Environmentally Friendly Vehicles: So Many To Choose From, Each Having Its Virtues And Vices

Last updated on March 21st, 2018

There is an enormous amount of information available where environmentally friendly vehicles are concerned, however, choosing one of these little sparks over your gas guzzler may just cause a different type of damage.

ETHANOL

Virtues

– Readily available as it is made of corn crops

– You have the option of using a 15% mix or 85% mix. This means you either have 85% lead-free gasoline or 15% lead-free gasoline in the mix, which in turn means fewer toxic emissions

– Ethanol is biodegradable

Vices

– You would need to purchase a Flexible Fuel Vehicle

– Ethanol burns a lot quicker than ordinary gas, which makes it a lot more expensive when you calculate fuel efficiency

– Depending on the availability, it can be more or less expensive than ordinary gasoline

– Dependency on crops for fuel may cause a deficit in food production, increasing not only the cost of ethanol but also the cost of food

 

BIO DIESEL

Virtues

– This is a renewable energy source, mainly from plant oils and animal fat

– It emits low emissions, and then what it does emit, the plant life grown to sustain it reduces it back to an almost carbon-neutral source of energy

– It mixes with ordinary diesel, for a 5-20% biodiesel mix

– No changes to the vehicle will have to be made

Vices

– The sustainability is doubtful if demand increases

– It can damage rubber pipes in an engine, and filters will need to be cleaned out regularly as it loosens dirt in the engine

– More expensive than fuel

 

HYBRIDS

Virtues

– The number one choice where environmentally friendly vehicles are concerned by consumers

– They are economically built, which requires less fuel to run them on

– Less dependency on fuel and more dependency on electric capacity, which means fewer carbon emissions.

Vices

– The production of hybrid vehicles is not as streamlined as that of regular vehicles we know today, and the cost of manufacturing these vehicles is still high. the high demand versus the slow production makes it very expensive and puts it in the same price league as a luxury vehicle, without all the bells and whistles

– Maintenance of the vehicle is also very pricey as the parts are not as readily available as regular gasoline vehicles

– There doesn’t seem to be as much power in a hybrid vehicle, which makes acceleration slow and sluggish

– The potential for fatality is huge should you be in a head-on collision, due to the battery pack. Drivers tend to forget that a considerable amount of voltage is required to run a hybrid vehicle

– The light build of the vehicle, compared with the weight of the battery could make the vehicle a bit difficult to handle

.The size of the engine alone means a lot less space inside the vehicle, which is not great news for road tripping