A hybrid electric vehicle combines an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by batteries, merging the best features of today's combustion engine cars and electric vehicles. The combination allows the electric motor and batteries to help the conventional engine operate more efficiently, cutting down on fuel use. Meanwhile, the gasoline-fueled combustion engine overcomes the limited driving range of an electric vehicle. In the end, this hybridization gives you the ability to drive 500 miles or more using less fuel and never having to plug in for recharging.

HYBRID COMPONENTS

Hybrid cars contain the following parts:

• Gasoline engine - The hybrid car has a gasoline engine much like the one you will find on most cars. However, the engine on a hybrid is smaller and uses advanced technologies to reduce emissions and increase efficiency.
• Fuel tank - The fuel tank in a hybrid is the energy storage device for the gasoline engine. Gasoline has a much higher energy density than batteries do. For example, it takes about 1,000 pounds of batteries to store as much energy as 1 gallon (7 pounds) of gasoline.
• Electric motor - The electric motor on a hybrid car is very sophisticated. Advanced electronics allow it to act as a motor as well as a generator. For example, when it needs to, it can draw energy from the batteries to accelerate the car. But acting as a generator, it can slow the car down and return energy to the batteries.
• Generator - The generator is similar to an electric motor, but it acts only to produce electrical power. It is used mostly on series hybrids.
• Batteries - The batteries in a hybrid car are the energy storage device for the electric motor. Unlike the gasoline in the fuel tank, which can only power the gasoline engine, the electric motor on a hybrid car can put energy into the batteries as well as draw energy from them.
• Transmission - The transmission on a hybrid car performs the same basic function as the transmission on a conventional car. Some hybrids, like the Honda Insight, have conventional transmissions. Others, like the Toyota Prius, have radically different ones, which we'll talk about later.