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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/Benefits-of-a-Hybrid1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/Benefits-of-a-Hybrid1.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br /><a>Via Consumer Car Reviews</a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic submission comes from the ladies and gentlemen over at Consumer Car Reviews. More and more hybrids are scooting around town, and this infographic is designed to show just how effective these cars are in saving money and the environment. The color scheme is simple, clean and conducive to it’s “green” message. The graphs, charts and images used to show relevant savings are effective, and require/use little to no text to explain.

The first three images look great. Using the LA to Sydney image to convey just how much Americans drive, in terms of actual distance, is impressive and effective and a great lead. Again, the next two graphs are effective in explaining how much gasoline Americans use, particularly the swimming pool comparison. These types of graphics help put hard data into perspective and give readers a real-life reference point for the data. They also do not require much textual explanation, which is the whole point of an infographic.

Unfortunately, the last half of this infographic seems to lose some steam. Providing the statistic that it would take almost 8 years to break even on the purchase price of a hybrid actually takes away from the pro-hybrid discussion and hurts the message overall. There’s likely a better way to show this information, perhaps using Colorado’s tax rebate program for hybrid purchases as an example in a bar graph. For example, showing the cost of initially purchasing a hybrid (factoring in the tax rebate) and the gas savings over a set period of time when compared to the total cost (purchase price and cost of gas over the same period of time) of a regular non-hybrid vehicle.

The gasoline cans portraying the potential national gas savings also lose some of their potential. Again, huge numbers like 74 billion gallons are more effective when put into a real-life comparison, such as a giant tank filled with gas with the Statue of Liberty or similar landmark next to it for size and volume reference.

Overall, this infographic does a nice job with getting the information and the story across to its readers. I’d give this infographic a B, as it is mostly data driven and clean but some of the data visualization falls short of its potential impact.

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/n6GLP8.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/n6GLP8.jpg" alt="infographic" width="430"><br />Click to Enlarge</a><br />Via <a href="http://aspen.ms/n6GLP8"> Aspen </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>>

Aspen submitted this infographic for us.

The aesthetic of this IG is pretty sleek. It sort of reminds me of social media sites–something about the font, the dark background, the pop of the colors, the little icons. The design is definitely themed, with a road map background, road signs, speedometers, etc. and the data is interesting. Who knew people talked about cars so much? Well, Aspen does:

“People love talking about their cars, whether a fuel-efficient sedan or expensive sports car. This passion and the sheer volume of conversations (an average of 2.4 million each day) creates a huge opportunity for automotive brands and businesses.”

(I found it pretty surprising that people talk about actually buying cars more frequently than they talk about wanting one. It’s not a critique; the data is there. Strange, though!)

There are a few big things holding this infographic back for me. The first and most obvious is the scale and orientation. IGs that are more than about 1,000 pixels wide mean people have to scroll horizontally; this one is nearly 3,000 pixels wide and 1,000 long, and that’s a lot of scrolling in both directions. The second major issue is that the data isn’t really visualized. Percentages and stats are just stated numerically throughout.

Also, there’s some data thrown in that seems to be just filling up space. The Top 5 Keywords for every category are nearly identical, with minor differences like “concerned/concerning” and “fees/fee.” People aren’t going to keep reading repetitive information. The general Top Keywords section gets the point across just fine. The Contact Aspen info is the biggest single section on the whole IG, which is also pretty distracting.

Since the design of this IG is modern and engaging, it’s too bad to see data and data viz weren’t put to better use. Horizontal orientation is a big barrier, too. I’ll have to give this infographic a D. It’s a great start with some serious potential, but it needs work.