AUTO INSURANCE ARTICLE

Auto Insurance Rates – Saving Money on Hybrid Vehicles

By: beverly

American drivers are having a hard time in choosing what type of vehicle to purchase. Many people are looking for some alternatives to cut the cost, from bikes, van, to bio-fuels. One ideal alternative is hybrid cars.

Hybrid vehicle is an automobile that uses two or more unique power sources to drive the vehicle. Power sources may include rechargeable energy storage system or RESS; gasoline or diesel; compressed air, liquefied natural gas and others. This type of vehicle is efficient and truly economical that achieves greater fuel economy and lower emissions. Compared to the traditional engine also known as internal combustion engine vehicle or ICEVs and also the reason why many people want hybrid cars is because hybrid provides good gas mileage. Gas mileage is very important because a fuel efficient car will save you more hundreds every time you use it.

Hybrid technology can be distinguished from various designs, and fuel efficiency is surely expected when you use it. It reduces the amount of gas used because the stored energy on the battery is recovered and bring it back to the electric motor. A 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid gets an estimated 42 miles per gallon EPA while a 2008 Toyota Prius gets an estimate of 46 miles per gallon EPA.

Make sure you know the type of hybrid you really want to buy. Some hybrid vehicles are designed to simply increase performance, not just to save gas. Some sports cars customize the engine design. They take the gas engine from other model and add the electric motor to increase its performance. This type of design uses less gas compared to vehicle with huge gas engine. However, it could actually use more gas than the same vehicle with its electric motor. A 2008 Ford Escape rated 32 miles per gallon combined EPA while the 2008 Lexus GS 450h estimated 23 miles per gallon combined.

When you purchase hybrid vehicles you will able to get discounts. However, numbers are easily dropping, some models can avail the federal tax incentives. Furthermore, many states offer various incentives such as parking, driving, tax and others. When you add these savings to your auto insurance and to the amount you can save in gas, hybrid automobiles would considerably cheaper.

Having this type of vehicle is another great opportunity to save and get discounts on your auto insurance. Some companies already offer 10 percent discount on car insurance rates for hybrid cars. However, it still depend on the type of hybrid and your insurance companies. In addition, car insurance companies consider drivers who owned hybrid vehicles more responsible. Therefore, they have lower risk to accident and less likely of filing an auto insurance claim. You have to simply shop around and compare auto insurance rates from various insurance companies to get the best rate.