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Hybrid cars are cars that are powered by an electric battery as well as a gasoline engine. Most regular cars have a gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine only.

Hybrid cars are more efficient in their use of gasoline. Today some of the most popular hybrid cars include the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight and the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Although all true hybrids today involve some form of an electric engine to power the vehicle, not all hybrids work the same. A full hybrid allows the car to run on just the gasoline engine, just the batteries or a combination of both. The Toyota Prius is an example of a full hybrid. The Prius has a computer that monitors the car’s engine and decides which power source to use in order to get the most efficient use of energy from the car.

An assist hybrid mainly uses the gas engine, but the electric battery engine assists the gas engine, which helps improve gas mileage. An example of a car that uses an assist hybrid engine is the Honda Insight. Honda has named its hybrid system “Integrated Motor Assist” (IMA).

There’s another form of car called a mild hybrid. A mild hybrid is actually not a hybrid at all. A mild hybrid does not have an electric battery motor in the car, but the gas engine functions differently. The mild hybrid will turn off the engine when it is not needed such as when a car is slowing down or stopped, and the engine starts again when the it is needed. An example of a car that has a mild hybrid engine is the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid.

A plug-in hybrid is a full hybrid that can run on 100% electric power. The plug-in hybrids require the car owner to plug the electric car battery into a power source to be charged. The plug-in hybrids can also run on a gas engine. The advantage of a plug-in hybrid is that you can choose how you want to power you car.

Hybrid cars are starting to become more popular in America, but they are still new to the car market. In the years to come even more hybrids will become available. What do you think about hybrid cars? Do you know anyone who drives a hybrid car?