Among the most popular reasons for buying a hybrid car are that they acheive bettter fuel efficicency, create less pollution from greenhouse gas emission, encourage us to declare independence from foreign oil, and are eligible for tax credits. (Not to mention that in many states, hybrid owners can drive in the HOV lanes without having passengers in the car!)

The most practical reason to buy a hybrid car is that gas prices continue to rise. The national average price for a gallon of gas is $2.241. This is an increase of almost .10 from last year. (AAA, 2006). The most fuel-efficient midsize vehicle for model year 2007, the Toytoa Prius, is a hybrid. It gets an impressive 60 miles per gallon in the city, and 51 mpg in highway driving. Compare this to the non-hybrid Nissan Versa ( the second most fuel-efficient midsize vehicle) with its estimated mpg of 30 city/34 highway, and it's easy to see that you'll be spending much less time (and money) at the pump if you're driving a fuel-efficient hybrid.(fueleconomy.gov, 2006)

Hybrid cars also produce less pollution than conventional vehicles, so hybrid owners leave a smaller carbon footprint on the Earth. Automobiles contribute nearly a third of our nation's greenhouse gas emmisions. Our transportation system is second only to China in the amount of carbon dioxide produced. Projections show that investments in technolgies like advanced diesel engines and hybrid vehicles can create a fuel savings of 50-100% by 2030. (Pew Center, 2003)

Hybrid technology can help us cure our addiction to foreign oil. The majority of the oil that we consume is imported, and much of that oil comes from the Middle East. The instability of oil prices have brought turmoil to our economy in the past. But if we continue to invest in electric-hybrid cars and other renewable energy sources, we can decrease our dependency on oil imports while simultaeously helping the environment. (fueleconomy.gov, 2006)

The purchase price of a hybrid car is approximately $3000 higher than a petroleum-powered vehicle of the same class. (hybridcars.com, 2006) But the Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes a tax credit to help offset some of this cost. Starting January 1, 2006, those who buy new hybrids are eligible for a $400 to $3400 tax credit depending on the make and model of the vehicle purchased. This tax credit begins to phase out over a span of five quarters once the manufacturer has sold 60,000 vehicles. (Powers, 2005)