How a Hybrid Car Works?

Hybrid means a mix or fusion. In the case of hybrid cars, it refers to the employment of dual means to power a vehicle.

In 1997, Toyota introduced the groundbreaking Prius hybrid automobile. The futuristic-looking car was still powered by an engine. You still had to take it to the pump and fill it with gasoline. But something was profoundly different about this vehicle, which had managed to come out of production two years ahead of schedule. The buzz had to do with the electric motor that worked in unison with the engine, allowing for efficiency that until this point was associated only with mopeds and cars you plugged into the wall.

The press was curious; drivers were perplexed. Wasn't this still half an electric car? It had batteries, after all. So didn't it need to endure the same critical feature of the electric car: the recharge; the long power cord stretching from the car to a portable generator or electrical outlet?

But that was the key behind the new technology: A consumer now had many of the benefits of the electric car, without having the nuisances. The batteries in the Prius recharged internally. Thus, no need to hook the vehicle into a wall. Another drawback associated with the electric car―power―was also solved with the inclusion of a regular, albeit small, gasoline engine.

Much of the technology for the hybrid vehicle had been floating around research centers and hobbyists' garages for decades. Now a vehicle was finally available to the public (at least in Japan) that blew away the miles-per-gallon (mpg) averages of standard vehicles. Instead of 15 to 20 mpg, the Prius was getting in the neighborhood of 50 mpg. That was pretty close to the electric car. Plus, the emissions were greatly minimized.

Of course, during the booming 1990s, the bigger the vehicle the better―and the fact that gas was cheap made the mileage issue a moot point. Honda came out with the Insight a couple of years later, which topped 70 mph on the highway. Still, the big SUVs ruled the road.

In 2000, hybrids became available in the United States and were an instant hit, especially with the environmental crowd. The vehicles were so popular that dealerships couldn't keep them in stock―and still can't. There is generally a waiting list of up to six months before the car is delivered.

Today, things have changed, and bigger only means you will have a big hurt at the gas pump. Gas tops $3 in many parts of the country, and the demand for vehicles with better fuel efficiency could not be higher.

http://www.dmv.org/how-to-guides/hybrid-cars.php