A few facts about electric & hybrid vehicles

From Paris Autobarn, The Electromobile Company

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With each passing year, hybrid and electric vehicles become more popular, more easily accessible and quite simply, better. Although our roots are in servicing gasoline powered vehicles, and we still offer this, we have made the decision to only offer hybrid and electric vehicles in our sales department. We believe that the currently available pre-owned models are capable of replacing most traditional gasoline powered vehicles in Maine. Our mission here at Paris Autobarn is to help accelerate Maine’s transition to electrified transportation. We believe that we can achieve this goal by offering affordable pre-owned electric and hybrid vehicles for sale with zero pressure and no documentation fees.

Let’s talk about the two main types of electrified vehicles using simplified descriptions.

• Hybrid Vehicles have both a traditional gasoline powered engine and an electric motor. Some have a cord that can be plugged in to your home’s electricity to charge the vehicle’s hybrid battery pack and allow a relatively short purely electric range. Most hybrid vehicles do not plug in and only charge their battery packs by recycling energy that would normally be wasted during braking and deceleration. Both types of hybrid vehicles are good options if you cannot make the switch to a fully electric vehicle right now, for whatever reason, and are a step in the right direction. The most popular models of hybrid vehicles they we sell include the Toyota Prius and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. Hybrid Vehicle Pros: They provide much better fuel economy and lower emissions when compared to traditional gasoline powered vehicles. Hybrid Vehicle Cons: They have added complexity because they basically have two forms of powering them, electricity and gas, which means more parts (However we haven’t seen many cases of increased maintenance costs when compared to gasoline cars). They still have emissions from their gasoline powered engines and they still require regular maintenance like oil changes, spark plugs, engine air filters, and as they age they can require replacement of exhaust and emissions system components.
• Electric Vehicles have no gasoline powered engines and instead have only an electric motor. They are charged by plugging them into your home’s electricity, or on public chargers when traveling longer distances. They provide the best value of any type of car because their relatively simple design results in them needing very minimal maintenance. They most popular models of electric vehicles that we sell include the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt, and Tesla. Electric Vehicle Pros: They have zero emissions and require very minimal maintenance. Because they are powered solely by electric motors they benefit from instant torque, amazing acceleration, and nearly silent operation. Because they are most often charged at home, there are models of electric vehicles that are practical for nearly all people in Maine, even those that live in rural areas with few or no public chargers in their communities. Public chargers are typically only used when traveling well outside of your community. Electric Vehicle Cons: The most affordable (older) models offer limited range so they may not be the best choice if you have a very limited car purchase budget and a very long commute. Please call us to discuss your budget and range needs.

Our staff is ready and more than happy to answer your questions about hybrid and electric vehicles. In fact, most of our employees drive hybrid or electric vehicles themselves!

Browse Paris Autobarn’s full selection of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles