Efficiency and low waste are the twin guideposts of the cutting edge in automobile design and development. Hybrid vehicles (PHEV) powered by both gasoline and electricity have created their own niche in the marketplace. That niche is rapidly expanding with the introduction of new models. One of the main advantages of hybrid electric vehicles. Is saving on gasoline.

A common misconception of hybrid vehicles is that they are more expensive than gasoline-powered cars. What this misconception fails to address is the difference between long-term and short-term costs. While it may cost more to purchase a hybrid car, the long-term costs reveal a different story.

The total quantity of gasoline used over the lifetime of the car is much less with a hybrid vehicle than with a gasoline car. This offsets the high retail price of hybrid cars and gives them a definite advantage.

Hybrid cars can attain such phenomenal fuel performance due to their unique designs. Knowing how hybrid cars work helps to explain their incredible efficiency. A hybrid is a combination of a gasoline-powered vehicle and a fully electric vehicle. This automobile is powered by a conventional gasoline engine and an electric motor. Importantly, the vehicle has extra battery storage in order to power the engine as well as the motor.

This superficial explanation does not address the heart of a hybrid car. The hybrid has the ability to switch back and forth between the electric motor to the gasoline engine. For instance, after starting the car in the garage, the owner forgets something. He leaves the car running and goes back into the house. The car's computer system automatically switches from the gasoline engine to the electric motor until he returns.

No gasoline is wasted due to the car running on the electric motor powered by the extra batteries. The car will switch back to gasoline when the accelerator pedal is engaged.

Hybrid electric vehicles use all available methods to generate electricity. For example, electricity is generated from the motion of the wheels as they turn. Generating and using any extra electricity is paramount in hybrid vehicles, especially in series hybrids that have the gasoline engine connected to a generator. Hybrid vehicles rely upon even small sources of electricity to save the energy created from gasoline and the money it takes to buy fuel.

Hybrid cars come in two types: Series hybrid and parallel hybrid. In a parallel hybrid vehicle, both the electric motor and the gasoline engine are connected to the transmission. Both can power the car independently of one another. In contrast, a series hybrid car has the gasoline engine connected directly to a generator that charges the battery. Only the electric motor powers the transmission. In both versions, the gasoline engine is much smaller than a regular gasoline engine. This also saves fuel because a smaller engine is lighter. It takes less fuel to move a car with a smaller engine up a hill.

A hybrid vehicle could not achieve it's efficiency without a unique battery design. Even as electrical energy is drawn from the battery, it is immediately replenished with fresh energy from the electric motor. Due to advanced electronics, the electric motor acts as both a motor and a generator. In parallel hybrids, this allows the motor to simultaneously draw energy from and return energy to the battery. A series hybrid simply uses the gasoline engine to power the generator, which keeps the battery charged while the motor is using the battery.

These vehicles promise to take the automobile into the future. Hybrid vehicles may one day yield to fully electric cars with even more efficient power systems. For now, hybrid automobiles save gasoline, run very quietly, cut down on the emission of toxic fumes and save the owner large amounts of money. Questions about hybrid cars will be answered in a future post.