vehicle and gets 27 mpg in the city and 25mpg on the hwy. 2. The Mercury Mariner in both a 4WD and a 2WD version with about 32 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway 3. Ford Escape comes in a 2wd and a 4wd version. This vehicle gets 36 mpg in the city and 31 on the highway 4. The Toyota Highlander has both 2wd and 4wd version and this vehicle gets 33mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway 4. Saturn also has a hybrid called the Saturn Vue, both in 2wd and 4wd versions. It gets about 33 mpg city driving and 28 mpg highway driving.
Trucks 1. There are also a few hybrid trucks like the Chevy Silverado Classic 15 - This truck is available in both 2 and 4wd and gets 18 miles to the gallon and 21 on the highway. 2. Try the GMC Sierra Classic 15 for a great environmental vehicle- This model comes in both in 2wd and 4 wd. This truck gets 21 and 18 miles to the gallon.