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What is a Hybrid Car?
Hybrids are cars that run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline, rather
than just gasoline.
Hybrid batteries help to reduce fuel emissions because the hybrid engine
draws on the battery and not gasoline when accelerating. Hydrid gasoline
motors can shut off when the car is stopped and run off their electricity.
Why are Hybrid Cars a Good Idea?
* Hybrid cars are good for the environment. They can reduce smog by
90
percent and they use far less gasoline than conventional cars.
* Hybrid cars are economical. They can get up to 55 to
60 mpg in city
driving, while a typical SUV might travel 15-20 miles per gallon, or
use
three times as much gas for the same distance!
* Hybrids are better than all-electric cars because hybrid car
batteries
recharge as you drive so there is no need to plug in. Also, most electric
cars cannot go faster than 50-60 mph, while hybrids can. Most electric
cars need to be recharged every 50-100miles.
The Battery is charged in two ways:
Mostly by the gasoline
engine while you're driving and a little bit by something
called "regenerative braking," in which power
is generated
by the turning wheels when the car slows down.
A computer decides which source of power to use - and it's
quite seamless (i.e., you never notice it switching back
and
forth). There are different approaches to combining the
two
motors. Toyota, for example, uses a system in which the
car
is powered primarily by the electric motor in stop-and-go
traffic. At higher speeds or when you accelerate, the
gasoline engine automatically - and instantly - joins with
the battery powered motor, which gives it
the juice to pass
or get on a highway.
Honda's Insight operates the other way around. At lower
speeds and
around town, it uses the gasoline engine. When additional
power is called
for, such as during acceleration or driving up a hill,
the 13-horsepower
electric motor also comes on. Hybrids also shut off the
gasoline motor
while you're stopped at a light, and then automatically
starts back up when
you step on the gas to go again, saving even more gas.
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