by peterpan

Created on: August 03, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

The problem with the increasing prices of fuel and the issues regarding global warming due to pollution contributed by vehicular emissions paved the way for hybrid cars to become popular in the international limelight. These cars promise to provide an almost pollution-free emission and claim to lessen the need for cars to run in gasoline. They are also said to be the solution to the unending fuel crisis that is felt worldwide that affects even the prices of our basic commodities.

Hybrid vehicles had been used eversince but it is only today that they had been recognized as car companies started producing their very own hybrid cars. Hybrid vehicles had been popular even before like for example the motorized pedal bike (combination of gas engine and pedal power), submarines (a nuclear-electric hybrid) and some other vehicles that run in diesel-electric engines such as the busses in Seattle, locomotives and some big mining trucks.

THE HYBRID CARS

Hybrid cars utilize two types of engines for the vehicle to run. Most of these cars use a combination of gasoline engines and electric engines, however, some utilizes diesel engines and electric engines in combination to run the vehicle.

Hybrid cars are composed of fuel tank, gasoline engine, electric motor, generator and batteries. The electric motor is responsible for providing energy to provide power for the car or it can also charge the batteries of the hybrid car. The gasoline engine is also smaller in hybrid cars that are responsible for a more eco-friendly emission since lesser fuel consumption is needed to run the vehicle.

HOW HYBRID CARS WORK

Let us first discuss the two types of power sources that cars use. The gas-powered car has a large fuel tank. This tank is responsible for providing gasoline to the engine. The transmission is then propelled by the engine that will then make the wheel rolling. The second type of engine is that of the electric-powered car. The main sources of power are the batteries that give electric energy to the motor. The motor is then responsible for the transmission to turn that would then turn also the wheel.
Hybrid cars are classified according to the type of power source that is responsible in running the transmission.

1. Parallel Hybrid Car

In this type of hybrid car, the transmission is propelled by using either the electric motor or the gasoline engine or they could be utilized at the same time. This means that these two engines are connected to the transmission of the car directly. Parallel

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