Plug in your hybrid, pollute less?

Do cars that run on electricity pollute less than those that run on gas?

Generally, yes, but the answer depends on where you live, say experts. It also depends on the type of electric-powered hybrid you drive. Rising gasoline prices, combined with fears about global warming, have prompted sales of hybrid cars, which run on a combination of gas and electricity.

The current oil situation has also begun to create interest in so-called plug-in hybrids. These cars are similar to conventional hybrids but rely more on electricity and get charged through a wall socket. Right now, only a handful of plug-in hybrids exist, but some companies plan to offer conversion kits later this year. story continued

Hybrid cars an option for rising Reno gas prices

With unleaded gas at about three dollars and six cents in Nevada, are hybrid cars the way to go?

Many of the cars we looked at today get 60 miles a gallon on city streets. When you're spending as much as you are now for gas, some might say that's a lot more bang for your buck.

Sky high gas prices are helping to fuel the demand for hybrid cars. Reno Toyota gets about ten hybrids a month...and they say it's hard to keep them on the lot.

"Since Toyota came out with the Pruis, the Highlander ... we have had lots of people come in and be concerned about questions about the hybrid vehicles," Steve Katzmann, general manager of Reno Toyota says.story continued

Credit card prices

Why is it when your approaching a gas station you see the prices, and when u go to the pump and pay with your credit card its at a higher price.I cannot recall years or maybe months before that being the case.Is it now the gas stations are trying to suck us dry like the oil companys.Or maybe there worried about our credit cards getting maxed..Imagine that.If that being the case ,maybe they will let us put gas on lay away. hybrid cars

Oil and gasoline futures decline after Washington relaxes supply rules

WASHINGTON (AP) - Crude oil and gasoline futures fell Tuesday after U.S. President George W. Bush gave the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to relax regional clean-fuel standards to attract more imports of gasoline to the United States and to make it easier for supplies to be moved from one state to another.

Bush also said he would halt deposits of oil to the country's strategic petroleum reserve until the fall, but analysts said that measure would have next to no impact on crude prices and certainly would not help make gasoline any cheaper. Even the fuel-specification waivers will have a marginal impact, analysts said, given that the main force behind today's soaring pump prices is the near-record price of crude oil.

"If you have $75 a barrel crude oil, you're sort of at a starting point of $2.90 a gallon for gasoline," said Mary Novak, managing director at the economic consulting firm Global Insight.story continued

Gas Price Pain Causing Increase In Hybrid Sales

WASHINGTON -- Many motorists are feeling more pain at the pump when it comes to gas prices.

A Lundberg Survey reports retail gas prices across the country jumped an average of nearly 25 cents per gallon in the past two weeks. Nationally, self-serve regular averaged $2.91 a gallon, which is up from $2.67 just two weeks ago. Midgrade is now averaging about $3 a gallon, while premium climbed to an average of $3.10, according to officials.

Gas prices in the Washington region are soaring above $3 for a gallon. Experts said prices have gone up by about 40 cents a gallon, which is 80 cents higher than a year ago.story continued

Hybrid vehicles save money in the long run

This is a letter regarding the recent introduction of hybrid vehicles into the automotive market. Although these cars are much more expensive then non-hybrids, they are much more environmentally friendly.

The problem is that because of their high cost, people are less prompted towards the purchase of such a vehicle.story continued

As oil prices continue to soar, talk of economic ruin subsides

WASHINGTON - When oil prices briefly touched $70.85 a barrel last August, many experts thought that such high prices, if sustained, would toss the U.S. economy into recession. Oil now hovers around $75, but this time there isn't much talk of economic ruin.

Economists now expect the high prices to shave the economy's growth rate some, but most think that the U.S. and global economies are resilient enough to weather the rising energy costs. A national average of $2.91 per gallon of gasoline provokes grimaces at the pump, but it's not high enough to send the economy into a tailspin.story continued

Deduction For Hybrid Vehicles

If you are the original owner of a qualifying hybrid vehicle — one that combines an electric motor with a gasoline-powered engine — you may be eligible to claim a one-time tax deduction on your federal income tax return.

The deduction amount is limited to $2,000 for cars first put into use in 2005.

These vehicles qualify for the deduction:
• Ford Escape Hybrid — Model Year 2006
• Mercury Mariner Hybrid — Model Year 2006
• Lexus RX 400h — Model Year 2006
• Ford Escape Hybrid — Model Year 2005
• Toyota Prius — Model Years 2001 through 2006
• Toyota Highlander Hybrid — Model Year 2006
• Honda Insight — Model Years 2000 through 2005
• Honda Civic Hybrid — Model Years 2003 through 2005
• Honda Accord Hybrid — Model Year 2005continued

HYBRIDS COMING SOON

MANUFACTURER MODEL AVAILABLE
--------------- -------- -------------
LEXUS GS 450H SPRING 2006
NISSAN ALTIMA 2006
SATURN VUE LATE 2006
TOYOTA CAMRY LATE 2006
CHEVY EQUINOX 2007
CHEVY MALIBU 2007
CHEVY TAHOE(AHS II) 2007
GMC YUKON(AHS II) 2007
CHEVY SILVERADO(AHS II) 2008
DODGE DURANGO 2008

FORD FUSION 2008
GMC SIERRA(AHS II) 2008
MERCURY MILAN 2008
Sources: J.D. Power-LMC; Energy & Environmental Analysis (EEA), Inc.; manufacturer web sites. Updated 1/20/2006.

Hybrid M.s.r.p And M.p.g

Toyota Prius $21,275 - 60/51

Toyota Camry $25,900 - 40/38
Toyota Highlander $33,030 - 33/28
LIMITED $37,890 - 33/28
Honda Accord $30,990 - 25/34
Honda Civic $22,150 - 49/51
Honda Insight $19,330 - 60/66 -CVT 57/56
Ford Escape $27,515 - 36/31
Lexus Rx $45,355 - 31/27
Chevy Silverado $29,525 -
Mercury Mariner $29,840 - 33/29
Mazda Tribute ? - 33/29

Saturn Vue Green Line: hybrid for tightwads

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - In creating its first gas-saving hybrid vehicle for the mass market, General Motors took the cheap way out. This time, it could prove to be a very smart move.

The fact is, hybrids just aren't selling like they used to. While the Toyota Prius is still a hot item, Ford is offering incentives on its hybrid SUVs, and sales for other hybrid vehicles are softening.
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CNNMoney.com's Peter Valdes-Dapena talks with GM engineer Robert Reuter about Saturn's new Green Line hybrid SUV. (April 18)
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One reason is that most hybrids, unlike the Prius, are not distinctive. A Toyota Highlander Hybrid looks like a Toyota Highlander. A Ford Escape Hybrid is a Ford Escape. "So the hybrid becomes another powertrain option," said Anthony Pratt, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates.

That means that consumers are increasingly putting hybrid systems through the same cost/benefit analysis to which they would subject any other high-cost option.story continued

Hybrid cars are so last century

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Today's fuel efficiency trivia question: When was the first gas-electric hybrid car produced?

If you guessed something like 1983, you're wrong. Try much earlier.

On display at an exhibit opening Saturday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles will be a 1917 Woods Dual Power, which had a gasoline engine coupled with an electric motor-generator, just like modern hybrid cars. Unlike the Toyota Prius, however, the Woods Dual Power was a marketing flop. Production ceased after just two years.

The name of the exhibit is "Alternative Power: Propulsion after Petroleum." It covers the history of automotive power from 1866 to the present, including steam, electric, hydrogen, solar and jet-powered vehicles. It even includes one 1938 car that was modified to run on coal gas.story continued

Current Available Hybrids

Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Honda Insight
Lexus Rx 400h
Ford Escape
Chevy Silverado
GMC Sierra
Mercury Mariner
Toyota Highlander
Toyota Prius
Toyota Camry

no more gas guzzler

I FINALLY CONVINCED MY FATHER TO GIVE UP HIS JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE.A TRIP DOWN THE BLOCK WOULD WASTE A GALLON OF GAS.IT HAD A REALLY GOOD ENGINE THAT WOULD PROBABLY LAST A LIFETIME,BUT WHEN YOUR RETIRED LIKE MY FATHER ON A LIMITED BUDGET IT DOESNT PAY.SO I TOOK HIM TO THE FORD DEALER AND HE GOT A FORD ESCAPE HYBRID.HE LIKES SUVS SO I FIGURED THAT WOULD BE BEST.AT THIS TIME GAS IS AT AN AVERAGE OF 3 DOLLARS SO THE LESS IT WASTES THE BETTER.

Life in the green lane

If you've gone to any auto show in the last year or so, you'll know that hybrid cars are the hippest automotive fashion statement to come along in years. They've become synonymous with the worthy goal of reducing gasoline consumption and dependence on foreign oil and all that this means for a better environment and more stable geopolitics.

And yet like fat-free desserts, which sound healthy but can still make you fat, the hybrid car can make people feel as if they're doing something good, even when they're doing nothing



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