Hybrid cars are essentially a combination of gasoline and electric powered cars. The advantages of hybrid cars vs conventional cars encompass lower toxic emissions, value-added miles per gallon mileage.

Although American car manufacturers such as General Motors have improved on the concept of the electric & hybrid cars, the Japanese hybrid car manufacturers seemed to have done it again with their great ability to innovate upon technology invention to give us these popular hybrid cars such as Prius from Toyota and the Insight for Honda.

Today, we share with you 2 key types of Hybrid Car Technology, both of which coincidentally enhanced by Japanese car manufacturers Honda and Toyota. The intention here is not to advertise or recommend any brand of Hybrid Cars mentioned below. The models and brands mentioned are for highlighting and demonstrating how they function.

We shall use the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius as examples to explain the intricate and sophisticated technology of hybrid cars.

The Honda Insight
The Insight runs on a system called “Integrated Motor Assist,” a term to describe its electric motor attached to the engine at the position usually occupied by the flywheel. This model has two kinds of transmission, the regular, manual transmission and the automatic one.

The Insight has 3 key operational efficiencies which are namely lightweight aluminum body reducing the weight of the vehicle, with small engine at 124 pounds and leverages on its advanced aerodynamics of its teardrop shape, greatly enhancing its performance.

Its electric motor supports the gasoline engine by giving off added power while the hybrid car is climbing uphill or going downhill. The motor has the capability to start the engine by itself without the aid of a starter and finally capturing energy while on the process of braking.

The Toyota Prius
The handsome Toyota Prius utilizes the power split device, an ingenious gearbox that connects the gasoline engine with the electric motor and generator. This allows the car to function like both parallel and series hybrids.

The Toyota Prius too does not need a starter, as the generator starts the engine. And since the vehicle is on planetary gear set, the speed of the electric motor combined with the ring gear spin decides how fast the car will run.

These cars does not require their batteries to be recharged, because the generator located onboard the vehicles monitors the right amount of energy in the batteries.

Both Toyota and Honda provides long warranties for their hybrid models. Both the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius are on eight-year warranties, and according to the car manufacturers, their batteries and motors usually do not need much maintenance over the life of the vehicle.

It’s Matching Your Personal Needs That Counts, Ultimately

Although it is a fact that over 400,000 hybrid cars are running on American roads whereby more than 70 - 80 % of them are Japanese made. We must reiterate that we are not here to suggest that you should buy Japanese and this is not advertising in any way that Japanese Hybrid Cars are superior to others.

Understand that what brand and model of Hybrid Cars you choose is totally your prerogative and the final decision on whichever brand and model of Hybrid Car you choose Must match your personal needs and lifestyle. Essentially, you need to have both an objective view of your selection criteria, yet a subjective view of personal preferences.

Stay tuned for more about hybrid cars or do visit my site for more information on Environmentally Friendly Cars Here.