Global warming and the high price of crude oil has made the hybrid car an ecological innovation which is gaining immensely in popularity. For those who are not yet familiar with this new concept, a hybrid vehicle is a car or other type of vehicle in which two types of power, combustion and electricity, are used to provide more fuel economy as well as less exhaust emissions. A hybrid vehicle, or parallel engine hybrid to be exact, uses both a gasoline powered engine and an electric one to provide power. The two engines are usually mounted at opposite ends of the vehicle, with the gasoline powered one in front, and the electric one in the rear. Specially designed batteries are mounted in the floor of the vehicle, and they provide power to the electric engine to power the vehicle in more congested driving situations such as heavy highway traffic or city driving. By utilizing a concept of kinetic energy and special generators, the batteries for the electric engine are constantly being charged while the vehicle is in motion.
Some hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius and Lexus GS 450h, have specially designed transmissions to help conserve fuel when the gasoline engine is being used and to assist either the gasoline or electric engine with the power they need to travel at sufficient speeds on interstate highways and other motorways.
When the electric engine is being utilized to power the vehicle, not only is it more silent, but virtually no exhaust emissions are being emitted into the atmosphere, which is a great benefit against the “greenhouse effect”, largely responsible for global warming.
A hybrid car can achieve a fuel mileage capability of around 55 miles to the gallon as compared with even the most fuel efficient gasoline or diesel powered cars which average around 30-35 miles per gallon. The purpose of a hybrid drive system is two-fold: to improve fuel economy and to reduce polluting exhaust emissions of both carbon dioxide (Co2), which is the greatest contributor to global warming, and carbon monoxide which pollutes the air and harms people by reducing the blood’s ability to transport oxygen throughout the body. In addition to federal regulations to reduce the polluting contents of refined fuels, certain states like California have initiated very strict laws relating to exhaust emissions by restricting the amount of pollutants such as carbon monoxide from vehicles. For this reason alone, hybrid vehicles are becoming very popular in California and other states with heavy traffic congestion.
While not a perfect situation (electric or hydrogen powered cars have yet to be perfected for long range driving of at least 300 miles or 480 km) the hybrid car makes sense when gasoline sells for a average of $3.00 per gallon in America and even more in European countries. A good case in point is when New York City Mayor Bloomberg ordered several hundred hybrid SUV’s for use as taxi cabs in his city. So from a “green” or environment standpoint, the idea of the hybrid vehicle is definitely one whose time has come.