by Ruth Moran

Created on: March 30, 2007   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

In the recent past, people have payed a much higher price for gasoline than before. Some are even reluctant to fill up the gas tank because they might end up spending $30 or $40.

A gasoline-powered car can usually drive at least 300 miles between refueling, can be refueled quickly and easily, and keep up with traffic on the road.

But gasoline-powered cars also produce a lot of pollution and get subpar gas mileage. On the other hand, electric cars produce almost no pollution, but can only go 50 to 100 miles between charges.

Over the past few years, though, the automotive industry has found its happy medium - a hybrid car is a compromise between the two that can increase gas mileage and reduce emissions.

A hybrid car consists of a gasoline engine, an electric motor, a set of batteries, and a generator. The gasoline engine is much smaller and uses advanced technologies to reduce emissions. The car also uses the engine in order to increase power and efficiency.

Simultaneously, the electric motor can draw energy from the batteries to accelerate the car and return energy to the batteries. This means that the gas pedal and the brake pedal are equally important, because a hybrid car uses "regenerative braking" to recover energy and store it in the battery.

When the hybrid car brakes, energy in the form of heat is given off and stored. The electric motor uses the stored energy to generate a little electricity to charge the batteries, and the cycle continues.

Sometimes, when the vehicle is stopped, at a red light for instance, the hybrid can shut off the gasoline engine because it can rely on its alternate power source - the electric motor and batteries.

Some hybrids, like the Toyota Prius, use a unique power split device that hooks the gasoline engine, generator, and electric motor together.

Once the car reaches a certain speed, the gasoline engine will turn on and settle into a constant speed, while the generator and electric motor work to match the output speed of the car. The gasoline engine and electric motor move the car, and the generator produces all the electricity.

In addition, the forward areas of many hybrid vehicles are designed to reduce aerodynamic drag. Some hybrids are designed using a teardrop shape where the back of the car is narrower than the front. The rear wheels are partially covered by body work to provide a smoother shape.

Even the tires differ on hybrid cars. The tires on most cars are optimized to minimize noise, give smooth rides, and provide good traction,

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