Phillip Andrew Hocking
Professor Jim Roth
English 102
12 June 2017
Hybrid Cars – Do They Really Help the Environment while Helping My Wallet?
The first vehicle that really could be classified as a hybrid is a sailboat that also has an oar. It is typical in sailing to run out of wind, so savvy sailors carry oars or an outboard to ensure that they can propel the craft when there is no wind. The word 'hybrid' when used in relation to an automobile is defined loosely as utilizing two or more components to achieve a common goal. Until recently, conventional vehicles (CV) possessed only an internal combustion engine (ICE) and had no electric motor. Modern hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) such as the Toyota Prius or the Honda Civic Hybrid are vehicles …show more content…
The major automobile pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, carbon dioxide, and particulates. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that is colorless and odorless. We have carbon monoxide detectors in our homes to ensure that there is not a fatal amount of this deadly gas in our own homes. Hydrocarbons react with nitrogen oxides and sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a major component of smog, which irritates the eyes, impairs lung tissues, and intensifies respiratory disease. Nitrogen oxides, like hydrocarbons, contribute to the formation of ozone. They are also precursors to the formation of acid rain. Catalytic converters, the part of car exhaust systems that breaks down nitrogen gases, form nitrous oxide via their catalytic process. This resulting nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas (EPA). According to the EPA, nitrous oxide composes about 7.2 % of the gases responsible for global warming. Vehicles with catalytic converters created nearly half of that nitrous oxide. HEV still possess a catalytic converter, however, they produce nearly half as many greenhouse gases per mile as CV (Yost). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps the Earth's heat and contributes to global warming, which can potentially disrupt global weather patterns and ecosystems and cause flooding, severe storms, and droughts. The …show more content…
Gas prices in Spokane today are $2.61. According to Toyota's website, the price of the Prius is $24,685 with an estimated mileage of 50mpg. Their most similar vehicle that is a CV is the Corolla, which comes at a substantially lower suggested retail at $18,500 but much lower fuel efficiency at 28mpg. We can create a simple formula to calculate the break-even point and when we begin to experience savings with a Prius. If we drive 12,000 miles
Professor Jim Roth
English 102
12 June 2017
Hybrid Cars – Do They Really Help the Environment while Helping My Wallet?
The first vehicle that really could be classified as a hybrid is a sailboat that also has an oar. It is typical in sailing to run out of wind, so savvy sailors carry oars or an outboard to ensure that they can propel the craft when there is no wind. The word 'hybrid' when used in relation to an automobile is defined loosely as utilizing two or more components to achieve a common goal. Until recently, conventional vehicles (CV) possessed only an internal combustion engine (ICE) and had no electric motor. Modern hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) such as the Toyota Prius or the Honda Civic Hybrid are vehicles …show more content…
The major automobile pollutants are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, carbon dioxide, and particulates. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that is colorless and odorless. We have carbon monoxide detectors in our homes to ensure that there is not a fatal amount of this deadly gas in our own homes. Hydrocarbons react with nitrogen oxides and sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a major component of smog, which irritates the eyes, impairs lung tissues, and intensifies respiratory disease. Nitrogen oxides, like hydrocarbons, contribute to the formation of ozone. They are also precursors to the formation of acid rain. Catalytic converters, the part of car exhaust systems that breaks down nitrogen gases, form nitrous oxide via their catalytic process. This resulting nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas (EPA). According to the EPA, nitrous oxide composes about 7.2 % of the gases responsible for global warming. Vehicles with catalytic converters created nearly half of that nitrous oxide. HEV still possess a catalytic converter, however, they produce nearly half as many greenhouse gases per mile as CV (Yost). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps the Earth's heat and contributes to global warming, which can potentially disrupt global weather patterns and ecosystems and cause flooding, severe storms, and droughts. The …show more content…
Gas prices in Spokane today are $2.61. According to Toyota's website, the price of the Prius is $24,685 with an estimated mileage of 50mpg. Their most similar vehicle that is a CV is the Corolla, which comes at a substantially lower suggested retail at $18,500 but much lower fuel efficiency at 28mpg. We can create a simple formula to calculate the break-even point and when we begin to experience savings with a Prius. If we drive 12,000 miles