Power

• Traditional cars run on gasoline with internal combustion engines, while hybrids run on gasoline and battery power with internal combustion engines and electric motors. Plug-in hybrids run on battery power for the first 10 to 40 miles before relying on gasoline.
  
  

Fuel Efficiency

• If traditional cars average 25 miles per gallon, hybrids average 45 and plug-in hybrids average 100 mpg. Compared with traditional cars and hybrids, plug-in hybrids run on the equivalent of less than $1 a gallon.
  
  

Emissions

• The California Air Resources Board claims that hybrid cars reduce greenhouse emissions by one-third and plug-in hybrids by two-thirds compared with traditional cars.
  
  

Price

• Due to the expense of batteries, hybrids cost several thousand dollars more than traditional cars, while plug-in hybrids cost an additional 10 to 20 percent, as of 2010, according to the California Cars Initiative.
  
  

Considerations

• Though plug-in hybrids save gasoline money, their high retail price means it will take years for plug-in hybrid owners to compensate for the initial cost.