Hybrid vehicles have two different types of engines running in parallel—usually a gasoline or diesel engine to provide most of the motive force and an electric motor, powered by batteries, for additional assistance. The main advantages of hybrids are a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and increased fuel efficiency due to the use of regenerative braking to recharge the battery (these batteries are sometimes referred to as onboard rechargeable energy storage systems). Fuel can also be saved by switching off the gasoline or diesel engine when coasting or stationary in traffic.
The major breakthrough was made by Victor Wouk (1919-2005), the brother of the novelist Herman Wouk. Victor, an electrical engineer, was spurred into action by the Federal Clean Car Incentive Program of 1970. After founding a company called Petro-Electric Motors Ltd. with a chemist friend, Charles Rosen, in 1974 they adapted a Buick Skylark as a gasoline/electric hybrid that doubled the miles per gallon of similarly sized cars.
The twin-engine approach overcame the sluggish performance of all-electric cars. Unfortunately, the major car manufacturers in the United States and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed little enthusiasm. The two partners eventually dissolved the company, and Wouk returned to consulting work.
The term hybrid can be applied more generally Bicycles fitted with small electric motors, diesel- electric trains, and diesel-powered ships, with masts and sails are also referred to as hybrid vehicles. Today the sale of hybrid cars in the United States is more than 200,000 a year. Unfortunately for the United States, about 95 percent of these are made in Japan.
