Hybrid Car

Some people are worried about the potential high cost of a hybrid car Repair. No need to worry if you go with the extended warranty most manufactures offer. With rising gas prices many over $3.00 a gallon the hybrid car is an economical and environmentally smart decision.

Recent Triple-A reports the national average for unleaded gas is $3.03 a gallon. The price of gas isn’t going down anytime soon and the conscientious switch to a hybrid car might be your best option.

“If your goal is low fuel costs, good for the environment, the economics of it, then, yes, a hybrid would probably fit just about anybody’s pocketbook,” says Leo Rea with Savannah Toyota in the state of Georgia

Leo’s been with Savannah Toyota for 19 years – long before hybrid cars and gas prices above three dollars. “We had seven or eight Prius’ on the lot prior to that and they went away in a matter of three or four days,” says Leo.

He adds most people drive to his dealership already looking to buy a hybrid car because they’ve done the research. But others aren’t too clear on what they are and do. “It has two power sources. It has a conventional gasoline engine then it has a large electrical engine and they’re mated together. And you have a large, high powered batter that powers the electric motor,” says Leo.

In other words, it cuts down how much you pay for gas. “You fill this car up and you got a range of about 600 miles on a tank of gas,” says Leo. That means you can drive from Savannah to Atlanta and almost all the way back without filling up again.

The cars also look pretty much like any other one, but there is a price difference. “For example the cost of our base model Prius is about $22,000 dollars,” says Leo, which costs more than other cars its size.

“If budget wise the Hybrid’s not in your pocketbook, you should certainly look at those other small cars. The simple fact is that we all – everybody that drives is gonna have to start making some sacrifices. Either we’re gonna have to stop driving as much as we drive or we’re gonna have to start thinking more about carpools. We’ve got to stop burning so much fuel and find alternative fuel measures,” says Leo.

He also told us if you’re worried that repairs for a hybrid might cost more, he says many come with an additional warranty for eight years and 100,000 miles.

Japanese automaker Toyota has unveiled what it says is the world’s first certified plug-in and go car for public use.

Certified by Japan’s Transport Ministry, Toyota’s prototype Plug-in HV Prius uses a gas-powered combustion engine and an electric motor — like earlier Hybrids. But it has a bigger capacity battery which enables it to run longer.

The Plug-in Prius has a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour and an electric motor range of 13 kilometers. The new model is not fully electric, but it will help protect the environment.

Toshikazu Tanaka, chief engineer, Toyota, said, “Because it runs on an external energy supply too, the car can use multiple sources of energy. The range of the electric vehicle has also been extended and it will cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.”

Toyota plans to conduct US and European road tests for the Prius.

The company is boosting overall hybrid production by 40 percent this year and plans to double the number of hybrid models within three years.

Toyota to launch a cheaper version of Prius hybrid car

Japanese automaker Toyota has said that they are going to launch a new “standard” version of its Prius gas-electric hybrid for the 2008 model year.

This model would cost $20,950, not including destination charges. This is incidentally $1,225 cheaper compared to the lowest-cost 2007 model.

Customers would be able to choose from a list of equipments to get installed on this version which are standard on the existing variants.

Bill Kwong, a spokesman for Toyota Motor Sales USA said in a statement on the need to launch this cheaper Prius: “We’re just trying to make it available for everybody.”

Market analysts have approved this move by Toyota and have said that this is not exactly a move by the company to boost the sales of the car as it is already hugely popular in the market.