That means the car does not have to be recharged after going only short distances. The electric motor can also help recharge the batteries if necessary. The gasoline engine recharges the bank of batteries, and the car just keeps going. Most hybrids can get between 55 and 60 mpg on the highway, although some owners do report less.
Most of the cars also use a generator that actually produces the electric power that drives the electric motor, and most use conventional transmissions, although the Toyota Prius uses a new, radically different transmission. The cars also combine a gasoline gas tank with a bank of batteries to power both engines. This is called a "parallel hybrid." Another type of hybrid engine, the "series hybrid" uses the gasoline engine to power a generator that creates the power for the electric engine or can recharge the batteries (Nice).
There's another advantage to hybrid engines - they're smaller than conventional engines, which means the cars themselves can be smaller and more fuel efficient. Another expert writes, "hybrid car engines are also built smaller to accommodate the ninety-nine percent (99%) of the time when the car is not going uphill or accelerating quickly" (Brotman). This is a benefit too, because the bank of batteries the electric engine uses take up quite a bit of
They make sense at a time when gas prices are at an all time high and global warming is an important environmental issue. These hybrids use less gas, are more economical, and have far fewer harmful emissions than gasoline engines. Isn't it about time you looked into a hybrid for your next car purchase?
References
Bamber, Taylor. "All about the Hybrid Car." Searchwarp.com. 2005. 30 Sept. 2005. http://searchwarp.com/swa14037.htm
Brotman, Steve. "Hybrid Cars." University of Florida. 2005. 30 Sept. 2005. http://plaza.ufl.edu/triplest/
Nice, Karim. "How Hybrid Cars Work." HowStuffWorks.com. 2005. 30 Sept. 2005. http://www.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm
