What Are Hybrid Cars?

You may have heard them mentioned alot, but exactly what are hybrid cars? Start your research here.

Basically, a hybrid car uses a combination of battery pack and electric motor with a (gas) combustion engine. This combination saves on fuel usage.

There are other kinds of hybrid cars as well, such as any car that uses more than one source of power. Diesel-electric is another example. The gas-electric hybrid cars are most popular right now, and that is what this website concentrates on.

Usually, the hybrid car batteries send electricity to the electric motor, while the engine burns gas. Both systems can turn the transmission, which makes the car go. The way the gas engine and the electric motor system work together can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some can be run totally electric, while others can't.

Click here for a bit more on how hybrid cars work.

And here's a short video clip which shows all about hybrid cars and how they work.

The reason these hybrids came about is because an engine that runs only on gasoline is too expensive, smelly and polluting, while a car which is strictly electric can't go very far or fast and needs frequent recharging. So the marriage of the two is the more efficient hybrid car.

Though hybrids save you a lot in fuel costs, their buying price is more expensive than regular cars, mainly due to the hybrid car battery cost.

Some vehicles can be plugged into your garage wall socket overnight to recharge the battery. These are called plug in hybrid cars.

To see a couple videos from the Annual Hybrid Car Festival in Madison Wisconsin, see this page with more hybrid car info.

Click here to see what type of hybrid car is available.

Return from the What Are Hybrid Cars page to the Totally Hybrid Cars home page.