Featuring The Toyota Prius

What Is a Hybrid Electric Vehicle? A hybrid is any vehicle that uses two or more sources of power — in today’s HEVs, the two sources are electricity (from batteries) and mechanical power (from a small internal combustion engine). HEVs can offer the very low emissions of electric vehicles with the power and range of gasoline vehicles. They also offer up to 30 more miles per gallon, perform as well as or better than, and are just as safe as any comparable gasoline-powered car — and they never have to be plugged in for recharging. Widespread use of HEVs would help reduce our nation’s growing dependence on foreign oil and cut greenhouse gas emissions by one-third to one-half.

How Do HEVs Work? Hybrids can offer tremendous fuel economy and emissions benefits because they operate differently than conventional gasoline-fueled vehicles. Gasoline Vehicle: The heat energy obtained by burning gasoline powers the engine, which drives the transmission that turns the wheels. Electric Vehicle: A set of batteries provides electricity to a motor, which drives the wheels. Hybrid Electric Vehicle: Not all hybrids are alike. There are many ways to combine the engine, motor/generator, and battery. Three basic hybrid configurations are the series, parallel, and split (or through-the-road) designs. Download free Featuring The Toyota Prius pdf here

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