What do hybrid cars do that are good and how do they do it?

Question

What do hybrid cars do that are good and how do they do it?

Answer 1

I would be more concerned about the battery life, if anything.

Answer 2

Hybrid cars have smaller gasoline engines which use less gas and do not pollute the air as much as other engines.

Answer 3

Today's hybrids shut the gas engine off when it's inefficient to run it, like idling at a stoplight, city traffic, stop-n-go freeway, trolling for parking spots etc.  They also regenerate energy from braking.  Some also provide plenty of AC power for running a compressor or chop saw at the jobsite, or microwave at the campsite.

Future hybrids will plug in at home, and run entirely on battery for the first 10, 20 or 40 miles.  That means most people most days won't use the gas engine at all. They'll use electricity for about 1/5 the price and 1/2 the CO2 emissions (if it's still coal power).

Answer 4

A hybrid car uses both a gasoline engine and electric motors. There are varying ways they are used.

Speaking in generalities, an electric motor is far more efficient when driving in stop-and-go city traffic. On the highway at high speeds, they don't fare well against a gasoline motor.

If most of your driving is in the city, you will do well with a hybrid car.

With a hybrid, a small gasoline engine can power a  generator and charge batteries to supply electricity to power the electric motors or, on some cars, send power directly to the wheels through the transmission at higher speeds. In all cases the electric motors get the car going when starting from a full stop.

If the batteries need charging, the engine MAY be running when the car is stopped.

There are various models that use different combinations of technologies controlled by computers to handle the power demands and economy of their performance, so no simple answer can be applied to all hybrids.

Answer 5

Both answers are wrong so far.

You can buy a car with a small engine that is not a hybrid and therefore will not have batteries.  It will be small and light, not as safe, and will not go fast.

Hybrid cars "are so great" because they can convert the kinetic energy your car has when going at speed to electrical energy and then back to kinetic energy via the electrical motors/generators.

The engine also shuts off when stopped saving gasoline.  You can do this with your car if you want as well.  But you can't run the A/C when the engine isn't running.

Answer 6

They get somewhat better gas mileage.

They run a small efficient gasoline engine to charge a battery that runs an electric motor.  The gasoline engine can also be used when the car needs extra power, to go up a big hill, or accelerate.

They also have some extra systems to be even more efficient.  When the car is slowing down, the electric motor runs in reverse and charges the battery.  When the car stops at a traffic light, the gasoline engine turns off.

They're not perfect, but they help.  One of many tools we need to fight global warming.