One of the most prevalent alternatives to gasoline powered automobiles that has really taken off in the past few years is the hybrid car. This type of car, although still uses some gasoline, harnesses the power of electricity to greatly reduce its dependence on fuel. Because of this the hybrid has many environmental, economic, and automotive advantages over the standard gas car. However, that does not mean that it is without any deficiencies in these areas either.

The hybrid cars on the market today are a cross between gasoline powered automobiles and electric powered automobiles. Like a gas powered car, the hybrid has the same fuel tank, gas engine, and transmission. Using parts of the electric car, the hybrid has an electric motor, batteries, and a generator. There are two ways in which all of these components can be brought together in a hybrid car.

The first way is known as a parallel hybrid. In this system the gas from the fuel tank powers the gas engine and the batteries power the electric motor. Both the engine and the motor connect to the transmission provided propulsion power that turns the wheels.

The second way the parts can be configured is known as a series hybrid. In this model, the gas engine powers the generator which either charges the batteries or gives life to the electric motor. From here the electric motor powers the transmission which turns the wheels. This means that the gas engine does not directly power the car.

Either configuration works when it comes time to actually drive the car, it is other factors that come into play that give the hybrid its decrease in fuel dependency. First, the hybrid's engine size is smaller than most standard gas cars. This allows for greater fuel efficiency for two main reasons. These are that the smaller engine size means less bulk weight that has to be moved, so therefore less force that has to be applied, and there are fewer fuel powered cylinders that are used. The hybrid also employs a few more skills to maintain its fuel efficiency. The car is built with light weight material and is aerodynamically designed to reduce drag. The hybrid also uses a few energy saving tricks, like for example since there is an alternative energy source, the hybrid can turn off its gas engine and run on its electric motor for some time.

Driving a hybrid car has many advantages to it. To begin with, it gives off less carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which is good for fighting global warming. Economically speaking, it requires less fuel to drive meaning less money will be spent on fuel on more money will be spent on other things. Lastly, the hybrid gets great mileage. It can travel for greater distances than a standard gasoline powered car can on the same amount of fuel.

Despite the many advantages of the hybrid, it does come with some disadvantages. It still uses gas as a power source, a non-renewable fossil fuel, which does put some amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Also, in order to get the mileage advertised by the car companies and such, the hybrid needs to be driven at a constant slower speed than most cars due to its increased drag. Also, the hybrid loses energy on abrupt stops, making it inefficient in cities.