What is Hybrid Car
Unlike commonly defined, a hybrid car does not have to be a gasoline engine and electric motor combination, although that is one of the most common and popular hybrid car types. Instead, a common definition of a hybrid vehicle is that it is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources, of different types, to power the vehicle. For the most common type of a hybrid car, the gasonline-electric hybrid car, there are two types of such cars available as of 2009. For one, there is the parallel hybrid car, which can use either its electric motor or gasoline engine to turn the transmission. Because of the parallel setup, both, the electric motor and the gasoline engine, are connected directly to the transmission. Meanwhile, the series hybrid car, has only the electric motor directly connected to the transmission. In this set up, the gasoline engine is used only to charge the car's electric batteries that power the electric motor and in turn power the vehicle. Some of the special features in a hybrid car include regenerative braking and temporary engine shut-off. Of these, regenerative braking uses the kinetic energy that is generated in slowing the car down by using the brakes to charge the batteries in the car. The temporary engine shut-off is one way to increase the efficiency of the hybrid car, as there are two engines to power the car, and the hybrid car can automatically shut off the gasoline engine when the car is idle, saving in overall fuel consumption.
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