Hybrid Car Terminology

There are many persons who are interested in purchasing hybrid cars. They know that such cars help them to save on fuel costs and are also helpful in lowering down the CO2 emissions thus making the world a healthy place to stay in. However, most of them are confused by the various terms that are used to describe hybrid cars. They come across terms like `mild hybrid’ and `full hybrid’ and get confused. Here are explanations of some common terms that will help you understand more about the terminology used for hybrid cars. The term ‘full hybrid’ is used for vehicles that can launch in the forward direction at slow speeds without consumption of any amount of gasoline.Prime examples of this type of cars are the Ford, Lexus and Toyota hybrids. It is very easy to get confused with such terms especially when one observes that some hybrid models of General Motors are rated as full hybrids whereas some models are not. The ‘mild hybrid’ vehicles are those that can move from a standstill position only if the combustion engine inside it is turned on. These cars use their electric motor mainly to help the gas engine in case extra power is required. However, there is one thing that is shared by both full hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles. Both of them need the gas engine after a specific high speed is reached.This is generally 20 to 25 miles per hour. It might be even more and it depends totally on the way the car is being driven. The mild hybrids types can be subdivided into several subcategories. The Stop/Start hybrid method, which is used on GM trucks, turns off the engine. Generally the engines remain idle and restart instantly on demand. The ISAD hybrid (integrated starter alternator with damping) system also permits the electric motors of the vehicle to help it move along with the standard capability to provide stop and start to the car. The IMA hybrid (Integrated Motor Assist) system is just like the ISAD system but has a big electric motor that provides more electricity to help the vehicle to move.If you have not got totally confused by now and are still reading this article there are other terminologies too and they include the parallel versus series types of hybrids. Here is a simple explanation of the same. In the parallel hybrid, it is the task of the fuel tank to supply gasoline to the vehicle’s engine and simultaneously the batteries assist by supplying power to the electric motor of the car. The propulsion power can be provided both by the gas engine and the electric motor. The scenario is totally different in the series hybrids where the task of the gasoline engine is to provide power to run a generator and the generator, in turn, can either power the electric motor that runs the propulsion or it can charge the batteries. The gasoline engine does not power these types of vehicles. Most of the hybrids available today are parallel hybrids.