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Hybrid CarsWhat is a Hybrid Car? Advantages, Disadvantages and History.Now I know that Hybrid Cars may not be as clean as an all-electric powered car but they are a step up from some of the gas guzzlers on the roads today and they do have their advantages (and disadvatages!).Many car manufacturers see them as a great stepping stone into the "all-electric" future. Everyone obviously knows the Toyota Prius - the hybrid car which pretty much kick-started the whole craze, but there are a lot more options available out there for someone interested in taking a small step towards becoming more green. They recently had a whole South park episode dedicated to mocking them, so you know they’re pretty big at the moment! Here are some of the topics that I've decided to look into about them: What is a Hybrid Car? If you were to consult a dictionary, you would probably get an answer like: 
"a hybrid electric car combines a conventional internal combustion engine with an electric motor propulsion system. The addition of the electric propulsion system is intended to achieve either better fuel economy OR better performance - as well as lower CO2 emissions than a conventional combustion-engined car"(that's my own definition summarised from those pesky dictionaries). The thing is, I'm sure that this definition just makes you want to ask lots of other questions. Questions like:
Advantages of Hybrid Cars. Probably a good idea to start with the advantages! 
Why on earth would you want to (usually) pay more for this type of car?
How is it going to make you drive better, feel better, look better?
Well, there are three main advantages that people look for when they buy one:
The 4th is that you want to be seen be driving a real modern car full of great technology. The 5th reason: you get a Hybrid SUV cause you want to "offset" to gas-guzzler image that conventional SUVs project. Read more about Advantages of Hybrid Cars. Disadvantages of Hybrid Cars. Are there disadvantages? There are always two sides to the same coin. Let's start off with the most obvious one: Price! Hybrids are packed with all sorts of new technology which has been developed for just a few cars. And those relatively few car owners have to pay for all this stuff. For all your savings on MPG and so on - you are still typically paying a big price premium.  Another disadvantage?
Looks! Think of the Prius - you may like it or hate it. In the past, if you hated it you didn't have much of another choice. They are the top two general disadvanges as far as I can see. Other disadvantages are more apparent on a model by model basis. Read more about Disadvantages of Hybrid Cars. Hybrid Sports Cars. A hybrid sports car! Why bother? Well, lots of car manufacturers are beginning to "bother" at this stage. People like Toyota, Honda, BMW and a lot more have hybrid sports cars in production already - or plan to over the next couple of years. The argument "for" is a little similar to the reason for having hybrid SUVs. 
Take a vehicle that is currently a "gas-guzzler" and green it up with lower emissions and higher mpg - BUT - also ADD to the
horsepower with the extra oomph from those electric motors.
Sounds like hybrid sports cars (and plug-in hybrid sports cars) are going to provide petrol-heads everywhere with a good excuse to keep up the cool looks and the speed habit! Read more about Hybrid Sports Car. History of the Hybrid Car. The electric/petrol hybrid car has a long history going back all the way to 1900 - which might be a bit of a shock for all of you who thought it just came out of nowhere in the last few years with the Prius. Although I have to admit I thought that too! 
After a while it started to disappear along with the electric car because of the emergence of cheap oil.
It wasn't until people started realising the damage that the use of oil does to the environment - and the fact that
it's a real posibility that we could run out of it - that people started looking for alternatives like hybrids again.
Over the past 10 years we have seen the emergence of Hybrid Technology in cars such as the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight and many of the Lexus luxury models. We now seem to be at a major turning point in the history of the Hybrid as most manufacturers seem to have a plan in place for Hybrid technology in the new model ranges. See more History of the Hybrid Car Pictures of Hybrid Cars. 
Let's face it. The first thing we normally want when we read a review on a car is a picture! So here’s a look at some
pics of many of the hybrids out now and as well as some coming out shortly.
See more Pictures of hybrid cars Hybrid Car Statistics. What are the real facts and figures? We're told they’re "economical" all the time but are they really that much better than standard petrol or diesel cars?
Many people say that some of the new diesel engines out there now are just as efficient - if not more so -
than the hybrids available now. If you look at the new diesel-powered BMWs, VWs and Peugeots, their MPG is often up
in the 70's - all with very low CO2 emmissions.
Of course, a lot of it really depends on the hybrid. Some can be big SUV's that didn't get a good mpg in the first place.
If you compare them with a tiny diesel car with a modern engine, the hybrid obviously isn't going to be lightyears ahead of it.
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There are many more companies in the process of bringing out hybrid versions of their cars and SUVs (Porsche, Volkswagen, Volvo).
Some smaller companies are starting to make a big name with their hybrids - companies such as Fisker and Aptera.
Well here are some of the basics:
The typical hybrid vehicle like the Toyota Prius works by using the electric motor to move the car when it's going below a certain
speed and when it gets above that the petrol/diesel engine kicks in (which recharges the electric motor also).
I personally think that this approach is going to be the real leading technology over the next decade or so while all-electric technology comes of age.
Fisker are an example of one company making a name for themselves with their exotic sports car plug-in - the Karma with another plug-in hybrid due out in the next year or two.
The 
Almost every SUV maker is taking off after Lexus in an effort to produce "greener" SUVs through lower CO2 emmissions and by using
hybrid technology. And - people are beginning to fall for the offer! After all, there are a lot of people out there in love with
their SUVs - the height, the room, the power, the prestige!
They seem
to make sense. However, as it stands there are many rumours about upcoming releases for minivans - but none on the market at the moment.
The closest you can get are 7-seater SUVs like the Toyota Highlander or 
They are becoming increasingly available from bigger car hire specialists nowadays and a few car hire companies have sprung up
recently that are dedicated solely to them.
So, in summary, I’m still not fully decided on hybrids yet but they do have some advantages over standard combustion-engined
cars as well as all-electric vehicles.
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