Hybrid cars facts

Hybrid car is like its name suggests a car that uses more than one power sources to move the vehicle (usually two-combination of an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors).

Hybrid cars have very expensive parts but they also have long lasting warranties that usually provide replacement of the most expensive parts if they get broken before the warranty is over.

Hybrid cars are recommended from environmental point of view because they emit significantly less emissions compared to conventional gasoline cars.

Hybrid cars have significantly higher fuel efficiency compared to conventional cars.

Currently the three most popular hybrid vehicles are Honda Civic, Honda Insight and Toyota Prius.

Toyota Prius belongs to power split hybrid category meaning that there are always two electric motors and one internal combustion engine. When on open road car uses internal combustion engine though when engine requires bigger power the electric motors are used to maximize the available power for a short time, giving the effect of having a larger engine than that actually installed, for instance when overtaking.

Honda Civic on the other hand belongs to mild parallel hybrid train configurations meaning that it uses a very compact electric motor to give extra output during the acceleration when bigger power is required.

Hybrid cars have very long history in Japan where they have been sold since 1997.

Hybrid cars still have relatively high production costs, mostly because of expensive materials used in their production, this is the reason why they cost in average $3500 more than their non-hybrid versions.

Hybrid cars are not totally environmentally acceptable because of the car batteries they use (nickel metal hydride), though it has to be said that general negative environmental effects of hybrid cars are very low.

Hybrid cars usually accelerate at slower speed compared to conventional cars.

Hybrid cars have significant battery storage capacity to store and reuse recaptured energy, which is especially handy in stop-and-go traffic (rush hours).

Hybrid cars usually recapture significant amounts of energy during braking that are in conventional cars wasted as heat.

Hybrid cars usually have better aerodynamics compared to traditional cars.

Toyota Prius is the best selling hybrid car, in fact Toyota Prius was the 11th bestselling vehicle in United States in 2008.

U.S. hybrid market is constantly growing as hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular, not only because they ensure better mileage but also because they have positive effect on climate change by emitting less emissions.

In New York alone there are currently more than 20,000 hybrid cars on the road though U.S. state that traditionally sells the most hybrid cars is California.

In average hybrid cars produce 80% less harmful pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional gasoline cars.

Hybrid cars generally produce between 60-90 horsepower. This may seem to some like a very big problem in strength but hybrid cars are constructed with ultra lightweight materials like carbon fiber or aluminum, meaning they are more aerodynamic which compensates for this loss in horsepower, and ensures high efficiency.

Many U.S. states are offering both cash and privilege incentives for consumers who purchase hybrid cars, mostly in order to decrease the total level of CO2 emissions that harm environment.