Overview: According to Richard Hantula in his book "How Do Hybrid Cars Work?" any vehicle that has two or more sources of power can be called a hybrid. When people refer to hybrid vehicles, they are usually referring to a vehicle that has both a gasoline motor and an electric motor. A different type of hybrid vehicle is powered by hydrogen and electric power. A traditional vehicle has only a gasoline or diesel engine and is capable of traveling for long distances, but internal combustion engines create significant amounts of pollution. A hybrid car uses batteries to store energy for the electric motor, with a small fuel tank for the gasoline engine.
According to Hantula, traditional gasoline and diesel powered vehicles are responsible for most of the air pollution on the planet. It is estimated that cars and trucks generate more air pollution than all of the power plants in the world. Motor vehicles with internal combustion engines generate approximately 72% of all ozone, and are responsible for the production of more than 50% of all smog. A hybrid vehicle does not use the gasoline engine all the time. When a hybrid vehicle is stopped at a traffic light, the gasoline engine turns off because it is not needed.
Electric motors do not emit exhaust, but vehicles powered exclusively by an electric motor typically can only travel relatively short distances of between 50 and 150 miles before the batteries must be recharged. Hybrid vehicles put out far less pollution than traditional vehicles, but can still travel for several hundred miles before refueling. The most immediate benefit of adding one or more HEVs to the fleet is better fuel economy compared to the vehicles they replace.
Some hybrid vehicles are called mild hybrids, and others are called full hybrids. According to Hantula, the difference has to do with the electric motor. If the electric motor can drive the vehicle at highway speeds withou...