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An Introduction to Hybrid Cars

Only a couple of years ago, hybrids were viewed as a curiosity in the same vein as electric cars used to be. Only Honda and Toyota bothered to go to the expense of producing hybrid models and expensive they were. It was no secret that each car was sold at a loss. Even then, the price was too high for the average punter and only the most devoted environmentalists seemed intent on owning one.

Then something strange happened. Big-name celebrities (with no real sense of the value of a car) took the Toyota Prius under their manicured wings. The headline grabbers are Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, but many others clambered over each other to be seen in a Prius on the boulevards of Hollywood. Whether it was the halo effect of celebrity ownership or the sharp new focus on reducing greenhouse gases that we are undergoing right now, suddenly sales of hybrids started to rise and now the other car makers are hard at work on their own versions.

So, according to the dictionary definition of the word, a hybrid is derived from heterogeneous sources. In the case of the production hybrid cars to date, the powertrain is made up of two distinct elements, usually a petrol engine and some form of electric motor and generator.

As it stands, there are a couple of different trains of thought. The electric motor can propel the car at low speeds, reducing fuel consumption and eliminating emissions completely, yet allowing the fitment of a smaller engine, as the motor can assist the engine when acceleration is required. At a cruise, the engine is quite efficient in any case. The other way to use this system is for performance. So, a powerful motor is allied to a decent engine and together the result is performance that would usually only be found with a larger engine. The upshot is less fuel consumption for a given level of performance rather than a car that sips fuel.

Hybrids are very much in their infancy and the increased sales will encourage more car makers to wheel out their own versions. We don't believe that hybrids will save the planet from extinction, but they certainly have their place in the automotive landscape. Each new generation improves and the cost of the technology is reducing all the time. If recent concept cars are anything to go by, we could be driving vehicles that mix a fuel-cell with an electric motor and generator in the future. Hybrids are here to stay; that's for sure. Watch out for our articles detailing the hybrid cars on sale now and in the near future.

Tuesday June 5

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