The Benefits of Choosing an Eco-Friendly Automobile

When buying a new car, there are so many things to consider - financial costs, gas mileage, size, safety features - and that’s all before choosing a color. With hybrid and electric cars becoming more and more popular, you’ve now got one more thing to think about before you drive off the lot. To make your next car-buying or leasing decision easier for you, we’ve put together five important benefits of choosing an eco-friendly automobile.

1.     Lower Fuel Costs: This is an easy one. Hybrid cars (which use both gasoline and electricity to power their engines) save drivers, on average, about 38 percent in fuel costs. Electric cars, which don’t consume gas and run strictly on battery power, just need a location to plug in and charge up.

2.     Greenhouse Gas Emissions Decrease: The more gasoline cars use, the more carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, particulate matter and formaldehyde (among other toxic chemicals) are released into the earth’s atmosphere. Eco-friendly automobiles (which use little to no gas at all) reduce or completely eliminate the amount of air pollution created every time you start the car.

3.     Fuel Demand Decreases: The less we depend on gasoline to fuel our cars, the less oil we’ll need to drill for (a process that has numerous dangerous environmental and ecological effects) or source elsewhere.

4.     You’ll Get a Tax Benefit: If you live in the U.S., the Federal Government will give you a tax credit the year you purchase an eligible eco-friendly car. In some Canadian provinces, local governments will give drivers tax rebates and incentives for charging rather than gassing up their vehicles.

5.     Maintenance is a Breeze: Don’t know the difference between a transmission and a catalytic converter? Don’t worry! Because electric cars don’t have traditional engines, they don’t have traditional engine parts (like said converter) and require far less maintenance and upkeep. 

Sources:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm
http://greenventuresconference.org/category/benefits-of-eco-friendly-cars/
http://livinggreenmag.com/2013/08/28/green-business/how-hybrid-cars-help-the-environment/
http://rainforestfoundation.org/effects-oil-drilling-0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/cars/federal-tax-credits-for-plug-in-hybrids-electric-cars-what-you-need-to-know/2014/08/20/0ae02718-2886-11e4-8b10-7db129976abb_story.html
http://electricvehicles.caa.ca/government-incentives/
http://www.hybridcars.com/top-10-reasons-you-should-buy-an-electric-car-now/5/
http://www.hybridcars.com/top-10-reasons-you-should-buy-an-electric-car-now/9/

Photo Source:

http://www.hybridcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Nissan_Leaf_Norway-6681.jpg