Motor vehicles that combine two or more sources of power are called hybrid cars. A mo-ped is an example of a hybrid since it uses both a gas engine and pedal power. The gasoline-electric car is a hybrid because it combines a gasoline powered engine with an electric component.
Hybrid cars are available in the United States. The Honda Civic Hybrid, the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius are all hybrid cars. The Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius both have a gasoline engine and an electric motor and batteries. However the two cars are really very different.
Honda hybrid cars are created to get the best mileage. The car is small, lightweight and a two-seater. The engine is a high-efficiency gas engine. The Toyota Prius, on the other hand was created to lower gas emissions in urban areas. It fulfills California’s low emissions vehicle (SULEV) standard. This is a four-door sedan that seats five. It can accelerate to speeds of up to 15 mph (24 kph) using electric power.
Hybrid cars are complicated machines. What is the purpose of manufacturing such complicated vehicles? The main goal of hybrid vehicles is to reduce toxic emissions and to get better mileage. For example in California cars are only allowed (by law) to emit a certain level of pollution. The amount is usually specified in grams per mile (g/mi). According to the low emissions vehicle (LEV) standard only 3.4 g/mi of carbon monoxide is acceptable.
If a car burns double the gas to travel one mile it will also produce double the amount of air pollution. These emissions need to be removed by equipment on the car. If you can create a car that has lower fuel consumption it follows that it will also emit lesser amounts of toxic gases. This is the goal of hybrid cars.
But carbon monoxide is not the only pollutant generated by driving a gasoline vehicle. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is also produced. The U.S. government currently does not place restrictions on CO2 but it is suspected to contribute to global warming. Cars are presently not fitted with equipment to remove carbon dioxide from exhaust. The heavier a cars fuel consumption the worse its CO2 emissions will be. Hybrid cars solve this problem too.
Hybrid cars combine electricity and gasoline in a way that optimizes both of these energy sources. The batteries in a hybrid car get power from small, light gasoline or diesel engines. As soon as you use the brakes kinetic energy is transformed into electricity and stored in the battery. When you come to a stop light, the engine goes off completely.
Hybrid cars can be smaller than regular cars. This is because the battery is not it’s only means of support. So batteries can be smaller and not subject to the limits are cars that rely solely on battery power. Fuel cell technology promises to further advance our search for environmentally friendly motor vehicles.