When people think of Hybrids they think of a new idea to fight against pollution and the rising gas prices, but actually hybrids are as old as cars themselves. First Patented by an American engineer H. Piper for a gasoline electric-engine motor, a hybrid November 23, 1905. Unlike modern times his hybrid design wasn't to increase a vehicle's fuel mileage and lower its emissions. According to his patent application, an electric motor would supplement a gasoline engine, allowing a vehicle to accelerate from zero to 25 miles an hour in a sizzling 10 seconds, three times faster then the standard cars of that time. Today, the sudden rise of Hybrids is due to the huge gas cost and people are tired of paying huge cash for gas that will barely last them a week. What is a Hybrid? Any vehicle that combines two or more sources of power that can directly or indirectly provide propulsion power is a hybrid. Most hybrid on the street now are ran by electric and fuel. Other kinds of Hybrids include diesel-electric, and nuclear-electric.
How does a Hybrid work you wonder? What is under the hood to give you 20 or 30 more miles per gallon than the common automobile? Opposite to what some people think, these hybrid cars do not need to be plugged in to charge up the batteries. The on-board batteries in hybrid cars are recharged by capturing the kinetic energy created when using the brakes (also known as regenerative braking.) Some use combustion engines by spinning electrical to recharge or feed power to electric motors.
Why buy a hybrid? Hybrids use two motors. The reason for two motors is in the strengths and weaknesses of both types. Electric cars are better for stop and go traffic since it doesn't idle it just turns off and use less gas then standard cars going at slower speeds. It also produces no emissions of smog. Likewise, gas motors do better at high speeds and can deliver more power for a given weight. Hybrids are the most gasoline efficient of all cars. They are said to get around 48 to 60 miles per gallon. Most of the fuel efficiency comes from improvements in aero dynamics, weight reduction and, the biggest change: a smaller, less powerful gas engine. Yet, being more expensive then standard gas cars, Hybrids will soon pay off themselves with the smaller amount of money you have to spend on gas.
While the US has just started producing hybrids, the Japanese are the recognized leaders. Two Japanese brands Toyota and Honda are the leading manufacturers with the Insight and Primus. Analysts say US hybrids are just token models that the US will not stay in the business. Yet, Ford has made a hybrid of its popular Explorer.