Plug-in Hybrid vs. Pure Electric Cars Research Essay Essay Example for Free

Plug-in Hybrid vs. Pure Electric Cars Research Essay Essay This world has prospered with gasoline cars since the late eighteen hundreds and nineteen hundreds. In fact, the world we live in today cannot stand without the benefits of gasoline-powered vehicular travel. Since the modernization of travel, the public can drive cars anywhere, including other countries, cities, streets, houses, or even backyards. The mass want of private automobiles has led to more drivers, then a huge amount of pollution, and then that familiar phrase: Global Warming. This is why we need a new alternative to the combustion engine, and there are very many ways to achieve this including plug-in cars and pure electric cars. But, to fully prevent Global Warming, our economy must run on pure clean energy. Plug-in hybrid cars have their benefits, including the ability to revert to an internal combustion engine when the battery dies, but pure-electric cars are the way to go because the battery has a much larger store of electricity and electric cars do not run on harmful gasoline; they run on clean energy. The pros of hybrid plug-in cars do not match the pros that the pure-electric car boasts. Although, there are some so-called experts who disprove this theory, and say that hybrid cars are the best way to go. A pro in the mind of Philip Dunn, a hybrid car advocate, is that â€Å"at higher speeds above forty miles per hour the gas motor kicks in and gives that peppy feel so many car owners look for when driving on the highway. † Another pro is that the hybrid car can â€Å"already get one-hundred mpg on fifty-five-mile trips using cobbled-together PHEVs,† (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) says Ben Hewitt, another advocate of hybrid cars. The hybrid vehicle also does not produce any Carbon-Dioxide from a stop, and does not produce any Carbon-Dioxide moving at less than under forty miles per hour. These pros, nonetheless, are better than a pure-gas engine, which compares with an average 21 mpg (estimation courtesy of EPA), and produces Carbon-Dioxide all of the time that it is running. But, these pros do not scratch the surface of the pure-electric car and its wonders. The cons of the plug-in car are various. The plug-in car costs â€Å"anywhere from three-thousand dollars to eight-thousand dollars more than conventional automobiles† (Watson), but these prices will go down as manufacturers start developing more hybrids and create more competition. Until there is more research, hybrids also use up the electric engine in under five-hundred uses, which leads to more money spent replacing the un-chargeable battery. Adding onto the list is the fact that hybrid cars will still use gasoline. In order to clean up Earth, hybrid plug-in cars and their problems shall not be created. Hybrid cars are also weighed down by both engines. The two engines also instigate the problem of maintaining two engines instead of one, which will make repair cost more than gas-powered cars in certain circumstances such as a car crash that damages both engines. Both pros and cons of the hybrid plug-in do not reach the level of pure electric cars. Few cons are tacked onto the pure electric car, but those few are important. Pure-electric cars cannot drive long distance road trips without being recharged. This can take up to three-and-a-half hours in some electric cars, which isn’t good for being late to work or a party. The beneficial trend toward more environmentally friendly vehicles has had the unintended effect of placing the blind and other pedestrians in danger, said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-New York, 10th) in introducing The Pedestrian Safety Act of 2008 that would protect the blind from electric cars, which are silent. These cars are also pricy, with the Tesla Roadster reaching over one-hundred thousand dollars. These cons come with a reward, though. The pros of having a pure-electric vehicle are heavier than that of its cons. With an average of 220 mpc (miles per charge [based on EPA combined city/highway cycle]), the pure-electric car can cover the average daily driver’s commute and then some. The pure-electric Tesla Roadster can reach up to â€Å"125 mph and has a 0mph-60mph in less than 4 seconds† (Tesla Motors – Tesla Roadster). Also, whenever the brakes are used to stop, you charge the engine. Another thing is that, when stopped, the car does not consume any energy. All of this and zero-emissions boost the pure-electric car to the top of the list of daily drivers and high performance gas-guzzlers. Both types of car oust that of the gas-guzzlers on the road today. Although, to provide a cleaner and more-efficient future for Earth, humans must set aside fossil fuels and use clean electric energy, which a pure-electric car uses. The public cannot make a huge change into hybrid plug-ins and then switch to full electric power; just look at the Digital Television switch that has been postponed twice because people are too lazy to go out and get a free digital cable box. The people are slow to change, which means that in order to switch before humans destroy the world, humans must first change to pure-electric energy. If humans are ready to start the massive change to clean up Earth, those humans must first stop making a new mess. Works Cited Dunn, Philip. Hybrid Cars Pros and Cons. (2006) 4 Apr 2009 . Hewitt, Ben. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Cars: How Theyll Solve the Fuel Crunch. May 2007 4 Apr 2009 . Watson, Jerry. Hybrids pros and cons. (2005-2009) 4 Apr 2009 . http://www. teslamotors. com/performance/perf_specs. php Towns, Edolphus. Introduction of Pedestrian Safety Act of 2008, April 9th, 2008.