Hybrid cars have been in development for a long time but have only fairly recently become popular and posed any kind of competition to the petrol or diesel powered conventional car. With the escalating price of fossil fuel and environmental concerns concerning the greenhouse gases they emit, hybrid cars are attracting more attention and car manufacturers see hybrid cars as the future in car development.
Any car that uses two or more sources of power to drive or provide propulsion is a hybrid car and there are two different concepts in terms of hybrid cars, series hybrids and parallel hybrids. Series hybrids are the least common variant as they are effectively powered solely by an electric traction motor. This is fed from a petrol powered generator, so hence the ‘hybrid’ name, but this part of the engine is not connected to the drive shaft. Parallel hybrid cars, on the other hand, feature a petrol engine combined with an electric motor, both of which can ‘drive’ the vehicle depending on speed and load. This has the advantage that electric engines are more efficient at lower speeds, whilst petrol engines are better at higher speeds. The electric motor is powered by batteries that also recharge automatically while you drive. Probably the most well known of the parallel hybrid cars is the Toyota Prius.
Currently only petrol hybrid cars are available, although it is likely that diesel models will be available fairly soon. These are likely to be more economical than the existing petrol hybrid cars.
A few examples of hybrid cars are below::
- The Toyota Prius is perhaps the best known hybrid with three models now available.
- The Honda Civic IMA Hybrid has three model grades depending on the specification you prefer.
- Lexus offer three hybrid models, two saloons and an SUV.
Source: Car manufacturer websites 2009
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